United States House of Representatives elections in Utah, 2006

The Utah congressional elections of 2006 were held on 7 November 2006, as part of the United States general elections of 2006 with all three House seats up for election. The winners served from January 3, 2007, to January 3, 2009.

Overview

United States House of Representatives elections in Utah, 2006[1]
Party		Votes	Percentage	Seats	+/–
	Republican	292,235	51.30%	2	—
	Democratic	244,483	42.92%	1	—
	Constitution	23,467	4.12%	0	—
	Libertarian	6,167	1.08%	0	—
	Green	3,338	0.59%	0	—
Totals		569,690	100.00%	3	—

District 1

Incumbent Republican Congressman Rob Bishop won re-election to a third term over Democratic nominee Steven Olsen, Constitution Party nominee Mark Hudson, and Libertarian nominee Lynn Badler.

Utah's 1st congressional district election, 2006
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Rob Bishop (inc.)	112,546	63.06
	Democratic	Steven Olsen	57,922	32.45
	Constitution	Mark Hudson	5,539	3.10
	Libertarian	Lynn Badler	2,467	1.38
Total votes			178,474	100.00
	Republican hold

District 2

Although incumbent Jim Matheson (D) won re-election in 2004 by a margin of 13%, his district is in a heavily Republican state. The district includes the most Democratic areas in Utah, such as the liberal communities of Grand County, the large Greek communities of Carbon County, the Navajos of San Juan County, and heavily Democratic Salt Lake City. Matheson is a regular target of the GOP every election. State Representative LaVar Christensen (R) of Draper, a small affluent suburb of Salt Lake City, ran as the Republican nominee in the district. However, the most circulated daily newspaper in Utah, The Salt Lake Tribune, characterized him as too extreme for the area. For example, Christensen was one of two major sponsors of a bill that amended Utah's Constitution to ban same-sex marriage. The amendment was rejected by two-thirds of Summit County, half of Grand County, and only passed by 4% in Salt Lake County, while the state as a whole averaged 66%, with the most supportive areas to banning such marriages being located in the first and third districts, not the second. Matheson had approval ratings in the high 70s, the highest for any elected official in Utah.

Utah's 2nd congressional district election, 2006
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Jim Matheson (inc.)	133,231	59.00
	Republican	LaVar Christensen	84,234	37.30
	Constitution	W. David Perry	3,395	1.50
	Green	Bob Brister	3,338	1.48
	Libertarian	Austin Sherwood Lett	1,620	0.72
Total votes			225,818	100.00
	Democratic hold

District 3

Congressman Chris Cannon (R) has represented this district for ten years, but found himself in a competitive primary, just as he had in 2004. In a campaign that focused almost exclusively on the immigration issue, Businessman John Jacob repeatedly attacked Cannon for his support for a guest worker program. In May 2006, at the state GOP convention, Jacob surprised Cannon by winning 52 percent of the delegate ballots. "Cannon’s 48 percent showing was especially poor, given that the ballots were cast mainly by the party insiders who dominate such conventions.".^[2] The Republican primary was held on June 27, 2006. While polls showed a close race,^[3] in the June Republican primary, Cannon received 32,306 votes (55.8%) and Jacob received 25,589 votes (44.2%).

Utah's 3rd congressional district election, 2006
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Chris Cannon (inc.)	95,455	57.71
	Democratic	Christian Burridge	53,330	32.24
	Constitution	Jim Noorlander	14,533	8.79
	Libertarian	Philip Lear Hallman	2,080	1.26
Total votes			165,398	100.00
	Republican hold

See also

• United States House of Representatives elections, 2006

References

1. http://clerk.house.gov/member_info/electionInfo/2006/2006Stat.htm#44
2. http://www.cqpolitics.com/2006/06/ut_3_immigration_gops_thornies.html
3. http://www.washtimes.com/national/20060626-124024-2948r.htm