2006Flipped from RepublicanFinal results
2006 election for U.S. Senate in Rhode Island
U.S. Senate · Rhode Island
Sheldon Whitehouse (D) won with 53.5% of the vote, defeating Lincoln Chafee (R) by 7.0 points, a seat Republicans won last time.
Sheldon WhitehouseDemocrat · winner
53.5%206,043
Lincoln ChafeeRepublican
46.5%178,950
384,993 votes
Source: MIT Election Data and Science LabUpdated Sep 30, 2026, 7:25 AM ET
The seat over time
D − R margin in this seat's races around 2006
Races before and after
Source: MIT Election Data and Science LabUpdated Sep 30, 2026, 7:25 AM ET
Money in this race
Each line compares the two campaigns on one scale.
Sheldon WhitehouseLincoln Chafee
$6.6M
Raised by the campaign
$4.8M
$6.4M
Spent by the campaign
$5.4M
$158.3K
Cash on hand
$61.5K
Campaign money: FEC, through Dec 31, 2006.
Source: FEC campaign filingsUpdated Dec 31, 2006