| Election Name: | 2006 United States Senate election in Indiana |
| Country: | Indiana |
| Type: | presidential |
| Ongoing: | no |
| Previous Election: | 2000 United States Senate election in Indiana |
| Previous Year: | 2000 |
| Next Election: | 2012 United States Senate election in Indiana |
| Next Year: | 2012 |
| Election Date: | November 7, 2006 |
| Image1: | File:Dick Lugar official photo 2010.JPG |
| Nominee1: | Richard Lugar |
| Party1: | Republican Party (United States) |
| Popular Vote1: | 1,171,553 |
| Percentage1: | 87.36% |
| Nominee2: | Steve Osborn |
| Party2: | Libertarian Party (United States) |
| Popular Vote2: | 168,820 |
| Percentage2: | 12.59% |
| Map Size: | 250px |
| U.S. Senator | |
| Before Election: | Richard Lugar |
| Before Party: | Republican Party (United States) |
| After Election: | Richard Lugar |
| After Party: | Republican Party (United States) |
The 2006 United States Senate election in Indiana was held November 7, 2006. Incumbent Republican United States Senator Richard Lugar was re-elected to his sixth six-year term with 87.3% of the vote. He did not have a Democratic opponent and only faced opposition from a Libertarian candidate; this was the only U.S. Senate race in 2006 in which Democrats did not field a candidate. This would be the last successful race of Lugar's decades long political career. This is also the last time that Lake, Marion, and Monroe counties have voted for a Republican candidate for Senate.
Lugar faced no opposition from the Democratic Party, as they felt that he was unbeatable. The Indiana Senate race was the only one in 2006 in which the incumbent did not face a challenger from the other major party. Also running was Libertarian Steve Osborn. Osborn was from La Porte, Indiana and was an amateur radio operator. Exit polls projected a landslide victory for Lugar which was borne out by the result.
| Source | Ranking | As of | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| align=left | The Cook Political Report[1] | November 6, 2006 | ||
| align=left | Sabato's Crystal Ball[2] | November 6, 2006 | ||
| align=left | Rothenberg Political Report[3] | November 6, 2006 | ||
| align=left | Real Clear Politics[4] | November 6, 2006 |
The election was not close as Lugar faced only a Libertarian candidate, as no Democrat filed to run. Osborn's best performance was in Starke County, receiving just 23.7% of the vote. This is one of the best statewide showings for a third-party candidate in Indiana.
Lugar won all 92 of Indiana's counties by varying margins.[5]
| County | Lugar | Votes | Osborn | Votes | Other | Votes | Total | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Adams | 90.6% | 7,143 | 9.4% | 743 | 0.0% | 3 | 7,889 | ||
| Allen | 89.3% | 65,782 | 10.6% | 7,838 | 0.1% | 38 | 73,658 | ||
| Bartholomew | 90.0% | 16,544 | 10.0% | 1,834 | 0.0% | 9 | 18,387 | ||
| Benton | 87.1% | 2,086 | 12.9% | 310 | 0.0% | 0 | 2,396 | ||
| Blackford | 85.7% | 2,902 | 14.3% | 483 | 0.0% | 0 | 3,385 | ||
| Boone | 91.5% | 11,428 | 8.5% | 1,058 | 0.0% | 0 | 12,486 | ||
| Brown | 84.9% | 4,181 | 15.1% | 743 | 0.0% | 1 | 4,925 | ||
| Carroll | 86.3% | 4,859 | 13.6% | 768 | 0.1% | 3 | 5,630 | ||
| Cass | 88.1% | 8,066 | 11.9% | 1,094 | 0.1% | 1 | 9,161 | ||
| Clark | 86.6% | 21,690 | 13.4% | 3,358 | 0.0% | 0 | 25,048 | ||
| Clay | 86.9% | 6,597 | 13.0% | 987 | 0.1% | 4 | 7,588 | ||
| Clinton | 87.6% | 6,076 | 12.3% | 856 | 0.1% | 7 | 6,939 | ||
| Crawford | 82.6% | 2,318 | 17.4% | 488 | 0.0% | 0 | 2,806 | ||
| Daviess | 91.4% | 6,193 | 8.6% | 586 | 0.0% | 1 | 6,780 | ||
| Dearborn | 83.7% | 9,091 | 16.2% | 1,759 | 0.1% | 11 | 10,861 | ||
| Decatur | 89.7% | 5,575 | 10.3% | 660 | 0.0% | 0 | 6,415 | ||
| DeKalb | 86.4% | 7,967 | 13.6% | 1,258 | 0.0% | 0 | 9,225 | ||
| Delaware | 88.7% | 21,571 | 11.3% | 2,740 | 0.0% | 0 | 24,311 | ||
| Dubois | 90.4% | 9,432 | 9.6% | 1,007 | 0.0% | 0 | 10,439 | ||
| Elkhart | 89.9% | 34,342 | 9.9% | 3,798 | 0.2% | 74 | 38,214 | ||
| Fayette | 83.2% | 4,704 | 16.8% | 951 | 0.0% | 0 | 5,655 | ||
| Floyd | 88.0% | 16,941 | 12.0% | 2,300 | 0.0% | 0 | 19,241 | ||
| Fountain | 86.4% | 4,267 | 13.6% | 671 | 0.0% | 0 | 4,938 | ||
| Franklin | 83.6% | 5,061 | 16.3% | 989 | 0.1% | 7 | 6,057 | ||
| Fulton | 88.7% | 5,493 | 11.3% | 697 | 0.1% | 1 | 6,191 | ||
| Gibson | 92.3% | 8,395 | 7.7% | 969 | 0.0% | 2 | 9,094 | ||
| Grant | 89.4% | 13,758 | 10.6% | 1,638 | 0.0% | 0 | 15,396 | ||
| Greene | 88.0% | 7,757 | 11.7% | 1,031 | 0.3% | 28 | 8,788 | ||
| Hamilton | 92.0% | 49,077 | 7.9% | 4,226 | 0.1% | 47 | 53,350 | ||
| Hancock | 89.6% | 13,810 | 10.4% | 1,605 | 0.0% | 0 | 15,415 | ||
| Harrison | 85.4% | 9,484 | 14.6% | 1,625 | 0.0% | 0 | 11,109 | ||
| Hendricks | 89.8% | 25,216 | 10.1% | 2,841 | 0.1% | 15 | 28,072 | ||
| Henry | 85.4% | 10,375 | 14.6% | 1,776 | 0.0% | 0 | 12,151 | ||
| Howard | 86.2% | 17,660 | 13.7% | 2,804 | 0.1% | 25 | 20,489 | ||
| Huntington | 87.0% | 7,392 | 13.0% | 1,104 | 0.0% | 0 | 8,496 | ||
| Jackson | 89.1% | 9,887 | 10.8% | 1,203 | 0.0% | 5 | 11,095 | ||
| Jasper | 85.3% | 5,122 | 14.6% | 876 | 0.1% | 7 | 6,005 | ||
| Jay | 85.9% | 4,850 | 14.1% | 795 | 0.0% | 0 | 5,645 | ||
| Jefferson | 85.6% | 6,838 | 14.4% | 1,150 | 0.0% | 0 | 7,988 | ||
| Jennings | 87.7% | 6,751 | 12.3% | 948 | 0.0% | 0 | 7,699 | ||
| Johnson | 90.8% | 24,333 | 9.1% | 2,434 | 0.1% | 36 | 26,803 | ||
| Knox | 87.2% | 8,764 | 12.8% | 1,290 | 0.0% | 0 | 10,054 | ||
| Kosciusko | 88.3% | 15,231 | 11.5% | 1,983 | 0.2% | 32 | 17,246 | ||
| LaGrange | 87.4% | 5,063 | 12.6% | 730 | 0.0% | 0 | 5,793 | ||
| Lake | 81.8% | 47,868 | 18.1% | 10,575 | 0.1% | 61 | 58,504 | ||
| LaPorte | 79.9% | 18,967 | 20.1% | 4,773 | 0.0% | 0 | 23,740 | ||
| Lawrence | 87.3% | 9,404 | 12.4% | 1,335 | 0.3% | 36 | 10,775 | ||
| Madison | 85.8% | 25,963 | 14.2% | 4,294 | 0.0% | 11 | 30,268 | ||
| Marion | 89.0% | 127,898 | 11.0% | 15,866 | 0.0% | 0 | 143,764 | ||
| Marshall | 89.7% | 10,958 | 10.3% | 1,253 | 0.0% | 0 | 12,211 | ||
| Martin | 86.4% | 2,765 | 13.6% | 435 | 0.0% | 0 | 3,200 | ||
| Miami | 84.8% | 6,771 | 14.9% | 1,192 | 0.3% | 21 | 7,984 | ||
| Monroe | 83.2% | 21,998 | 16.8% | 4,451 | 0.0% | 0 | 26,449 | ||
| Montgomery | 88.9% | 7,639 | 11.1% | 948 | 0.0% | 4 | 8,591 | ||
| Morgan | 87.7% | 12,254 | 12.3% | 1,720 | 0.0% | 0 | 13,974 | ||
| Newton | 81.8% | 2,915 | 18.2% | 647 | 0.0% | 0 | 3,562 | ||
| Noble | 87.9% | 8,800 | 12.1% | 1,209 | 0.0% | 0 | 10,009 | ||
| Ohio | 80.1% | 1,523 | 19.9% | 378 | 0.0% | 0 | 1,901 | ||
| Orange | 88.2% | 4,503 | 11.8% | 605 | 0.0% | 0 | 5,108 | ||
| Owen | 87.2% | 4,418 | 12.8% | 650 | 0.0% | 0 | 5,068 | ||
| Parke | 89.1% | 4,182 | 10.9% | 512 | 0.0% | 1 | 4,695 | ||
| Perry | 85.9% | 3,916 | 14.1% | 640 | 0.0% | 0 | 4,556 | ||
| Pike | 87.6% | 3,649 | 12.3% | 511 | 0.1% | 3 | 4,163 | ||
| Porter | 81.5% | 25,385 | 18.2% | 5,658 | 0.3% | 90 | 31,133 | ||
| Posey | 89.7% | 7,636 | 10.3% | 877 | 0.0% | 0 | 8,513 | ||
| Pulaski | 85.9% | 3,625 | 14.1% | 595 | 0.0% | 2 | 4,222 | ||
| Putnam | 89.8% | 7,352 | 10.1% | 826 | 0.1% | 8 | 8,186 | ||
| Randolph | 87.5% | 5,587 | 12.5% | 799 | 0.0% | 2 | 6,388 | ||
| Ripley | 84.7% | 6,224 | 15.2% | 1,117 | 0.1% | 7 | 7,348 | ||
| Rush | 89.5% | 4,340 | 10.5% | 506 | 0.0% | 2 | 4,848 | ||
| Saint Joseph | 88.8% | 52,437 | 11.2% | 6,587 | 0.0% | 0 | 59,024 | ||
| Scott | 84.3% | 4,267 | 15.4% | 778 | 0.3% | 14 | 5,059 | ||
| Shelby | 89.5% | 9,070 | 10.2% | 1,035 | 0.3% | 26 | 10,131 | ||
| Spencer | 92.8% | 5,483 | 7.1% | 699 | 0.1% | 8 | 9,777 | ||
| Starke | 76.3% | 4,560 | 23.7% | 1,415 | 0.0% | 0 | 5,975 | ||
| Steuben | 83.6% | 6,728 | 16.4% | 1,314 | 0.0% | 2 | 8,044 | ||
| Sullivan | 85.1% | 4,489 | 14.9% | 783 | 0.0% | 0 | 5,272 | ||
| Switzerland | 77.7% | 1,615 | 22.3% | 463 | 0.0% | 0 | 2,078 | ||
| Tippecanoe | 84.9% | 25,707 | 15.0% | 4,535 | 0.1% | 39 | 30,281 | ||
| Tipton | 88.1% | 4,554 | 11.9% | 616 | 0.0% | 0 | 5,170 | ||
| Union | 85.1% | 1,913 | 14.9% | 336 | 0.0% | 0 | 2,249 | ||
| Vanderburgh | 87.9% | 39,898 | 12.1% | 5,474 | 0.0% | 0 | 45,372 | ||
| Vermillion | 82.9% | 3,380 | 17.1% | 696 | 0.0% | 0 | 4,076 | ||
| Vigo | 86.4% | 19,242 | 13.6% | 3,025 | 0.0% | 10 | 22,277 | ||
| Wabash | 86.9% | 5,653 | 13.1% | 855 | 0.0% | 0 | 6,508 | ||
| Warren | 87.2% | 2,221 | 12.7% | 325 | 0.0% | 0 | 2546 | ||
| Warrick | 89.5% | 15,038 | 10.4% | 1,748 | 0.1% | 11 | 16,797 | ||
| Washington | 85.7% | 6,494 | 14.0% | 1,060 | 0.3% | 19 | 7,575 | ||
| Wayne | 80.5% | 10,846 | 19.5% | 2,631 | 0.0% | 0 | 13,477 | ||
| Wells | 87.9% | 7,389 | 12.1% | 1,011 | 0.0% | 2 | 8,402 | ||
| White | 86.4% | 5,930 | 13.6% | 935 | 0.0% | 0 | 6,865 | ||
| Whitley | 87.5% | 7,855 | 12.5% | 1,123 | 0.0% | 0 | 8,978 |