2008 Tennessee elections
November 4, 2008

Tennessee state elections in 2008 were held on Tuesday, November 4, 2008. Primary elections for the United States Senate, United States House of Representatives, Tennessee Senate, and Tennessee House of Representatives, as well as various judicial retention elections, including elections for two Tennessee Supreme Court justices, were held on August 7, 2008.

Presidential election

President of the United States

Final results by county
Final results by county:
  McCain
  •   50–60%
  •   60–70%
  •   70–80%
  Obama
  •   40–50%
  •   50–60%
  •   60–70%

In 2008, Tennessee was a stronghold for the Republican Party, and was considered a reliable "red state." Tennessee had 11 electoral votes in the Electoral college at the time. In the general election, Republican candidate John McCain won the state with 56.85% of the vote to Democratic candidate Obama's 41.79%.

The presidential primaries were held on February 5, 2008. Mike Huckabee won Tennessee's Republican primary over Senator John McCain of Arizona. Former first lady Hillary Clinton defeated Senator Barack Obama of Illinois in the Tennessee Democratic primary.

Results

United States presidential election in Tennessee, 2008[1]
Party Candidate Running mate Votes Percentage Electoral votes
Republican John McCain Sarah Palin 1,479,178 56.85% 11
Democratic Barack Obama Joe Biden 1,087,437 41.79% 0
Independent Ralph Nader Matt Gonzalez 11,560 0.44% 0
Libertarian Bob Barr Wayne Allyn Root 8,547 0.33% 0
Constitution Chuck Baldwin Darrell Castle 8,191 0.31% 0
Green Cynthia McKinney Rosa Clemente 2,499 0.10% 0
Write-ins Write-ins Write-ins 2,333 0.09% 0
Socialist Brian Moore Stewart Alexander 1,326 0.05% 0
Boston Tea Charles Jay Thomas Knapp 1,011 0.04% 0
Totals 2,601,982 100.00% 11
Voter turnout (Voting age population) 55.5%

February 5, 2008, Primary Results

2008 Tennessee Democratic presidential primary
February 5, 2008 (2008-02-05)
 
Candidate Hillary Clinton Barack Obama
Home state New York Illinois
Delegate count 40 28
Popular vote 336,245 254,874
Percentage 53.82% 40.48%
Primary results by county
Clinton:      40–50%      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%      80–90%
Obama:      40–50%      50–60%      60–70%
2008 Tennessee Republican presidential primary
February 5, 2008 (2008-02-05)
 
Candidate Mike Huckabee John McCain Mitt Romney
Home state Arkansas Arizona Massachusetts
Delegate count 25 19 8
Popular vote 190,904 176,091 130,632
Percentage 34.37% 31.84% 23.62%
 
Candidate Ron Paul
Home state Texas
Delegate count 0
Popular vote 31,026
Percentage 5.61%
Election results by county.
  Mike Huckabee
  John McCain
  Mitt Romney

United States Congress

Senate

Final results by county
Final results by county:
  Alexander
  •   40–50%
  •   50–60%
  •   60–70%
  •   70–80%
  •   80–90%
  Tuke
  •   50–60%

Incumbent Republican U.S. Senator Lamar Alexander won re-election to a second term, with 65.1% of the vote against Democrat Bob Tuke, who won just 32.6%.

Results

United States Senate election in Tennessee, 2008[2]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Republican Lamar Alexander (Incumbent) 1,579,477 65.14% +10.87%
Democratic Bob Tuke 767,236 31.64% -12.69%
Independent Edward L. Buck 31,631 1.30% N/A
Independent Christopher G. Fenner 11,073 0.46% N/A
Independent Daniel Towers Lewis 9,367 0.39% N/A
Independent Chris Lugo 9,170 0.38% N/A
Independent Ed Lawhorn 8,986 0.37% N/A
Independent David Gatchell 7,645 0.32% N/A
Majority 812,241 33.50% +23.56%
Turnout 2,424,585 66.34%
Republican hold Swing

August 7, 2008, Primary Results

Democratic Party primary results[3]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Bob Tuke 59,050 32.21%
Democratic Gary G. Davis 39,119 21.34%
Democratic Mike Padgett 33,471 18.26%
Democratic Mark E. Clayton 32,309 17.62%
Democratic Kenneth Eaton 14,702 8.02%
Democratic Leonard D. Ladner 4,697 2.55%
Total votes 183,348 100.00%
Republican Party primary results[4]
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Lamar Alexander (Incumbent) 244,222 100.00%
Total votes 244,222 100.00%

House of Representatives

District results
District results:
  Republican
  •   60–70%
  •   70–80%
  Democratic
  •   50–60%
  •   60–70%
  •   70–80%
  •   80–90%
  •   >90%

Tennessee elected nine U.S. representatives, each representing one of Tennessee's nine congressional districts.

Results

District Incumbent Party First
elected		 Results Candidates
Tennessee 1 David Davis Republican 2006 Incumbent lost renomination.
New member elected.
Republican hold.
  • ▌Green tickY Phil Roe (Republican) 71.8%
  • ▌Rob Russell (Democratic) 24.5%
  • ▌Joel Goodman (Independent) 1.7%
  • ▌James Reeves (Independent) 1.1%
  • ▌Thomas Owens (Independent) 0.8%
Tennessee 2 Jimmy Duncan Republican 1998 Incumbent re-elected.
  • ▌Green tickY Jimmy Duncan (Republican) 78.1%
  • ▌Bob Scott (Democratic) 21.9%
Tennessee 3 Zach Wamp Republican 1994 Incumbent re-elected.
  • ▌Green tickY Zach Wamp (Republican) 69.4%
  • ▌Doug Vandagriff (Democratic) 27.4%
  • ▌Jean Howard-Hill (Independent) 1.8%
  • ▌Ed Choate (Independent) 1.4%
Tennessee 4 Lincoln Davis Democratic 2002 Incumbent re-elected.
  • ▌Green tickY Lincoln Davis (Democratic) 58.8%
  • ▌Monty Lankford (Republican) 37.8%
  • ▌James Anthony Gray (Independent) 1.9%
  • ▌Kevin Ragsdale (Independent) 1.5%
Tennessee 5 Jim Cooper Democratic 1982
1994 (retired)
2002		 Incumbent re-elected.
  • ▌Green tickY Jim Cooper (Democratic) 65.9%
  • ▌Gerard Donovan (Republican) 31.0%
  • ▌Jon Jackson (Independent) 2.0%
  • ▌John Miglietta (Green) 1.2%
Tennessee 6 Bart Gordon Democratic 1984 Incumbent re-elected.
  • ▌Green tickY Bart Gordon (Democratic) 74.4%
  • ▌Chris Baker (Independent) 25.6%
Tennessee 7 Marsha Blackburn Republican 2002 Incumbent re-elected.
Tennessee 8 John Tanner Democratic 1988 Incumbent re-elected.
Tennessee 9 Steve Cohen Democratic 2006 Incumbent re-elected.
  • ▌Green tickY Steve Cohen (Democratic) 87.9%
  • ▌Jake Ford (Independent) 4.9%
  • ▌Dewey Clark (Independent) 4.4%
  • ▌Mary Wright (Independent) 2.8%
Popular vote
Democratic
 
 51.94%
Republican
 
 42.47%
Other
 
 5.59%
House seats
Democratic
 
 55.56%
Republican
 
 44.44%

State Legislature

State Senate

Elections for 16 of the 33 seats in Tennessee's State Senate were held on November 4, 2008.

After this election, Republicans had 19 seats while Democrats had 14 seats, with Republicans gaining three seats, fully flipping the senate.

State House of Representatives

The election of all 99 seats in the Tennessee House of Representatives occurred on November 4, 2008.

Republicans won 50 seats, while Democrats won 49 seats. Republicans gained four seats, flipping the house during this election.

Supreme Court

Retention elections (August 7, 2008)

All incumbent Tennessee Supreme Court Justices won their retention elections, getting eight more years.

Tennessee Supreme Court Associate Justice, William C. Koch Jr. retention election[5]
Choice Votes  %
Referendum passed Yes 295,754 76.15
No 92,632 23.85
Total votes 388,386 100.00
Tennessee Supreme Court Associate Justice, Gary R. Wade retention election[5]
Choice Votes  %
Referendum passed Yes 296,645 77.08
No 88,193 22.92
Total votes 384,838 100.00

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Official General Election Results". The Green Papers. Retrieved December 12, 2008.
  2. ↑ "Office of the Clerk, U.S. House of Representatives".
  3. ↑ "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on July 13, 2011. Retrieved June 3, 2011.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  4. ↑ "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on July 13, 2011. Retrieved June 3, 2011.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  5. 1 2 State of Tennessee General Election Results, August 7, 2008, Results By Office (Report). Secretary of State of Tennessee. Retrieved January 17, 2023.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.