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| Turnout | 38.48% | |||||||||||||||||||
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 County results Clinton: 50–60% 60–70% 70–80% 80–90% Spencer: 40–50% 50–60% | ||||||||||||||||||||
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The2006 United States Senate election in New York was held on November 7, 2006. IncumbentDemocratic U.S. SenatorHillary Clinton won re-election to a second term in office, by a more than two-to-one margin. Clinton was challenged byRepublicanJohn Spencer, the formermayor of Yonkers. Longtime political activistHowie Hawkins of theGreen Party also ran a third-party campaign.
The election was not close, with Clinton winning 58 ofNew York's 62 counties. Clinton had a surprisingly strong performance in upstate New York, which was considered to be a tossup. Clinton's large margins in both upstate New York and inNew York City helped propel her to a landslide victory over Spencer. Clinton was sworn in for what would be her last term in the Senate serving from January 3, 2007, to January 21, 2009, when she assumed the office ofUnited States Secretary of State in theObama administration.
Hillary Clinton announced in November 2004 that she would seek a second term in the Senate, and began fundraising and campaigning. Clinton faced opposition for the Democratic party nomination from the anti-war base of her own party, that had become increasingly frustrated with her support for theIraq War.
On October 12, 2005New Paltz firefighter and activist Steven Greenfield, a formerGreen Party leader, announced he would run as a Democrat. On December 6, 2005, labor advocateJonathan Tasini announced that he would run as well,[1] running as an antiwar candidate, calling for immediate withdrawal of troops from Iraq,universal health care, expansion inMedicare benefits, the creation of Universal Voluntary Accounts for pensions, and what he termed "New Rules For the Economy", a more labor-centric as opposed to the corporate-centric approach to economic matters espoused by Clinton. Tasini was president of Economic Future Group and former president of the National Writers Union.[2] Tasini was supported by anti-war activistCindy Sheehan, who had in October said of Clinton, "I will resist her candidacy with every bit of my power and strength...I will not make the mistake of supporting another pro-war Democrat for president again."[3]
On March 31, 2006, businessman Mark Greenstein announced his run for the seat. Greenstein, endorsed by the New Democrats,[4] presented himself as a non-liberal Democrat who was campaigning to "bring the far left back to reality that Big Government is the source of most ongoing problems Democrat constituents face." He contended that Clinton was "too liberal" in her support for regulations, "too wishy-washy" on the Iraq war and on gay rights, and had lost integrity by using the Dubai Ports issue for political purposes. Greenstein challenged Clinton to sign a pledge that she would serve out her full 6 year Senate term if re-elected.[5] However, in May 2006, Greenstein endorsed Tasini and essentially dropped out of the race.[6]
On June 1, 2006, Clinton accepted the unanimous endorsement of the New York State Democratic Party's convention inBuffalo.[7] Eight days later, Greenstein dropped out of the race.[8] Tasini pressed on, submitting 40,000 signatures to the State Election Commission on July 14, far more than the 15,000 needed to force a primary. Clinton's campaign said that she would not challenge the signatures.
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Hillary Clinton (incumbent) | 640,955 | 83.68% | |
| Democratic | Jonathan B. Tasini | 124,999 | 16.32% | |
| Total votes | 765,954 | 100.00% | ||
New York Republicans originally had high hopes of mounting a serious challenge to Clinton, and derailing her expected future presidential bid.[9] However, Clinton was politically strong in the state and no major Republican entered the race, with GovernorGeorge Pataki andearly 2000 senate opponentRudy Giuliani both declining to run.[9] The two most prominent Republicans contemplating a challenge to Clinton werelawyerEd Cox (the son-in-law of former PresidentRichard M. Nixon) andWestchester CountyDistrict AttorneyJeanine Pirro.
Pirro was considered the front-runner, but her campaign had immediate difficulties. During her August 10, 2005 live televised candidacy announcement in New York City, she paused for more than thirty seconds looking for a missing part of her speech, then asked, on the air, "Do I have page 10?"[9][10] Democrats re-aired the sequence as part of aJeopardy! theme parody.[9] TheConservative Party of New York was also reluctant to embrace Pirro.[10] On August 18, 2005, another Republican candidate, former mayor ofYonkersJohn Spencer, gave a radio interview in which he attacked Pirro, calling her chances of winning theConservative Party of New York State nomination "a Chinaman's chance." Spencer later apologized.[11]
On October 14, 2005, Governor Pataki endorsed Pirro. Later that day, Cox withdrew from the race; his campaign had raised only $114,249 in contributions in the prior three months.[12]On October 18, 2005, remarks by Pirro that appeared to suggest that Democrats were indifferent to child molesters and murderers drew sharp criticism from the Clinton campaign and others.[13]
Pirro trailed Clinton badly in fund-raising and in polls; her campaign had failed to gain traction.[10] Under pressure from state party officials, she dropped out of the race on December 21, 2005, to run forNew York State Attorney General instead, leaving the Republicans without a well-known candidate.[10][14] The announcement was timed to coincide with the2005 New York City transit strike, so as to draw minimal attention to the Republicans' difficulties.[10] Pirro did not mention her campaign woes, but instead said, "I have concluded that my head and my heart remain in law enforcement, and that my public service should continue to be in that arena."[10]
Declared Republican candidates now included Spencer andK. T. McFarland, who was a Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Public Affairs under PresidentRonald Reagan.[15] Cox considered reentering the race but did not. Politically, Spencer was generally opposed to abortion, against gun control, and a supporter of tighter border security.[16] He supported theGeorge W. Bush administration and its policies, including thewar in Iraq. Spencer came out in favor of New York's Court of Appeals denying same-sex marriage to 42 gay and lesbian couples who challenged that denial as unconstitutional. Spencer said that marriage equality for same-sex couples equated to "special rights for gays." Spencer was endorsed by Republican officials such as CongressmanVito Fossella. In contrast, McFarland waspro-choice.[9] However, McFarland ran into trouble with a March comment that appeared to allege that the Clinton campaign had been flying helicopters low over herSouthampton, New York house and spying on her; she later said she had been joking, but the episode upset her.[9] In May, McFarland's campaign managerEd Rollins made personal life charges against Spencer, to which the latter responded, "Shame on you."[9]
On May 31, 2006, Spencer won the endorsement of the state Republican Party organization but did not achieve the threshold of 75 percent he needed to prevent McFarland from gaining an automatic position on the primary ballot. He received 63 percent and would thus have to face McFarland in the September 12 Republican primary. Spencer called on McFarland to step aside after the vote, but McFarland said she would not.[17] In a June 2006 radio ad, Spencer attacked national Republicans for not funding his campaign. On August 22, McFarland announced that she would be suspending her campaign until further notice after her daughter was caught shoplifting.[18]
On September 12, 2006, Spencer defeated McFarland in the Republican Primary, winning 61 to 39 percent of the vote.[19] Republican turnout was less than 6%, the lowest level in more than 30 years.[19] Spencer would also gain the Conservative Party line.[20]
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | John Spencer | 114,914 | 60.79% | |
| Republican | K.T. McFarland | 74,108 | 39.21% | |
| Total votes | 189,022 | 100.00% | ||
Lester "Beetlejuice" Green, a frequent guest onThe Howard Stern Show announced a mock campaign via video for the "2008 New York Senate Election," though there was no Senate election in New York in 2008. His announcement video listed his stances onabortion and tax cuts. Green was not listed on any ballot.
Clinton spent $36 million for her re-election, more than any other candidate for Senate in the 2006 elections.Polls during the campaign generally showed Clinton with a 20-point lead or better over Spencer, with none of the third-party candidates — Hawkins,Bill Van Auken of theSocialist Equality Party, and Jeff Russell of theLibertarian Party — showing strength.
During the campaign, Spencer also disparaged Clinton's looks,[22] saying "You ever see a picture of her back then? Whew." and "I don't know why Bill married her." The Daily News also reported that Spencer said Clinton had undergone "millions of dollars of work -- plastic surgery" to help improve her appearance. "She looks good now," Smith quoted Spencer as saying.
Howard Wolfson, a Clinton political adviser, said the story showed that Spencer "is unfit for the U.S. Senate." "I'm not sure what's worse: that Mr. Spencer made these insulting comments or that, instead of owning up and apologizing for them, he is lying about them," Wolfson said in a written statement to CNN. "Either way, it's clear that he is unfit for the U.S. Senate." Wolfson also denied that the senator has ever had plastic surgery.
On November 7, 2006, Clinton won in a landslide, garnering 67% of the vote to Spencer's 31%.
| No. | Date | Host | Moderator | Link | Democratic | Republican |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Key: P Participant A Absent N Not invited I Invited W Withdrawn | ||||||
| Hillary Clinton | John Spencer | |||||
| 1 | Oct. 20, 2006 | NY1 | Dominic Carter | C-SPAN | P | P |
| 1 | Oct. 22, 2006 | WABC-TV | Bill Ritter | C-SPAN | P | P |
| Source | Ranking | As of |
|---|---|---|
| The Cook Political Report[23] | Solid D | November 6, 2006 |
| Sabato's Crystal Ball[24] | Safe D | November 6, 2006 |
| Rothenberg Political Report[25] | Safe D | November 6, 2006 |
| Real Clear Politics[26] | Safe D | November 6, 2006 |
| Source | Date | Clinton (D) | Spencer (R) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Marist College[27] | September 30, 2005 | 62% | 31% |
| Strategic Vision (R)[28] | October 27, 2005 | 66% | 19% |
| Strategic Vision (R)[29] | December 8, 2005 | 67% | 20% |
| Quinnipiac[30] | January 20, 2006 | 60% | 30% |
| Siena Research Institute[31] | January 30, 2006 | 58% | 31% |
| Marist College[32] | January 30, 2006 | 62% | 33% |
| Strategic Vision (R)[33] | March 2, 2006 | 63% | 24% |
| Quinnipiac[34] | March 30, 2006 | 60% | 30% |
| Zogby International[35] | April 4, 2006 | 54% | 33% |
| Strategic Vision (R)[36] | April 28, 2006 | 58% | 24% |
| Siena Research Institute[37] | May 4, 2006 | 58% | 33% |
| Marist College[38] | May 10, 2006 | 63% | 33% |
| Quinnipiac[39] | May 18, 2006 | 63% | 27% |
| Field Research Corporation[40] | June 5, 2006 | 59% | 28% |
| Siena Research Institute[41] | June 19, 2006 | 58% | 32% |
| Quinnipiac[42] | June 22, 2006 | 57% | 33% |
| Marist College[43] | July 19, 2006 | 61% | 34% |
| Rasmussen[44] | August 5, 2006 | 61% | 31% |
| Siena Research Institute[45] | August 7, 2006 | 58% | 32% |
| Quinnipiac[46] | August 21, 2006 | 62% | 26% |
| Marist College[47] | August 23, 2006 | 60% | 35% |
| Blue & Weprin[48] | September 7, 2006 | 60% | 33% |
| Marist College[49] | September 8, 2006 | 62% | 32% |
| Siena Research Institute[50] | September 18, 2006 | 62% | 33% |
| New York Times/CBS News[51] | September 24–27, 2006 | 59% | 27% |
| Quinnipiac[52] | October 5, 2006 | 66% | 31% |
| Zogby[53] | October 9, 2006 | 53% | 28% |
| Siena Research Institute[54] | October 16, 2006 | 59% | 32% |
| Quinnipiac[55] | October 19, 2006 | 65% | 30% |
| Marist College[56] | October 20, 2006 | 67% | 30% |
| Siena Research Institute[57] | November 3, 2006 | 65% | 28% |
| Marist College[58] | November 3, 2006 | 65% | 32% |
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Hillary Clinton | 2,698,931 | 60.11% | ||
| Independence | Hillary Clinton | 160,705 | 3.58% | ||
| Working Families | Hillary Clinton | 148,792 | 3.31% | ||
| total | Hillary Clinton (incumbent) | 3,008,428 | 67.00% | +11.73% | |
| Republican | John Spencer | 1,212,902 | 27.01% | ||
| Conservative | John Spencer | 179,287 | 3.99% | ||
| total | John Spencer | 1,392,189 | 31.01% | −12.00% | |
| Green | Howie Hawkins | 55,469 | 1.24% | +0.64% | |
| Libertarian | Jeff Russell | 20,996 | 0.47% | +0.40% | |
| Socialist Workers | Roger Calero | 6,967 | 0.16% | +0.12% | |
| Socialist Equality | Bill Van Auken | 6,004 | 0.13% | n/a | |
| Majority | 1,616,239 | 36.00% | +23.74% | ||
| Turnout | 4,490,053 | 38.48% | |||
| Democratichold | Swing | +11.9 | |||
Clinton's victory margin over her Republican opponent (67%–31%) was a significant gain over her showing in the 2000 senate race againstRick Lazio (55%–43%). She carried all but four of New York's sixty-two counties.[60] Clinton's 2006 margin did not quite equal the percentage received byEliot Spitzer in the concurrent gubernatorial race (69%%–29%) nor byCharles Schumer in his 2004 Senate re-election campaign (71%%–24%), both of which had also been against little-known Republican opponents.
Jeanine Pirro would go on to get the Republican nomination forNew York State Attorney General, but lost in the2006 attorney general election to DemocratAndrew Cuomo.[61]
Clinton was criticized by some Democrats for spending too much in a one-sided contest, while some supporters were concerned she did not leave more funds for a potential presidential bid in 2008.[62] In the following months she transferred $10 million of her Senate funds towardher 2008 presidential campaign.[63]
Following her Attorney General loss, Pirro left electoral politics and became a television judge and political commentator. Spencer left politics altogether. Tasaniran for a House seat in 2010 but was not competitive. Clinton fell short in her 2008 presidential nomination bid, served asU.S. Secretary of State for four years, and then ran again in the2016 United States presidential election but suffered a general election loss.
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