Topic: Tammy Lee

Minnesota's 5th congressional district election, 2006 was an election for the United States House of Representatives for the open seat of incumbent Martin Olav Sabo (DFL), who retired after serving the Minneapolis-based district for 28 years.

Sabo, who had rarely faced a serious electoral challenge, won reelection with 70% of the vote in 2004 in a district that went for John Kerry by 71% in the presidential election. The seat has elected candidates of the Minnesota Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party (DFL) since 1962 and was rated "Safe Democratic" by CQ Politics.

Sabo's surprising announcement in March 2006 prompted many area Democrats to enter the race. While State Rep. Keith Ellison received the party's endorsement, he was not backed by Sabo and faced a stiff primary competition from former Sabo aide Mike Erlandson, among others. Having survived the primary, Ellison handily defeated Republican Alan Fine and Independent Tammy Lee in the general election.