The 2006 United States House of Representatives elections were held on November 7, 2006, to elect members to the United States House of Representatives. It took place in the middle of President George W. Bush's second term in office. All 435 seats of the House were up for election. Those elected served in the 110th United States Congress from January 3, 2007, until January 3, 2009. The incumbent majority party, the Republicans, had won majorities in the House consecutively since 1994, and were defeated by the Democrats who won a majority in the chamber, ending 12 years of Republican control in the House. The Republicans had won a 232-seat majority in 2004, but by the time of the 2006 election, they held 229 seats, while the Democrats held 201, plus 1 Independent (Bernie Sanders) who caucused with the Democrats. There were also four vacancies. Democrats needed to pick up 15 seats to take control of the House, which had been in Republican control since January 1995. Along with the historical "sixth-year itch" that has plagued many incumbent presidents in midterm elections, the public's perception of George W. Bush, the handling of the Iraq War and the War in Afghanistan, and a series of political scandals involving mostly congressional Republicans took their toll on the party at the ballot box. The final result was a 31-seat pickup for the Democrats, including the pickup of the Vermont at-large seat, previously held by Independent Bernie Sanders (who ran instead for U.S. Senate), who caucused with the Democrats. Democrats defeated 22 Republican incumbents and won eight open Republican-held seats. For the first time since the party's founding, Republicans won no seats previously held by Democrats and defeated no Democratic incumbents. It was the largest seat gain for the Democrats since the 1974 elections. Among the new Democrats were the first Muslim in Congress (Keith Ellison) and the first two Buddhists (Mazie Hirono and Hank Johnson). As a result of the Democratic victory, Nancy Pelosi became the first female and the first Californian House Speaker. As of 2025, this is the only House election cycle where only one party flipped any seats, the last time Republicans won a House race in Connecticut or more than one House seat in New Mexico, and the last time Democrats won more than one House seat in Kansas. This was also the last time until 2024 that Democrats won more than one House seat in Louisiana. Several members of the House first elected in 2006 have gone onto National attention, including Gabby Giffords and Michele Bachmann; United States Senators Kirsten Gillibrand, Dean Heller, Mazie Hirono, and Chris Murphy; Senator and Ambassador Joe Donnelly; former Speaker Kevin McCarthy; Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison; and Governor and Vice-Presidential candidate Tim Walz.

Results

Federal

!style="background-color:#E9E9E9" colspan="2" rowspan="2" | Party !style="background-color:#E9E9E9;text-align:center;" colspan="4" | Seats !style="background-color:#E9E9E9;text-align:center;" colspan="3" | Popular vote ! style="background-color:#E9E9E9;text-align:center;" | 2004 ! style="background-color:#E9E9E9;text-align:center;" | 2006 ! style="background-color:#E9E9E9;text-align:center;" | Net change ! style="background-color:#E9E9E9;text-align:center;" | % ! style="background-color:#E9E9E9;text-align:center;" | Vote ! style="background-color:#E9E9E9;text-align:center;" | % ! style="background-color:#E9E9E9;text-align:center;" | +/− !style=text-align:left colspan=10|Voter turnout: 36.8%

Voter demographics

Source: CNN exit poll

Maps

Retiring incumbents

27 incumbents did not seek re-election. The four vacancies were New Jersey's 13th congressional district, to be filled at the same time as the general election with the winner taking office in November immediately after the votes were certified; Texas's 22nd congressional district, with a separate special election on the same day; and Ohio's 18th congressional district and Florida's 16th congressional district, which did not have special elections to fill the vacancies before January 2007. New Jersey's 13th congressional district had been held by Democrat Bob Menendez, Texas's 22nd congressional district had been held by Republican Tom DeLay, Ohio's 18th congressional district had been held by Republican Robert Ney, and Florida's 16th congressional district had been held by Republican Mark Foley. Democrats won all four races.

Democratic incumbents

Nine Democrats retired, all of whom were replaced by Democrats.

Republican incumbents

Seventeen Republicans retired, twelve of whom were replaced by Republicans and five replaced by Democrats.

Independent incumbent

One independent who caucused with the Democrats retired, and was replaced by a Democrat.

Defeated incumbents

Defeated in primary elections

Two incumbents were defeated in their party's respective primaries, which their respective parties held in the general election.

Defeated in general election

23 Republican incumbents were defeated by Democrats.

Open seats that changed parties

Five Republicans who retired were replaced by Democrats. One independent who caucused with the Democrats retired, and was replaced by a Democrat.

Closest races

Sixty races were decided by 10% or lower.

Election ratings

Special elections

There were two special elections in 2006 to the 109th United States Congress, listed here by date and district. ! CA's 50th congressional district Francine Busby (Democratic) 45.0% William Griffith (Write-in) 3.8% Paul King (Libertarian) 1.6% ! TX's 22nd congressional district Bob Smither (Libertarian) 18.7% Steve Stockman (Republican) 10.8% Don Richardson (Republican) 6.0% Giannibicego Hoa Tran (Republican) 2.1%

Alabama

Alaska

Arizona

Arkansas

California

Colorado

Connecticut

Delaware

Florida

Georgia

Georgia's delegation was redistricted in 2005.

Hawaii

Idaho

Illinois

Indiana

Iowa

Kansas

Kentucky

Louisiana

Maine

Maryland

Massachusetts

Michigan

Minnesota

Mississippi

Missouri

Montana

Nebraska

Nevada

New Hampshire

New Jersey

New Mexico

New York

North Carolina

North Dakota

Ohio

Oklahoma

Oregon

Pennsylvania

Rhode Island

South Carolina

South Dakota

Tennessee

Texas

Texas's 22nd district was held by Tom DeLay who had resigned. The Democratic Party sued to prevent the Republican Party from replacing Tom DeLay (who was determined to be the candidate in March 2006) with another candidate. The courts agreed with the Democratic Party and the Supreme Court has refused to hear the appeal. On August 8, 2006, Tom DeLay officially withdrew his name as the Republican candidate. (The court decision did not allow the Republican Party from changing its candidate, however it did not prevent Tom DeLay from withdrawing altogether.) Texas's 23rd district was declared unconstitutional by the Supreme Court of the United States, which ordered the district re-drawn. This affected the 15th, 21st, 23rd, 25th, and 28th districts, which had a blanket primary on Election Day, followed by a runoff on December 6 in District 23, where no candidate got a majority of the vote.

Utah

Vermont

Virginia

Washington

West Virginia

Wisconsin

Wyoming

Non-voting delegates