2006 United States Senate election in Wisconsin
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The 2006 United States Senate election in Wisconsin was held November 7, 2006. Incumbent Democratic U.S. Senator Herb Kohl won re-election to his fourth and final term in a landslide.[1] As of 2026, this is the most recent statewide election where any candidate won every county in Wisconsin.
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November 7, 2006
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   Kohl: 40–50% 50–60% 60–70% 70–80% 80–90% >90% Lorge: 40–50% 50–60% 60–70% 70–80% Tie: 40–50% 50% No data | |||||||||||||||||
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Democratic primary
Candidates
Results
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Herb Kohl (incumbent) | 308,178 | 85.66% | |
| Democratic | Ben Masel | 51,245 | 14.24% | |
| Democratic | Write ins | 335 | 0.09% | |
| Total votes | 359,758 | 100% | ||
Republican primary
Candidates
- Robert Lorge, attorney
Results
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Robert Lorge | 194,633 | 99.73% | |
| Republican | Write ins | 530 | 0.27% | |
| Total votes | 195,163 | 100% | ||
General election
Candidates
- Robert Lorge (R), attorney
- Herbert Kohl (D), incumbent U.S. Senator
- Rae Vogeler (G), community organizer
Predictions
| Source | Ranking | As of |
|---|---|---|
| The Cook Political Report[2] | Solid D | November 6, 2006 |
| Sabato's Crystal Ball[3] | Safe D | November 6, 2006 |
| Rothenberg Political Report[4] | Safe D | November 6, 2006 |
| Real Clear Politics[5] | Safe D | November 6, 2006 |
Polling
| Source | Date | Herb Kohl (D) |
Robert Lorge (R) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Strategic Vision (R)[6] | March 8, 2006 | 59% | 27% |
| Strategic Vision (R)[7] | April 12, 2006 | 61% | 25% |
| Strategic Vision (R)[8] | May 3, 2006 | 63% | 25% |
| Strategic Vision (R)[9] | June 8, 2006 | 65% | 25% |
| University of Wisconsin[10] | July 5, 2006 | 63% | 14% |
| Rasmussen[11] | July 20, 2006 | 60% | 27% |
| Rasmussen[12] | August 20, 2006 | 59% | 31% |
| Zogby/WSJ[13] | August 28, 2006 | 51% | 33% |
| Zogby/WSJ[14] | September 11, 2006 | 50% | 35% |
| Rasmussen[15] | September 25, 2006 | 60% | 33% |
| Rasmussen[16] | October 29, 2006 | 64% | 25% |
| University of Wisconsin[17] | October 30, 2006 | 73% | 16% |
Results
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Herb Kohl (incumbent) | 1,439,214 | 67.31% | +5.8% | |
| Republican | Robert Lorge | 630,299 | 29.48% | −7.5% | |
| Green | Rae Vogeler | 42,434 | 1.98% | n/a | |
| Independent | Ben Glatzel | 25,096 | 1.17% | n/a | |
| Other | Scattered | 1,254 | 0.06% | n/a | |
| Majority | 808,915 | 37.83% | |||
| Turnout | 2,138,297 | 50.86% | |||
| Democratic hold | |||||
Counties that flipped Republican to Democratic
- Calumet (largest city: Chilton)
- Outagamie (largest city: Appleton)
- Waupaca (largest city: New London)
- Waushara (largest city: Berlin)
- Green Lake (Largest city: Green Lake)
- Ozaukee (Largest city: Mequon)
- Washington (Largest city: West Bend)
- Waukesha (Largest city: Waukesha)
Analysis
Kohl won every county in the state. Kohl's weakest performance in the state was suburban Washington County, Wisconsin, which he won with just 49.6%. Kohl's strongest performance was in rural Menominee County, where he won with over 90% of the vote. Vogeler's best performance was in Dane County, where she came in third place with over 5%, a county where Lorge had his second weakest performance.[18]