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]] Elections for the United States Senate were held on November 7 2006 , with 33 of the 100 seats in the United States Senate being contested. Senators are elected for six-year terms, with one third of the Senate seats up for a vote every two years. The term of office for those elected in 2006 runs from January 3 2007 until January 3 2013 . Senators who were elected in 2000 (known as " Class 1 ") were seeking reelection or retiring in 2006. ( Penn. ), Mike DeWine ( Ohio ), Lincoln Chafee ( R.I. ), Jim Talent ( Mo. ), Conrad Burns ( Mont. ), and George Allen ( Va. ). No Democratic incumbents were defeated. Joe Lieberman ( Conn. ) lost an August Democratic Primary challenge, but won re-election as an independent. Democrats kept their two open seats in Minnesota and Maryland , and Republicans held onto their lone open seat in Tennessee . In Vermont , Bernie Sanders , an independent, was elected to the seat left open by independent Senator Jim Jeffords . In the 2006 election, two new female Senators ( Claire McCaskill and Amy Klobuchar ) were elected to seats previously held by men. This brought the total number of Female Senators to an all-time high of 16. The party balance for the Senate now stands at 51-49 in favor of the Democrats (including independent Bernie Sanders and Independent Democrat Joe Lieberman, who caucus with the Democrats). The Democrats need 51 seats to control the Senate because the Vice President Of The United States , Republican Dick Cheney , would break a 50-50 tie in favor of the Republicans. RESULTS PARTY BREAKDOWN Prior to the 2006 elections, the Senate was composed of 55 Republicans (who had held a majority since 2003), 44 Democrats, and one Democratic-caucusing Independent ( Jim Jeffords of Vermont ). As a result of the 2006 elections, the Senate is composed of 49 Democrats, 49 Republicans, and two Democratic-caucusing Independents ( Bernie Sanders and Joe Lieberman ).
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