2006 United States Senate election in North Dakota
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The 2006 United States Senate election in North Dakota was held on November 7, 2006, to elect a member of the United States Senate to represent the state of North Dakota. Incumbent Democratic-NPL U.S. senator Kent Conrad won re-election to a fourth term. This was one of five Democratic-held Senate seats up for election in a state that George W. Bush won in the 2004 presidential election.
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November 7, 2006
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 County results Conrad: 50–60% 60–70% 70–80% 80–90% | |||||||||||||||||
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As of 2026[update], this is the last time where either party won every county for the Class 1 Senate seat in North Dakota.
Democratic primary
Candidates
Nominee
- Kent Conrad, incumbent U.S. senator (1992–2013)
Results
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Kent Conrad | 3,013 | 100% | |
| Total votes | 3,013 | 100% | ||
Republican primary
Background
Popular Republican governor John Hoeven was heavily recruited by prominent national Republicans, including Karl Rove and Dick Cheney to run against Conrad. Both Hoeven and Conrad maintained high favorability ratings per several SurveyUSA polls.[citation needed]
Governor Hoeven declined to run in September 2005.[2] In March 2006, Dwight Grotberg was the first candidate to announce his bid, running on a campaign focused on "...federal support that fosters a strong rural infrastructure."[3]
Grotberg was unopposed in the primary held on June 13.
Candidates
Nominee
- Dwight Grotberg, farmer[3]
Declined
- John Hoeven, incumbent governor (2000–2010)[2]
Results
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Dwight Grotberg | 2,111 | 100% | |
| Total votes | 2,111 | 100.0% | ||
General election
Debates
- Complete video of debate, October 17, 2006
Predictions
| Source | Ranking | As of |
|---|---|---|
| The Cook Political Report[4] | Solid D | November 6, 2006 |
| Sabato's Crystal Ball[5] | Safe D | November 6, 2006 |
| Rothenberg Political Report[6] | Safe D | November 6, 2006 |
| Real Clear Politics[7] | Safe D | November 6, 2006 |
Polling
| Poll source | Date(s) administered |
Sample size[a] |
Margin of error |
Kent Conrad (D-NPL) |
Kevin Cramer (R) |
Other | Undecided |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rasmussen Reports[8] | January 25, 2005 | 500 (LV) | ± 4.5% | 57% | 35% | – | 8% |
| Poll source | Date(s) administered |
Sample size[a] |
Margin of error |
Kent Conrad (D-NPL) |
Wayne Stenehjem (R) |
Other | Undecided |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rasmussen Reports[8] | January 25, 2005 | 500 (LV) | ± 4.5% | 53% | 40% | – | 7% |
| Poll source | Date(s) administered |
Sample size[a] |
Margin of error |
Kent Conrad (D-NPL) |
John Warford (R) |
Other | Undecided |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rasmussen Reports[8] | January 25, 2005 | 500 (LV) | ± 4.5% | 59% | 31% | – | 10% |
Results
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic–NPL | Kent Conrad (incumbent) | 150,146 | 68.83% | +7.46% | |
| Republican | Dwight Grotberg | 64,417 | 29.53% | −9.10% | |
| Independent | Roland Riemers | 2,194 | 1.01% | n/a | |
| Independent | James Germalic | 1,395 | 0.64% | n/a | |
| Majority | 85,729 | 39.30% | +16.56% | ||
| Turnout | 218,154 | 44.5% | |||
| Democratic–NPL hold | Swing | +8.3 | |||