2006 United States House of Representatives elections in Washington

Elections were held in Washington state in 2006 for seats in the United States House of Representatives. Of the nine congressional districts, six were won by Democrats and three by Republicans, with the Democrats taking 64% of the vote.

Overview

United States House of Representatives elections in Washington, 2006
Party		Votes	Percentage	Seats	+/–
	Democratic	1,320,238	64.27%	6	—
	Republican	721,862	35.14%	3	—
	Independents	11,956	0.58%	0	—
Totals		2,054,056	100.00%	2	—

District 1

File:WA01 109.png

Incumbent Democratic Congressman Jay Inslee easily dispatched Republican challenger Larry Ishmael to win a sixth term.

Endorsements

Washington's 1st congressional district election, 2006

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
		Jay Inslee (inc.)		67.72
		Larry Ishmael		32.28
Total votes				100.00
	hold

District 2

File:WA02 109.png

Democratic incumbent Congressman Rick Larsen defeated his Republican opponent, U.S. Navy veteran Doug Roulstone by a solid margin.

Endorsements

Washington's 2nd congressional district election, 2006

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
		Rick Larsen (inc.)		64.16
		Doug Roulstone		35.84
Total votes				100.00
	hold

District 3

File:WA03 109.png

In a slight improvement over his 2004 performance, incumbent Democratic Congressman Brian Baird easily won a fifth term over Republican challenger Michael Messmore.

Endorsements

Washington's 3rd congressional district election, 2006

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
		Brian Baird (inc.)		63.12
		Michael Messore		36.88
Total votes				100.00
	hold

District 4

File:WA04 109.png

In his bid for a seventh term, Republican incumbent Congressman Doc Hastings beat back a spirited challenge from Democratic nominee Richard Wright. Though Hastings eventually beat Wright by a fairly solid margin, it was not the kind of landslide that Hastings usually experienced in this strongly conservative district based in Central Washington.

Washington's 4th congressional district election, 2006

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
		Doc Hastings (inc.)		59.93
		Richard Wright		40.07
Total votes				100.00
	hold

District 5

File:WA05 109.png

Like neighboring Congressman Hastings, incumbent Republican Congresswoman Cathy McMorris Rodgers faced a surprisingly strong challenge from Democratic nominee Peter J. Goldmark in her conservative, Eastern Washington district. Though Rodgers ultimately edged Goldmark out by a comfortable margin, the race got close enough for CQ Politics to change its rating on the race to Republican Favored from Safe Republican.

Washington's 5th congressional district election, 2006)

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
		Cathy McMorris Rodgers (inc.)		56.40
		Peter J. Goldmark		43.60
Total votes				100.00
	hold

District 6

File:WA06 109.png

Long-serving Democratic incumbent Norm Dicks, a high-ranking member on the Appropriations Committee did not face a credible challenge to his bid for a sixteenth term from conservative activist Doug Cloud in this liberal, Kitsap Peninsula-based district.

Endorsements

Washington's 6th congressional district election, 2006

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
		Norm Dicks (inc.)		70.60
		Doug Cloud		29.40
Total votes				100.00
	hold

District 7

File:WA07 109.png

In his bid for a ninth term, incumbent Democratic Congressman Jim McDermott easily beat out Republican nominee Steve Beren and independent Linnea S. Noreen in this very liberal, Seattle-based district.

Endorsements

Washington's 7th congressional district election, 2006

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
		Jim McDermott (inc.)		79.41
		Steve Beren		15.73
		Linnea S. Noreen		4.86
Total votes				100.00
	hold

District 8

File:United States House of Representatives, Washington District 8 map.png

In 2004, then-King County Sheriff Dave Reichert won his first campaign for the United States House of Representatives by a five-point margin. 2006 proved to be just as tough of a year for Reichert. Facing former Microsoft executive Darcy Burner for the first time, Reichert faced a grueling battle for re-election. Polls taken in October showed the two candidates to be about even and the two major newspapers in the area—the Seattle Post-Intelligencer and the Seattle Times—split their endorsements: The Post-Intelligencer endorsed Burner while the Times supported Reichert. Ultimately, though, a few weeks after election day, it became evident that Reichert had beaten out Burner and had won a second term.

Endorsements

Washington's 8th congressional district election, 2006)

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
		Dave Reichert (inc.)		51.46
		Darcy Burner		48.54
Total votes				100.00
	hold

District 9

File:WA09 109.png

Incumbent Democratic Congressman Adam Smith easily beat out Republican candidate Steven Cofchin for a sixth term in this Western Washington district based in the Puget Sound.

Endorsements

Washington's 9th congressional district election, 2006

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
		Adam Smith (inc.)		65.72
		Steven C. Cofchin		34.28
Total votes				100.00
	hold