2006 United States Senate election in Ohio

The 2006 United States Senate election in Ohio was held November 7, 2006. Incumbent Republican Mike DeWine ran for re-election, but was defeated by Democratic congressman Sherrod Brown.^[1] As of 2025, this is the most recent time a Democratic Senate candidate in Ohio won a race by double digits. This was also the last time an incumbent Senator lost reelection in Ohio until Brown was defeated in 2024 by Bernie Moreno.

2006 United States Senate election in Ohio

← 2000 November 7, 2006 2012 →
Turnout	53.25% (registered voters)
Nominee Sherrod Brown Mike DeWine Party Democratic Republican Popular vote 2,257,369 1,761,037 Percentage 56.16% 43.82%
County results Congressional district results Brown:      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%      80–90% DeWine:      50–60%      60–70%
U.S. senator before election Mike DeWine Republican Elected U.S. Senator Sherrod Brown Democratic

To date, this is Mike DeWine's second general election loss of his political career, following his 1992 loss to John Glenn. Following his defeat, DeWine would later serve as Ohio's State Attorney General from 2011 to 2019 and has been the state's governor since 2019.

Background

The incumbent Republican Senator R. Michael DeWine had approval ratings at 38%,^[2] making him the second most unpopular U.S. Senator behind Pennsylvania Republican Rick Santorum, who was also up for reelection in 2006. Pre-election stories in the U.S. media suggested that the national Republican Party may have given up on saving Senator DeWine's Senate seat before election day.^{[citation needed]} Sherrod Brown, former Ohio Secretary of State and U.S. Representative from Ohio's 13th district, easily won the Democratic nomination over Merrill Keiser Jr.

Republican primary

Candidates

• Mike DeWine, incumbent U.S. Senator since 1995
• David Smith, candidate for U.S. Representative from Ohio's 2nd congressional district in 2005
• William G. Pierce, engineer

Campaign

Both candidates campaigned as conservative alternatives to DeWine, citing DeWine's support for gun control measures and his role as one of the Republican members of the Gang of 14 which was a group of Republicans who compromised with Democrats in a dispute about judicial appointments.

Results

Republican primary results^[3]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Mike DeWine (incumbent)	555,962	71.82%
	Republican	David Smith	112,427	14.52%
	Republican	William Pierce	105,734	13.66%
Total votes			774,123	100.00%

Democratic primary

Candidates

Declared

• Sherrod Brown, U.S. Representative from Lorain
• Merrill Keiser Jr., trucking business owner/operator and Vietnam War veteran

Withdrew

• Paul Hackett, Iraq War veteran

Results

Democratic primary results

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Sherrod Brown	583,776	78.11%
	Democratic	Merrill Keiser Jr.	163,628	21.89%
Total votes			747,404	100.00%

General election

Candidates

• Sherrod Brown, U.S. Representative from Lorain (Democratic)
• Mike DeWine, incumbent Senator since 1995 (Republican)
• Richard Duncan (Independent)

Campaign

The Republican Party, which was facing multiple challenges to their Senate majority, was initially determined to assist DeWine in his competitive race while the National Democratic party supported Brown in hopes of taking control of the Senate. John McClelland, a spokesman for the Ohio Republican Party said, "It's vitally important to the Republican Party as a whole, so I think that's why you see the president coming to Ohio to support Mike DeWine." Phil Singer, a spokesman for the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee said, "Mike DeWine Senior is in for the fight of his life, make no mistake about it."^[4]

On July 14, 2006, DeWine's campaign began airing TV commercials depicting a smoking World Trade Center. "The senator was notified... by a reporter at U.S. News & World Report that the image of the burning Twin Towers could not have depicted the actual event because the smoke was blowing the wrong way."^[5][6] DeWine's campaign admitted that the video was actually a still photo of the World Trade Center with smoke digitally added.^[5] He also was criticized for using an emotionally charged image to attack his challenger.^[6]

Another of DeWine's ads suggested that opponent Sherrod Brown didn't pay his taxes for thirteen years. This claim led to the Associated Press reporting on October 19 that, "Several Ohio television stations have stopped airing a Republican ad because state documents contradict the ad's accusation that Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Sherrod Brown didn't pay an unemployment tax bill for 13 years." Brown produced a commercial citing these facts.^[7] DeWine's ads were changed to state only that he had failed to pay his unemployment taxes until legal action was taken against him.

On October 16, 2006, The New York Times reported that top national Republicans were moving resources away from the Ohio Senate race, as they had determined that DeWine was likely to lose and were seeking to spend money on races where Republican candidates were seen as having a better chance of winning.^[8]

Debates

• Complete video of debate, October 1, 2006
• Complete video of debate, October 13, 2006
• Complete video of debate, October 19, 2006
• Complete video of debate, October 27, 2006

Fundraising

During the election cycle, DeWine raised $14.9 million and spent $15.5 million.^[9] Brown raised $8.9 million and spent $10.8 million.^[10]

Predictions

Source	Ranking	As of
The Cook Political Report[11]	Lean D (flip)	November 6, 2006
Sabato's Crystal Ball[12]	Likely D (flip)	November 6, 2006
Rothenberg Political Report[13]	Likely D (flip)	November 6, 2006
Real Clear Politics[14]	Lean D (flip)	November 6, 2006

Polling

Source	Date	Sherrod Brown (D)	Mike DeWine (R)
Zogby[15]	October 31, 2005	40%	37%
Rasmussen[16]	December 2, 2005	41%	43%
Rasmussen[17]	January 7, 2006	40%	45%
Rasmussen[18]	February 18, 2006	37%	46%
Rasmussen[19]	March 31, 2006	42%	45%
Zogby/WSJ[20]	March 31, 2006	46%	37%
Rasmussen[21]	April 24, 2006	41%	43%
Mason-Dixon[22]	April 26, 2006	36%	47%
Rasmussen[23]	May 15, 2006	44%	41%
University of Cincinnati[24]	May 25, 2006	42%	52%
Survey USA[25]	June 13, 2006	48%	39%
Zogby/WSJ[20]	June 21, 2006	47%	34%
Rasmussen[26]	June 27, 2006	39%	46%
Columbus Dispatch[27]	July 23, 2006	45%	37%
Zogby/WSJ[20]	July 24, 2006	45%	37%
Rasmussen[28]	August 1, 2006	44%	42%
SurveyUSA[29]	August 5, 2006	49%	41%
Rasmussen[30]	August 26, 2006	45%	42%
Zogby/WSJ[31]	August 28, 2006	47%	39%
Gallup[32]	September 5, 2006	46%	40%
Zogby/WSJ[31]	September 11, 2006	45%	41%
Rasmussen[33]	September 13, 2006	47%	41%
Quinnipiac[34]	September 20, 2006	45%	44%
University of Cincinnati[35]	September 20, 2006	51%	47%
SurveyUSA[36]	September 21, 2006	52%	42%
Columbus Dispatch[37]	September 24, 2006	47%	42%
Zogby/WSJ[31]	September 28, 2006	45%	41%
University of Akron[38]	September 29, 2006	42%	42%
Mason-Dixon[39]	October 1, 2006	45%	43%
Reuters/Zogby[40]	October 5, 2006	41%	41%
Rasmussen[41]	October 5, 2006	49%	41%
SurveyUSA[42]	October 12, 2006	54%	40%
Rasmussen[43]	October 13, 2006	48%	42%
Quinnipiac[44]	October 17, 2006	53%	41%
University of Cincinnati[45]	October 17, 2006	52%	45%
CBS News/New York Times[46]	October 17, 2006	49%	35%
Mason-Dixon/MSNBC[47]	October 24, 2006	48%	40%
Los Angeles Times/Bloomberg[48]	October 24, 2006	47%	39%
Rasmussen[49]	October 26, 2006	53%	41%
SurveyUSA[50]	October 26, 2006	57%	37%
Opinion Consultants[51]	October 22–30, 2006	51%	44%
CNN/Opinion Research Corporation[52]	October 31, 2006	54%	43%
Reuters/Zogby International[53]	November 2, 2006	56%	42%
Rasmussen[54]	November 4, 2006	54%	43%
Mason-Dixon/MSNBC-McClatchy[55]	November 5, 2006	50%	44%
Columbus Dispatch[56]	November 5, 2006	62%	38%
University of Cincinnati Ohio Poll[57]	November 6, 2006	56%	44%
SurveyUSA[58]	November 6, 2006	54%	42%

Results

Brown was declared the winner right when the polls closed in Ohio at 7:30. DeWine had the second worst performance of a Republican incumbent in 2006; only Pennsylvania Senator Rick Santorum had a worse performance. While DeWine was able to win rural counties in western Ohio, Brown managed to win most eastern Ohio counties, especially in heavily populated areas. DeWine's narrow 2,000 vote victory in Hamilton County which is home to Cincinnati, came nowhere close to making a dent in Brown's lead. Brown would go on to be reelected to a second term in 2012, and a third term in 2018. Also in 2018, both Brown and DeWine were on the ballot but this time for different races; DeWine would be elected Governor of Ohio. In 2024, Brown would be defeated for reelection.

2006 United States Senate election in Ohio

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Democratic	Sherrod Brown	2,257,369	56.16%	+20.0
	Republican	Mike DeWine (incumbent)	1,761,037	43.82%	−15.8
	Independent	Richard Duncan	830	0.02%	N/A
Total votes			4,019,236	100.00%	N/A
	Democratic gain from Republican

By county

County	Sherrod Brown Democratic		Mike DeWine Republican		Richard Duncan Independent		Margin		Total votes cast
	#	%	#	%	#	%	#	%
Adams	3,903	45.54%	4,667	54.46%	0	0.00%	-764	-8.92%	8,570
Allen	16,597	45.95%	19,521	54.04%	5	0.01%	-2,924	-8.09%	36,123
Ashland	8,890	46.31%	10,299	53.65%	9	0.04%	-1,409	-7.34%	19,198
Ashtabula	21,151	61.79%	13,078	38.21%	1	0.00%	8,073	23.58%	34,230
Athens	13,988	70.55%	5,839	29.45%	0	0.00%	8,149	41.10%	19,827
Auglaize	6,845	40.28%	10,142	59.68%	8	0.04%	-3,297	-19.40%	16,995
Belmont	15,490	65.76%	8,056	34.20%	10	0.04%	7,434	31.56%	23,556
Brown	6,850	48.57%	7,247	51.38%	7	0.05%	-397	-2.81%	14,104
Butler	49,443	42.88%	65,854	57.11%	5	0.01%	-16,411	-14.23%	115,302
Carroll	6,143	55.58%	4,908	44.40%	2	0.02%	1,235	11.18%	11,053
Champaign	6,809	47.26%	7,598	52.73%	2	0.01%	-789	-5.47%	14,409
Clark	26,400	52.73%	23,656	47.25%	6	0.02%	2,744	5.48%	50,062
Clermont	25,333	39.00%	39,588	60.95%	34	0.05%	-14,255	-21.95%	64,955
Clinton	5,005	39.43%	7,687	60.56%	1	0.01%	-2,682	-21.13%	12,693
Columbiana	21,802	59.20%	15,025	40.80%	2	0.00%	6,777	18.40%	36,829
Coshocton	7,024	52.55%	6,340	47.43%	2	0.02%	684	5.12%	13,366
Crawford	8,227	49.31%	8,455	50.68%	1	0.01%	-228	-1.37%	16,683
Cuyahoga	319,568	70.57%	133,235	29.42%	29	0.01%	186,333	41.15%	452,832
Darke	8,267	40.95%	11,911	59.00%	9	0.05%	-3,644	-18.05%	20,187
Defiance	6,624	48.68%	6,977	51.28%	6	0.04%	-353	-2.60%	13,607
Delaware	27,109	41.87%	37,624	58.11%	17	0.02%	-10,515	-16.24%	64,750
Erie	19,372	63.74%	11,018	36.25%	1	0.01%	8,354	27.49%	30,391
Fairfield	25,283	46.99%	28,506	52.98%	12	0.03%	-3,223	-5.99%	53,801
Fayette	3,793	44.91%	4,651	55.07%	2	0.02%	-858	-10.16%	8,446
Franklin	217,961	58.57%	154,098	41.41%	51	0.02%	63,863	17.16%	372,110
Fulton	7,936	49.53%	8,079	50.43%	6	0.04%	-143	-0.90%	16,021
Gallia	4,803	47.75%	5,255	52.25%	0	0.00%	-452	-4.50%	10,058
Geauga	19,903	50.29%	19,653	49.66%	17	0.05%	250	0.63%	39,573
Greene	24,415	41.18%	34,797	58.69%	76	0.13%	-10,382	-17.51%	59,288
Guernsey	7,334	55.40%	5,905	44.60%	0	0.00%	1,429	10.80%	13,239
Hamilton	142,134	49.63%	144,167	50.34%	96	0.03%	-2,033	-0.71%	286,397
Hancock	10,498	40.97%	15,121	59.02%	3	0.01%	-4,623	-18.05%	25,622
Hardin	4,779	49.86%	4,803	50.11%	2	0.03%	-24	-0.25%	9,584
Harrison	3,530	59.02%	2,450	40.96%	1	0.02%	1,080	18.06%	5,981
Henry	5,354	47.12%	6,007	52.86%	2	0.02%	-653	-5.74%	11,363
Highland	5,674	43.71%	7,297	56.21%	10	0.08%	-1,623	-12.50%	12,981
Hocking	5,664	58.22%	4,062	41.75%	3	0.03%	1,602	16.47%	9,729
Holmes	2,810	34.89%	5,241	65.07%	4	0.04%	-2,431	-30.18%	8,055
Huron	10,234	54.06%	8,694	45.93%	2	0.01%	1,540	8.13%	18,930
Jackson	5,453	53.00%	4,833	46.98%	2	0.02%	620	6.02%	10,288
Jefferson	15,673	61.08%	9,988	38.92%	0	0.00%	5,685	22.16%	25,661
Knox	9,641	46.62%	11,036	53.37%	1	0.01%	-1,395	-6.75%	20,678
Lake	50,649	57.13%	37,988	42.85%	15	0.02%	12,661	14.28%	88,652
Lawrence	10,561	54.22%	8,916	45.78%	0	0.00%	1,645	8.44%	19,477
Licking	28,599	48.54%	30,312	51.44%	12	0.02%	-1,713	-2.90%	58,923
Logan	6,909	42.62%	9,297	57.35%	4	0.03%	-2,388	-14.73%	16,210
Lorain	67,429	66.39%	34,129	33.60%	5	0.01%	33,300	32.79%	101,563
Lucas	94,630	66.50%	47,659	33.49%	15	0.01%	46,971	33.01%	142,304
Madison	6,414	47.41%	7,110	52.55%	5	0.04%	-696	-5.14%	13,529
Mahoning	69,664	73.47%	25,151	26.53%	0	0.00%	44,513	46.94%	94,815
Marion	11,078	51.28%	10,526	48.72%	0	0.00%	552	2.56%	21,604
Medina	36,386	55.48%	29,186	44.50%	11	0.02%	7,200	10.98%	65,583
Meigs	3,990	51.42%	3,769	48.58%	0	0.00%	221	2.84%	7,759
Mercer	5,413	34.85%	10,118	65.14%	1	0.01%	-4,705	-30.29%	15,532
Miami	15,734	42.48%	21,299	57.50%	6	0.02%	-5,565	-15.02%	37,039
Monroe	4,131	68.09%	1,935	31.89%	1	0.02%	2,196	36.20%	6,067
Montgomery	100,491	53.22%	88,322	46.77%	23	0.01%	12,169	6.45%	188,836
Morgan	2,955	53.88%	2,523	46.01%	6	0.11%	432	7.87%	5,484
Morrow	5,976	47.88%	6,499	52.07%	6	0.05%	-523	-4.19%	12,481
Muskingum	15,664	55.55%	12,534	44.45%	2	0.00%	3,130	11.10%	28,200
Noble	2,611	50.50%	2,559	49.50%	0	0.00%	52	1.00%	5,170
Ottawa	10,548	60.20%	6,972	39.79%	1	0.01%	3,576	20.41%	17,521
Paulding	3,556	47.21%	3,976	52.78%	1	0.01%	-420	-5.57%	7,533
Perry	6,627	59.23%	4,555	40.71%	7	0.06%	2,072	18.52%	11,189
Pickaway	8,858	49.44%	9,059	50.56%	0	0.00%	-201	-1.12%	17,917
Pike	5,845	60.60%	3,798	39.38%	2	0.02%	2,047	21.22%	9,645
Portage	34,576	63.23%	20,075	36.71%	34	0.06%	14,501	26.52%	54,685
Preble	7,221	45.98%	8,436	53.72%	46	0.30%	-1,215	-7.74%	15,703
Putnam	5,600	39.60%	8,539	60.38%	2	0.02%	-2,939	-20.78%	14,141
Richland	24,431	53.24%	21,451	46.75%	7	0.01%	2,980	6.49%	45,889
Ross	13,061	55.42%	10,501	44.56%	4	0.02%	2,560	10.86%	23,566
Sandusky	12,899	56.37%	9,983	43.63%	0	0.00%	2,916	12.74%	22,882
Scioto	15,866	60.62%	10,308	39.38%	0	0.00%	5,558	21.24%	26,174
Seneca	10,742	53.48%	9,343	46.51%	1	0.01%	1,399	6.97%	20,086
Shelby	7,122	41.34%	10,101	58.64%	3	0.02%	-2,979	-17.30%	17,226
Stark	79,900	57.37%	59,353	42.62%	11	0.01%	20,547	14.75%	139,264
Summit	126,776	63.57%	72,559	36.39%	81	0.04%	54,217	27.18%	199,416
Trumbull	58,586	73.12%	21,520	26.86%	18	0.02%	37,066	46.26%	80,124
Tuscarawas	17,360	55.31%	14,024	44.68%	1	0.01%	3,336	10.63%	31,385
Union	6,881	40.85%	9,950	59.07%	12	0.08%	-3,069	-18.22%	16,843
Van Wert	4,177	40.09%	6,239	59.88%	4	0.03%	-2,062	-19.79%	10,420
Vinton	2,484	55.38%	2,001	44.62%	0	0.00%	483	10.76%	4,485
Warren	25,102	36.54%	43,588	63.45%	8	0.01%	-18,486	-26.91%	68,698
Washington	11,631	51.08%	11,140	48.92%	0	0.00%	491	2.16%	22,771
Wayne	18,299	47.79%	19,985	52.19%	9	0.02%	-1,686	-4.40%	38,293
Williams	6,438	49.57%	6,543	50.38%	7	0.05%	-105	-0.81%	12,988
Wood	25,875	56.85%	19,637	43.14%	3	0.01%	6,238	13.71%	45,515
Wyandot	3,912	48.17%	4,201	51.72%	9	0.11%	-289	-3.55%	8,122
Totals	2,257,369	56.16%	1,761,037	43.82%	830	0.02%	496,332	12.34%	4,019,236

Counties that flipped from Republican to Democratic

• Harrison (Largest city: Cadiz)
• Hocking (Largest city: Logan)
• Jackson (Largest city: Jackson)
• Lawrence (Largest city: Ironton)
• Noble (Largest city: Caldwell)
• Vinton (Largest city: McArthur)
• Seneca (Largest city: Tiffin)
• Huron (Largest city: Norwalk)
• Columbiana (Largest city: Salem)
• Carroll (Largest city: Carrollton)
• Tuscarawas (largest city: New Philadelphia)
• Guernsey (Largest city: Cambridge)
• Coshocton (Largest city: Coshocton)
• Geauga (Largest city: Chardon)
• Medina (Largest city: Medina)
• Morgan (Largest city: McConnelsville)
• Washington (Largest city: Marietta)
• Muskingum (Largest city: Zanesville)
• Perry (Largest city: New Lexington)
• Hocking (Largest city: Logan)
• Jackson (Largest city: Jackson)
• Lawrence (Largest city: Ironton)
• Noble (Largest city: Caldwell)
• Vinton (Largest city: McArthur)
• Seneca (Largest city: Tiffin)
• Huron (Largest city: Norwalk)
• Columbiana (Largest city: Salem)
• Carroll (Largest city: Carrollton)
• Tuscarawas (largest city: New Philadelphia)
• Guernsey (Largest city: Cambridge)
• Coshocton (Largest city: Coshocton)
• Geauga (Largest city: Chardon)
• Medina (Largest city: Medina)
• Morgan (Largest city: McConnelsville)
• Washington (Largest city: Marietta)
• Muskingum (Largest city: Zanesville)
• Perry (Largest city: New Lexington)
• Pike (Largest city: Waverly)
• Ross (Largest city: Chillicothe)
• Scioto (Largest city: Portsmouth)
• Jefferson (largest city: Steubenville)
• Sandusky (Largest city: Fremont)
• Clark (largest municipality: Springfield)
• Stark (largest city: Canton)
• Athens (Largest city: Athens)
• Montgomery (largest city: Dayton)
• Franklin (Largest city: Columbus)
• Portage (largest city: Kent)
• Ashtabula (largest city: Ashtabula)
• Summit (Largest city: Akron)
• Lake (Largest city: Mentor)
• Lorain (largest municipality: Lorain)
• Erie (largest city: Sandusky)
• Cuyahoga (Largest city: Cleveland)
• Lucas (Largest city: Toledo)
• Ottawa (Largest city: Port Clinton)
• Wood (Largest city: Bowling Green)

Counties that flipped from Democratic to Republican

• Madison (Largest city: London)

By congressional district

Sherrod Brown won 14 of 18 congressional districts, including seven districts which elected Republicans to the House.^[59]

District	Brown	DeWine	Representative
1st	51.8%	48.2%	Steve Chabot
2nd	43.2%	56.8%
			Jean Schmidt
3rd	49.5%	50.5%	Mike Turner
4th	46.8%	53.2%	Mike Oxley (109th Congress)
			Jim Jordan (110th Congress)
5th	50.9%	49.1%	Paul Gillmor
6th	60.0%	40.0%	Ted Strickland (109th Congress)
			Charlie Wilson (110th Congress)
7th	51.4%	48.6%	Dave Hobson
8th	42.0%	56.0%	John Boehner
9th	65.7%	34.3%	Marcy Kaptur
10th	65.5%	34.5%	Dennis Kucinich
11th	82.2%	17.8%	Stephanie Tubbs Jones
12th	52.5%	47.5%	Pat Tiberi
13th	63.9%	36.1%	Sherrod Brown (109th Congress)
			Betty Sutton (110th Congress)
14th	56.2%	43.8%	Steve LaTourette
15th	55.0%	45.0%	Deborah Pryce
16th	54.3%	45.7%	Ralph Regula
17th	72.4%	27.6%	Tim Ryan
18th	53.9%	46.1%	Bob Ney (109th Congress)
			Zack Space (110th Congress)

See also

• 2006 United States Senate elections
• 2006 Ohio gubernatorial election