2006 United States Senate elections
Elections to the United States Senate will be held on November 7, 2006, with 33 of the 100 seats in the Senate being contested. Since Senators are elected for six-year terms, those elected will serve from January 3, 2007 until January 3, 2013. Those Senators who were elected in 2000 will be seeking re-election (or retiring) in 2006.
For the same date is scheduled the U.S. House election, 2006, as well as many state and local elections.
Major Parties
The Senate is currently composed of 55 Republicans, who have been in the majority since 2002, 44 Democrats, and 1 independent. (The independent, Jim Jeffords of Vermont, is allied with the Democratic caucus and has voted with Democrats to give them the majority in the past.) The Democrats will need to pick up 6 seats to retake control of the Senate. (Should the Democrats gain 5 seats, the Republicans will retain control of the body because of the affiliation of the Vice President, Dick Cheney.) The Republicans will need to pick up 5 seats to obtain a "working majority", or 60 members (the amount needed to break a filibuster). Of the seats up for election, 15 are held by Republicans, 17 by Democrats, and 1 by the sole independent.