Election 2008 Results
Each election opens in its own mode: the forecast before the votes are counted, the live count while races are still too close to call, and the results once every race is decided.
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2008 Senate election results by state and county
Barack Obama won the presidency in a financial crisis, and Democrats took 20 of the Senate seats up and gained eight, moving close to a 60-seat majority.
33 Senate races were held in 2008, plus 2 special elections. Democrats won 20 and Republicans 13.
The closest were Minnesota (level), Alaska (D+1.2) and Oregon (D+3.4). 8 seats changed party: Alaska to the Democrats, Colorado to the Democrats, Minnesota to the Democrats, New Hampshire to the Democrats, New Mexico to the Democrats, North Carolina to the Democrats, Oregon to the Democrats and Virginia to the Democrats.
Early projection, based on early and incomplete polling: the likely matchups, each weighted by the betting markets' odds of both nominations, not a result. Each county is its 2024 presidential margin moved by its state's projected swing; set a national vote and every state, district and county moves by the same amount from our projection. Colours run in 100 steps from a safe Republican to a safe Democratic margin. Boundaries: US Census Bureau.
About the 2008 Senate elections
The collapse of Lehman Brothers in September 2008 turned the election into a referendum on the economy. Obama beat John McCain with 365 electoral votes. Democrats won 20 Senate races and Republicans 13, and Democrats took eight seats from Republicans: Alaska, Colorado, Minnesota, New Hampshire, New Mexico, North Carolina, Oregon and Virginia. In Alaska, Mark Begich beat Ted Stevens, who had been convicted on corruption charges a week before the election, a verdict later thrown out. Kay Hagan unseated Elizabeth Dole in North Carolina, Jeanne Shaheen beat John Sununu in New Hampshire, and Jeff Merkley beat Gordon Smith in Oregon. Mark Warner won Virginia, and Mark Udall and Tom Udall, cousins, won Colorado and New Mexico. Minnesota took eight months to settle. After a recount and a court fight, Al Franken was declared the winner over Norm Coleman by 312 votes and was seated in July 2009. With Arlen Specter's switch to the Democrats that spring, the party briefly held 60 seats, enough to pass the Affordable Care Act. Mitch McConnell held Kentucky by 5.9 points.
Every race
| State | Democrat | Votes | Republican | Votes | Others | Margin |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alabama | Vivian Davis Figures | 752,391 (36.5%) | Jeff Sessions | 1,305,383 (63.4%) | 2,417 | R+26.8 |
| Alaska flip | Mark Begich | 151,767 (47.8%) | Ted Stevens | 147,814 (46.5%) | 18,142 | D+1.2 |
| Arkansas | Mark Pryor | 804,678 (79.5%) | none | Rebekah Kennedy (Green) 207,076 (20.5%) |
D+79.5 | |
| Colorado flip | Mark Udall | 1,230,994 (52.8%) | Bob Schaffer | 990,755 (42.5%) | 109,872 | D+10.3 |
| Delaware | Joseph R. Biden Jr. | 257,539 (64.7%) | Christine O'Donnell | 140,595 (35.3%) | D+29.4 | |
| Georgia | Jim Martin | 909,923 (42.6%) | Saxby Chambliss | 1,228,033 (57.4%) | R+14.9 | |
| Georgia: Decided in the December runoff. | ||||||
| Idaho | Larry LaRocco | 219,903 (34.1%) | Jim Risch | 371,744 (57.7%) | Rex Rammell (Independent) 34,510 (5.4%) |
R+23.6 |
| Illinois | Richard J. Durbin | 3,615,844 (67.8%) | Steve Sauerberg | 1,520,621 (28.5%) | 193,419 | D+39.3 |
| Iowa | Tom Harkin | 941,665 (62.7%) | Christopher Reed | 560,006 (37.3%) | 1,247 | D+25.4 |
| Kansas | Jim Slattery | 441,399 (36.5%) | Pat Roberts | 727,121 (60.1%) | 42,170 | R+23.6 |
| Kentucky | Bruce Lunsford | 847,005 (47.0%) | Mitch McConnell | 953,816 (53.0%) | R+5.9 | |
| Louisiana | Mary L. Landrieu | 988,298 (52.1%) | John Kennedy | 867,177 (45.7%) | 41,099 | D+6.4 |
| Maine | Thomas H. Allen | 279,510 (38.6%) | Susan M. Collins | 444,300 (61.3%) | 620 | R+22.8 |
| Massachusetts | John Kerry | 1,971,974 (65.9%) | Jeff Beatty | 926,044 (30.9%) | 96,229 | D+34.9 |
| Michigan | Carl Levin | 3,038,386 (62.7%) | Jack Hoogendyk | 1,641,070 (33.8%) | 169,164 | D+28.8 |
| Minnesota flip | Al Franken | 1,212,629 (42.0%) | Norm Coleman | 1,212,317 (42.0%) | Dean Barkley (Independence) 437,505 (15.2%) |
level |
| Mississippi | Erik Fleming | 480,915 (38.6%) | Thad Cochran | 766,111 (61.4%) | R+22.9 | |
| Mississippi (special) | Ronnie Musgrove | 560,064 (45.0%) | Roger Wicker | 683,409 (55.0%) | R+9.9 | |
| Montana | Max Baucus | 348,289 (72.9%) | Bob Kelleher | 129,369 (27.1%) | D+45.8 | |
| Nebraska | Scott Kleeb | 317,456 (40.1%) | Mike Johanns | 455,854 (57.5%) | 19,201 | R+17.5 |
| New Hampshire flip | Jeanne Shaheen | 358,438 (51.6%) | John E. Sununu | 314,403 (45.3%) | 21,946 | D+6.3 |
| New Jersey | Frank R. Lautenberg | 1,951,218 (56.0%) | Dick Zimmer | 1,461,025 (42.0%) | 70,202 | D+14.1 |
| New Mexico flip | Tom Udall | 505,128 (61.3%) | Steve Pearce | 318,522 (38.7%) | D+22.7 | |
| North Carolina flip | Kay Hagan | 2,249,311 (52.7%) | Elizabeth Dole | 1,887,510 (44.2%) | 135,149 | D+8.5 |
| Oklahoma | Andrew Rice | 527,736 (39.2%) | James M. Inhofe | 763,375 (56.7%) | 55,708 | R+17.5 |
| Oregon flip | Jeff Merkley | 864,392 (48.9%) | Gordon Smith | 805,159 (45.6%) | David Brownlow (Constitution) 92,565 (5.2%) |
D+3.4 |
| Rhode Island | Jack Reed | 320,644 (73.1%) | Robert G. Tingle | 116,174 (26.5%) | 1,994 | D+46.6 |
| South Carolina | Bob Conley | 790,621 (42.2%) | Lindsey Graham | 1,076,534 (57.5%) | 4,276 | R+15.3 |
| South Dakota | Tim Johnson | 237,889 (62.5%) | Joel Dykstra | 142,784 (37.5%) | D+25.0 | |
| Tennessee | Robert D. Tuke | 767,236 (31.6%) | Lamar Alexander | 1,579,477 (65.1%) | 77,872 | R+33.5 |
| Texas | Rick Noriega | 3,389,365 (42.8%) | John Cornyn | 4,337,469 (54.8%) | 185,241 | R+12.0 |
| Virginia flip | Mark Warner | 2,369,327 (65.0%) | Jim Gilmore | 1,228,830 (33.7%) | 45,137 | D+31.3 |
| West Virginia | John D. Rockefeller IV | 447,560 (63.7%) | Jay Wolfe | 254,629 (36.3%) | 119 | D+27.5 |
| Wyoming | Chris Rothfuss | 60,631 (24.3%) | Michael B. Enzi | 189,046 (75.6%) | 330 | R+51.4 |
| Wyoming (special) | Nick Carter | 66,202 (26.5%) | John Barrasso | 183,063 (73.3%) | 354 | R+46.8 |
Margin: the Democrat's share of all votes minus the Republican's. Margins are Democrat minus Republican, of all votes. Certified results, from the states' own archives, the MIT Election Data and Science Lab, Heideman (2026) and Algara & Amlani (2021). How these results were checked.