# 2006 Midterm Elections Second-term [[George W. Bush]] administration midterm. Democrats gained ~31 House seats and ~6 Senate seats; took both chambers for the first time since 1994. The drivers: deteriorating **[[Iraq War]]**, **[[Hurricane Katrina]]** aftermath (August 2005), the **Mark Foley** congressional-page scandal (late September 2006), and broader Bush-administration unpopularity. **[[Nancy Pelosi]]** became the first woman Speaker of the House. ## Result - **House:** Democrats gained ~31 seats; took majority (~233 of 435 Democrats vs. ~202 Republicans in the 110th Congress) - **Senate:** Democrats gained ~6 seats; took majority (~51 of 100 Democrats and Independents vs. ~49 Republicans) - **Chambers flipped:** Both — House and Senate flipped to Democratic - **Net change:** Major Democratic gains; substantial Bush-era political collapse ## Notable - **Nancy Pelosi** (CA) elected Speaker — first woman Speaker of the House in American history - **[[Hurricane Katrina]]** (August 2005) had substantially damaged Bush-administration political standing; the federal-response failure was a recurring theme of Democratic campaign messaging - The **Mark Foley scandal** — Republican Congressman Foley (FL) resigned September 29, 2006 over inappropriate communications with congressional pages; the Republican leadership's prior knowledge of warning signs became a campaign issue - **Jim Webb** (D-VA) defeated incumbent George Allen, who had used the racial slur "macaca" against a campaign tracker — Webb's narrow win was decisive for Senate Democratic majority - **[[Joe Biden]]** prepared his 2008 presidential run; **[[Barack Obama]]** continued the prep that would launch in February 2007 ## Connections - [[George W. Bush]] — Sitting president; the wave damaged his last two years substantially.