2006 United States Senate election in Wisconsin

2006 United States Senate election in Wisconsin

November 7, 2006

Nominee Herb Kohl Robert Lorge Party Democratic Republican Popular vote 1,439,214 630,299 Percentage 67.31% 29.48%

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

U.S. senator before election Herb Kohl Democratic Elected U.S. Senator Herb Kohl Democratic

The 2006 United States Senate election in Wisconsin was held on November 7, 2006. Incumbent Democratic U.S. Senator Herb Kohl won re-election to his fourth and final term in a landslide. As of 2026, this is the most recent statewide election where any candidate won every county in Wisconsin.

Democratic primary

Candidates

• Herb Kohl, incumbent U.S. senator
• Ben Masel

Results

Democratic primary 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

Republican primary 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

• Herbert Kohl (D), incumbent U.S. senator
• Robert Lorge (R), attorney
• Rae Vogeler (G), community organizer

Predictions

Source	Ranking	As of
The Cook Political Report	Solid D	November 6, 2006
Sabato's Crystal Ball	Safe D	November 6, 2006
Rothenberg Political Report	Safe D	November 6, 2006
Real Clear Politics	Safe D	November 6, 2006

Polling

Source	Date	Herb Kohl (D)	Robert Lorge (R)
Strategic Vision (R)	March 8, 2006	59%	27%
Strategic Vision (R)	April 12, 2006	61%	25%
Strategic Vision (R)	May 3, 2006	63%	25%
Strategic Vision (R)	June 8, 2006	65%	25%
University of Wisconsin	July 5, 2006	63%	14%
Rasmussen	July 20, 2006	60%	27%
Rasmussen	August 20, 2006	59%	31%
Zogby/WSJ	August 28, 2006	51%	33%
Zogby/WSJ	September 11, 2006	50%	35%
Rasmussen	September 25, 2006	60%	33%
Rasmussen	October 29, 2006	64%	25%
University of Wisconsin	October 30, 2006	73%	16%

Results

2006 United States Senate election, Wisconsin

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.

See also

• 2006 United States Senate elections
• 2006 Wisconsin gubernatorial election

External links

Official campaign websites (archived)

• Kohl's Campaign Site
• Lorge's Campaign Site
• Vogeler's Campaign Site