How many House incumbents lost primaries on Aug. 8, 2006?

a) 1

b) 2

c) 3

d) 4

Answer: b) The two U.S. House incumbents who lost their seats in primaries held Aug. 8, 2006 were Georgia Democrat Cynthia McKinney and Michigan Republican Joe Schwarz. They also were the only two House incumbents defeated in primaries in the entire 2006 campaign season.

McKinney lost her primary runoff in Georgia’s 4th District to Democrat Hank Johnson, who went on to score an easy general election victory in the overwhelmingly Democratic constituency. McKinney, an outspoken and sometimes controversial figure, had first won a House seat in 1992, served five terms, was defeated in the 2002 primary by Democrat Denise Majette, made a 2004 comeback as Majette staged a Senate bid that failed, and served one more term before losing the 2006 contest. McKinney this year is the Green Party’s nominee for president.

Schwarz served only one House term, which he won in a 2004 open-seat race, before losing the 2006 primary in Michigan’s 7th District to Republican Tim Walburg after a campaign in which Walberg branded the more moderate Schwarz as not conservative enough. The 7th District, though it leans Republican, is not quite a GOP stronghold, and Walberg won his general election by a narrow 4 percentage-point margin over an unheralded Democratic candidate.

While Johnson is an overwhelming favorite to win re-election this year in Georgia 4, Walberg is expected to again face a competitive contest in Michigan 7.

CQ Politics on Tuesday night will provide live coverage of results of this year’s primaries in Michigan, Kansas and Missouri and a Democratic Senate runoff in Georgia.