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 County results Roberts: 40–50% 50–60% 60–70% 70–80% 80–90% >90% Slattery: 40–50% 50–60% 60–70% | |||||||||||||||||
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| Elections in Kansas |
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The 2008 United States Senate election in Kansas was held on November 4, 2008. Incumbent Republican U.S. Senator Pat Roberts won re-election to a third term.
The state of Kansas has not elected a Democrat to the U.S. Senate since 1932. Kansas's other Republican Senator Sam Brownback announced that he is retiring due to "self-imposed term limits," which meant Roberts became the senior senator from Kansas in 2011. It is considered one of the most Republican states in the U.S. The last time its electors went to a Democrat was the Presidential Election of 1964, when Lyndon Johnson carried the state over Barry Goldwater.
Roberts had announced ahead of the 1996 election that "I plan only to serve two terms in the U.S. Senate", [1] but he broke that pledge in this election.
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Pat Roberts (Incumbent) | 214,911 | 100.00% | |
| Total votes | 214,911 | 100.00% | ||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Jim Slattery | 68,106 | 68.93% | |
| Democratic | Lee Jones | 30,699 | 31.07% | |
| Total votes | 98,805 | 100.00% | ||
| Source | Ranking | As of |
|---|---|---|
| The Cook Political Report [3] | Safe R | October 23, 2008 |
| CQ Politics [4] | Likely R | October 31, 2008 |
| Rothenberg Political Report [5] | Safe R | November 2, 2008 |
| Real Clear Politics [6] | Safe R | November 4, 2008 |
| Poll Source | Dates administered | Slattery | Roberts |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rasmussen Reports | May 13, 2008 | 40% | 52% |
| Research 2000/Daily Kos | June 2–4, 2008 | 38% | 50% |
| Cooper & Secrest | June 5–8, 2008 | 36% | 48% |
| Rasmussen Reports | June 11, 2008 | 39% | 48% |
| TargetPoint Consulting, Inc. | July 1, 2008 | 34% | 54% |
| Rasmussen Reports | July 15, 2008 | 33% | 61% |
| Rasmussen Reports | August 11, 2008 | 37% | 56% |
| Survey USA | August 20, 2008 | 31% | 58% |
| Survey USA | September 22, 2008 | 35% | 55% |
| Rasmussen Reports | September 23, 2008 | 38% | 58% |
| October 13, 2008 | 36% | 55% | |
| Survey USA | October 22, 2008 | 35% | 57% |
| Survey USA | October 28, 2008 | 33% | 60% |
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Pat Roberts (Incumbent) | 727,121 | 60.06% | -22.46% | |
| Democratic | Jim Slattery | 441,399 | 36.46% | +36.46% | |
| Libertarian | Randall Hodgkinson | 25,727 | 2.12% | -6.98% | |
| Reform | Joseph L. Martin | 16,443 | 1.36% | -7.02% | |
| Majority | 285,722 | 23.60% | -49.82% | ||
| Turnout | 1,210,690 | ||||
| Republican hold | Swing | ||||
The 2008 United States Senate elections were held on November 4, 2008, with 35 of the 100 seats in the Senate being contested. Thirty-three seats were up for regular elections; the winners were eligible to serve six-year terms from January 3, 2009, to January 3, 2015, as members of Class 2. There were also two special elections, the winners of those seats would finish the terms that ended on January 3, 2013. The presidential election, which was won by Democrat Barack Obama, elections for all House of Representatives seats; elections for several gubernatorial elections; and many state and local elections occurred on the same date.
The 2008 United States Senate election in Tennessee was held on November 4, 2008, to elect a member of the U.S. Senate from the State of Tennessee. Incumbent Republican U.S. Senator Lamar Alexander won re-election to a second term.
The 2008 United States Senate election in Massachusetts took place on November 4, 2008. Incumbent Democratic U.S. Senator John Kerry, who remained in the Senate after losing the presidency to incumbent President George W. Bush in the 2004 presidential election, won re-election to a fifth term in office. Four years into his term, Kerry resigned upon becoming United States Secretary of State in the Barack Obama administration.
The 2008 United States Senate election in Colorado was held November 4, 2008. The primary elections were held August 12, 2008. Incumbent Republican U.S. Senator Wayne Allard decided to retire instead of seeking a third term. Democratic nominee Mark Udall won the open seat, making this the first time a Democrat won this seat since 1972, and that Democrats held both Senate seats since 1979.
The 2008 United States Senate election in Oklahoma was held on November 4, 2008. The statewide primary election was held July 29, with the run-off on August 26. Incumbent Republican U.S. Senator Jim Inhofe won re-election to a third term over Democrat Andrew Rice.
The 2008 United States Senate election in Louisiana was held on November 4, 2008. This was the first time since the 1970s that Louisiana used primaries for federal races. Incumbent Senator Mary Landrieu won reelection to a third term, defeating John Kennedy. Despite being forecast as one of the most vulnerable Senate Democrats during 2008, Landrieu won a comfortable victory of 6.4 percentage points. As of 2023, this was the last time that Democrats won a Louisiana U.S. Senate election.
The 2008 United States Senate election in Delaware was held on November 4, 2008. Incumbent Senator Joe Biden, who was also the Democratic nominee for vice president in the concurrent presidential election, faced Christine O'Donnell in the general election. Biden won re-election to a seventh term with 64.69% of the vote, his best-performing result in his senatorial career, while also being elected vice president. Biden took his oath of office in the Senate chamber with the rest of his colleagues on January 3, 2009, but resigned his seat on January 15, 2009, and assumed the vice presidency five days later. Delaware Governor Ruth Ann Minner appointed Ted Kaufman, a Democrat and longtime Biden advisor, to fill the vacant seat pending a 2010 special election in which O'Donnell once again ran unsuccessfully for the seat, being defeated by Democrat Chris Coons.
The 2008 United States Senate election in Arkansas was held on November 4, 2008. Incumbent Senator Mark Pryor ran for a second term. No Republican filed to challenge him, and his only opponent was Green Party candidate Rebekah Kennedy. Pryor won re-election with almost 80% of the vote, despite Republican John McCain winning the state by nearly 20 points in the concurrent presidential election.
The 2008 United States Senate election in South Dakota was held on November 4, 2008. Primary elections were held on June 3, 2008. Incumbent Senator Tim Johnson won re-election to a third term. As of 2023, this election alongside the simultaneous House race is the last time a Democrat won a statewide election in South Dakota.
The 2008 United States Senate election in Texas was held on November 4, 2008. Incumbent Republican John Cornyn defeated Democratic nominee Rick Noriega, a member of the Texas House of Representatives, to win re-election to a second term in office.
The 2008 United States Senate election in Georgia took place on November 4, 2008. The run off election took place on December 2, 2008. Republican Senator Saxby Chambliss, first elected in 2002, sought re-election to his position as a United States Senator from Georgia. He was challenged by Democratic nominee Jim Martin and Libertarian nominee Allen Buckley. After a runoff election on December 2, Chambliss was elected.
The 2008 United States Senate election in Illinois was held on November 4, 2008. Incumbent Democratic U.S. Senator Dick Durbin sought a third term in office and faced minimal opposition from Republican Steve Sauerberg. As expected, Durbin overwhelmingly won re-election. On the same night, fellow Democratic Senator Barack Obama was elected President of the United States, defeating Republican Senator John McCain of Arizona.
The 2008 United States Senate election in Idaho was held on November 4, 2008. The primary elections were held on May 27. Incumbent Republican U.S. Senator Larry Craig decided to retire instead of seeking a fourth term. Republican Jim Risch won the open seat.
The 2008 United States Senate election in West Virginia was held on November 4. Incumbent Senator Jay Rockefeller won re-election to a fifth term in a landslide, defeating Republican Jay Wolfe by a 27-point margin. Despite this overwhelming win, this remains the last time that a Democrat has won West Virginia's Class 2 U.S. Senate seat. In both of the two subsequent elections for the seat, Republicans have swept every single county.
The 2008 congressional elections in Kansas were held on November 4, 2008 to determine who would represent the state of Kansas in the United States House of Representatives, coinciding with the presidential and senatorial elections. Representatives are elected for two-year terms; those elected will serve in the 111th Congress from January 3, 2009 until January 3, 2011.
The 2010 United States Senate election in Kansas took place on November 2, 2010, alongside other elections to the United States Senate in other states as well as elections to the United States House of Representatives and various state and local elections. Incumbent Senator Sam Brownback did not seek a third term, but instead successfully ran for Governor of Kansas. Fellow Republican Jerry Moran won the open seat. This was the first open-seat United States Senate election in Kansas for this seat since 1968.
The 2008 United States presidential election in Kansas took place on November 4, 2008, and was part of the 2008 United States presidential election. Voters chose six representatives, or electors to the Electoral College, who voted for president and vice president.
The 2014 United States Senate election in Kansas was held on November 4, 2014, to elect a member of the United States Senate to represent the State of Kansas, concurrently with other elections to the United States Senate in other states and elections to the United States House of Representatives and various state and local elections.
The 2016 United States Senate election in Kansas was held on November 8, 2016, to elect a member of the United States Senate to represent the State of Kansas, concurrently with the 2016 U.S. presidential election, as well as other elections to the United States Senate in other states and elections to the United States House of Representatives and various state and local elections. The primaries were held on August 2.
The 2020 United States Senate election in Kansas was held on November 3, 2020, to elect a member of the United States Senate to represent the State of Kansas, concurrently with the 2020 U.S. presidential election, as well as other elections to the United States Senate, elections to the United States House of Representatives and various state and local elections.
