Controversies of the United States Senate election in Virginia, 2006

The Controversies of the United States Senate election in Virginia, 2006 involved both Republican incumbent senator George Allen and Democratic opponent Jim Webb. However, a majority of these controversies are involved with Allen, which contributed to his downfall and eventual defeat.

On August 8, 2006, it was reported that Allen, who opposes abortion rights, owned stock in Barr Laboratories, maker of the Plan B "morning-after pill", an emergency contraceptive intended to prevent pregnancy if taken within 72 hours of intercourse. The Webb campaign criticized Allen for holding stock in a company that makes a product that many of his supporters oppose. Allen responded by saying that he holds the stock because Barr Labs has created jobs in Virginia, and by pointing to his consistently pro-life voting record. Allen has no plans to sell the stock.

On August 11, 2006, George Allen twice called S.R. Sidarth, a 20-year-old Webb campaign volunteer, macaca. Sidarth is of Indian ancestry, but was born and raised in Fairfax County, Virginia. As a "tracker" for the opposing Webb campaign, Sidarth was filming an Allen campaign stop in Breaks, Virginia, near the Kentucky border.

During a speech, Allen paused, then began referring to Sidarth:

According to Sidarth, he was the only non-white person present among the crowd of 100 or so Republican supporters, some of whom applauded Allen's remarks.

The Webb campaign accused Allen of using a racial insult; macaca has been identified as a Francophone epithet for North African indigenes, and commentators have suggested that he may have heard the slur from his mother, Henrietta "Etty" Allen, who is a pied-noir, or North African (in Allen's case, a Tunisian) of French nationality. During a televised debate on September 18, reporter Peggy Fox asked Allen if he had learned the slur from his mother; Etty Allen denied that she had ever used the word before.

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