United States House of Representatives elections, 2008

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This article summarizes all the elections in the U.S. House of Representatives in the November 2008 election cycle. For complete list of the races in all districts without any commentary, see United States House of Representatives elections, 2008 - complete list.
United States House of Representatives elections, 2008
 

2006 ← members • United States → 2010
All 435 seats in the United States House of Representatives and 6 non-voting members
November 4, 2008
  Majority party Minority party
  Speaker Nancy Pelosi.jpg John Boehner official portrait.jpg
Leader Nancy Pelosi John Boehner
Party Democratic Republican
Leader's seat California-8th Ohio-8th
Last election 233 seats, 53.6% 202 seats, 46.4%
Seats before 236 (incl. 1 vacancy) 199
Seats won 257 178
Seat change +21 -21
Popular vote 65,241,408 52,184,380
Percentage 53.18% 42.53%
Swing -0.6% -2.24%

2008 House elections.svg
Results:
     Democratic hold     Democratic gain     Republican hold     Republican gain

Previous Speaker
Nancy Pelosi
Democratic

Speaker-elect
Nancy Pelosi
Democratic

The 2008 U.S. House of Representatives elections were held on November 4, 2008, to elect members to the United States House of Representatives to serve in the 111th United States Congress from January 3, 2009 until January 3, 2011. All 435 voting seats, as well as all 6 non-voting seats, were up for election. The Democratic Party, which won a majority of seats in the 2006 election, expanded its control in 2008. The Republican Party, hoping to regain the majority it lost in the 2006 or at least expand its congressional membership, lost additional seats. With one exception (Louisiana's 2nd district), the only seats to switch from Democratic to Republican had been Republican-held prior to the 2006 elections. Republicans gained five Democratic seats total, while losing 26 Republican seats, giving the Democrats a net gain of 21. Turnout increased due to the 2008 presidential election. The presidential election, 2008 Senate elections, and 2008 state gubernatorial elections, as well as many other state and local elections, occurred on the same date.

Contents

[edit] Composition entering the election

At the end of the 110th Congress (2nd Session), the membership of the U.S. House of Representatives was composed of 235 Democrats, 199 Republicans, and one vacancy.

[edit] Special elections in 2008 for the 110th Congress

Main article: Special elections to the 110th United States Congress

In 2008 there were eight special elections for vacant seats in the United States House of Representatives, for the 110th United States Congress. In the special elections, Democrats gained three seats while keeping hold on four seats. Republicans held of only one of their four seats.

[edit] Retiring incumbents

Thirty-three incumbents voluntarily retired.[1]

[edit] Democratic incumbents

All six seats held by retiring Democrats were won by Democrats.

  1. Alabama's 5th congressional district: Bud Cramer: "[T]o spend more time with my family and begin another chapter in my life"[2]
  2. Colorado's 2nd congressional district: Mark Udall: Ran for and won the U.S. Senate seat vacated by Wayne Allard.
  3. Maine's 1st congressional district: Tom Allen: Ran against and lost to Susan Collins in the U.S. Senate election.
  4. New Mexico's 3rd congressional district: Tom Udall: Ran for and won the U.S. Senate seat vacated by Pete Domenici.
  5. New York's 21st congressional district: Michael McNulty: "[I]t's not what I want to do for the rest of my life."[3]
  6. Oregon's 5th congressional district: Darlene Hooley: Because of the "cumulative effect of arduous travel, the relentless demands of fund-raising and 32 years of public service"[4]
Results of 2008 election in non-voting delegate races     Democratic hold     Democratic pickup     Independent pickup

[edit] Republican incumbents

Twenty-seven Republicans retired. Thirteen of their seats were then won by Democrats (see Open seat gains, below).

  1. Alabama's 2nd congressional district: Terry Everett: Because of age and health[5]
  2. Arizona's 1st congressional district: Rick Renzi: To fight federal criminal charges involving a land-swap deal[6]
  3. California's 4th congressional district: John Doolittle: To fight an FBI corruption investigation[7]
  4. California's 52nd congressional district: Duncan Hunter Ran for and lost the race for the Republican nomination for President
  5. Colorado's 6th congressional district: Tom Tancredo: Ran for and lost the race for the Republican nomination for President
  6. Florida's 15th congressional district: Dave Weldon: To return to his medical practice[8]
  7. Illinois's 11th congressional district: Jerry Weller: To spend more time with his family,[9] amid questions about his Nicaraguan land dealings, his wife's investments, and his relationship to an indicted defense contractor[10]
  8. Illinois's 18th congressional district: Ray LaHood (On December 19, 2008, President-elect Barack Obama announced his intention to nominate LaHood to serve as the next Secretary of Transportation.) He was later confirmed.
  9. Kentucky's 2nd congressional district: Ron Lewis
  10. Louisiana's 4th congressional district: Jim McCrery
  11. Minnesota's 3rd congressional district: Jim Ramstad
  12. Mississippi's 3rd congressional district: Chip Pickering
  13. Missouri's 9th congressional district: Kenny Hulshof: Ran for and lost the election for governor
  14. New Jersey's 3rd congressional district: Jim Saxton: Because of age and health[11]
  15. New Jersey's 7th congressional district: Mike Ferguson: To spend more time with his family[12]
  16. New Mexico's 1st congressional district: Heather Wilson: Ran in and lost the Republican primary for New Mexico's open U.S. Senate seat
  17. New Mexico's 2nd congressional district: Steve Pearce: Ran for and lost the election for New Mexico's open U.S. Senate seat
  18. New York's 13th congressional district: Vito Fossella: Amid scandal following a drunk driving arrest which led to revelations of infidelity and a secret family he maintained in Virginia
  19. New York's 25th congressional district: Jim Walsh
  20. New York's 26th congressional district: Tom Reynolds
  21. Ohio's 7th congressional district: Dave Hobson: "I wanted to go out on top"[13]
  22. Ohio's 15th congressional district: Deborah Pryce: To spend more time with her family[14]
  23. Ohio's 16th congressional district: Ralph Regula
  24. Pennsylvania's 5th congressional district: John Peterson: To spend more time with his family[15][16]
  25. Puerto Rico's At-large congressional district: Luis Fortuño: Ran for and won the Governorship of Puerto Rico defeating Gov. Aníbal Acevedo Vilá[17]
  26. Virginia's 11th congressional district: Thomas M. Davis: "It's time for me to take a sabbatical"[18]
  27. Wyoming's At-large congressional district: Barbara Cubin[19]

[edit] Defeated incumbents

[edit] Incumbents defeated in primary election

One Republican lost in a primary and the seat was eventually won by a Democrat. One Democrat lost the primary as did two Republicans. The primary winners, however, managed to retain the seat for the same party.

  1. Maryland's 1st congressional district: Wayne Gilchrest (R), whose seat was later won by a Democrat
  2. Maryland's 4th congressional district: Albert Wynn (D), who subsequently resigned May 31, 2008
  3. Utah's 3rd congressional district: Chris Cannon (R)
  4. Tennessee's 1st congressional district: David Davis (R)

[edit] Incumbents defeated in general election

Fourteen Republicans and Five Democrats lost their general elections, thereby losing their seats to the other party.

  1. Colorado's 4th congressional district: Marilyn Musgrave (R)
  2. Connecticut's 4th congressional district: Christopher Shays (R)
  3. Florida's 8th congressional district: Ric Keller (R)
  4. Florida's 16th congressional district: Tim Mahoney (D)
  5. Florida's 24th congressional district: Tom Feeney (R)
  6. Idaho's 1st congressional district: Bill Sali (R)[20]
  7. Kansas's 2nd congressional district: Nancy Boyda (D)
  8. Louisiana's 2nd congressional district: William J. Jefferson (D)
  9. Louisiana's 6th congressional district: Don Cazayoux (D)
  10. Michigan's 7th congressional district: Tim Walberg (R)
  11. Michigan's 9th congressional district: Joe Knollenberg (R)
  12. Nevada's 3rd congressional district: Jon Porter (R)
  13. New York's 29th congressional district: Randy Kuhl (R)
  14. North Carolina's 8th congressional district: Robin Hayes (R)
  15. Ohio's 1st congressional district: Steve Chabot (R)
  16. Pennsylvania's 3rd congressional district: Phil English (R)
  17. Texas's 22nd congressional district: Nick Lampson (D)
  18. Virginia's 2nd congressional district: Thelma Drake (R)
  19. Virginia's 5th congressional district: Virgil Goode (R)

[edit] Open seat gains

Thirteen seats held by retiring Republicans were won by Democrats. No Democratic retirements were picked up by Republicans.

  1. Alabama's 2nd congressional district (Democratic gain)
  2. Arizona's 1st congressional district (Democratic gain)
  3. Illinois's 11th congressional district (Democratic gain)
  4. Maryland's 1st congressional district (Democratic gain)
  5. New Jersey's 3rd congressional district (Democratic gain)
  6. New Mexico's 1st congressional district (Democratic gain)
  7. New Mexico's 2nd congressional district (Democratic gain)
  8. New York's 13th congressional district (Democratic gain)
  9. New York's 25th congressional district (Democratic gain)
  10. Ohio's 15th congressional district (Democratic gain)
  11. Ohio's 16th congressional district (Democratic gain)
  12. Puerto Rico's At-large congressional district (Democratic gain)
  13. Virginia's 11th congressional district (Democratic gain)

[edit] Predictions

Main article: United States House of Representatives elections, 2008 - predictions

[edit] Results

United States House of Representatives elections, 2008
Party Voting members[21][22] Non-voting members[23]
Votes Percentage Seats +/– Votes Percentage Seats +/–
Democratic[A] 65,241,408 53.18% 257 +21 1,952,133 94.34% 4 +1
Republican 52,184,380 42.53% 178 –21 1,919 0.09% 0 –1
Libertarian 1,083,027 0.88% 0 0 — — 0 0
Independent[B][C] 947,661 0.77% 0 0 21,574 1.04% 2 +1
Green 570,729 0.47% 0 0 14,386 0.70% 0 0
Constitution 127,127 0.10% 0 0 — — 0 0
Independence 129,747 0.13% 0 0 — — 0 0
Working Families 12,104 0.01% 0 0 — — 0 0
Independent Oregon 65,109 0.05% 0 0 — — 0 0
Peace and Freedom 47,659 0.04% 0 0 — — 0 0
Purple 28,541 0.03% 0 0 — — 0 0
Conservative 26,182 0.02% 0 0 — — 0 0
Independent American 22,813 0.02% 0 0 — — 0 0
Reform 22,603 0.02% 0 0 — — 0 0
Alaskan Independence 14,274 0.01% 0 0 — — 0 0
Independent Green Populist 9,483 0.01% 0 0 — — 0 0
Progressive 9,081 0.01% 0 0 — — 0 0
Socialist Workers 8,588 0.01% 0 0 — — 0 0
American Independent 6,274 0.01% 0 0 — — 0 0
Vote People Change 3,708 0.00% 0 0 — — 0 0
Unity 2,176 0.00% 0 0 — — 0 0
Term Limits for the United States Congress 2,042 0.00% 0 0 — — 0 0
Socialist 648 0.00% 0 0 — — 0 0
Puerto Ricans for Puerto Rico — — 0 0 43,607 2.11% 0 0
Puerto Rican Independence — — 0 0 35,687 1.72% 0 0
Invalid or blank votes
Totals 122,959,841[24] 100.00% 435 — 2,069,306 100.00% 6 +1
Voter turnout

     3 net Democratic seat pickups      1-2 net Democratic seat pickups      1-2 net Republican seat pickups
A The number of non-voting members also includes the non-voting member-elect from Puerto Rico, Pedro Pierluisi, who is a member of the New Progressive Party of Puerto Rico, but will caucus with the Democrats. The New Progressive Party is affiliated with both the Democratic and Republican Parties and the last representative from Puerto Rico, Luis Fortuño, caucused with the Republicans. The vote total for the non-voting members also includes the Popular Democratic Party of Puerto Rico, which has ties to the Democratic Party.
B Both non-voting independents, American Samoa's representative Eni Faleomavaega and the Northern Mariana Islands' representative-elect Gregorio Sablan, will caucus with the Democrats. In America Samoa all elections are non-partisan.[25] In the Northern Mariana Islands, Sablan appeared on the ballot as an independent.[26]
C Write-in candidates are included with the vote totals.

[edit] Competitive elections

Main article: United States House of Representatives elections, 2008 - notable races

[edit] See also

[edit] References

  1. ^ "2008 House Summary". Cook Political Report. August 21, 2008. http://www.cookpolitical.com/charts/house/summary_2008-08-21_13-30-19.php. 
  2. ^ "Cramer will not seek re-election to Congress". Birmingham News. March 13, 2008. http://blog.al.com/spotnews/2008/03/cramer_will_not_seek_reelectio.html. 
  3. ^ Judy Holland (May 27, 2008). "'Average guy,' remarkable career: Retiring McNulty looks back with pride on 20 years in the House". Times Union. http://www.timesunion.com/AspStories/story.asp?storyID=691438. 
  4. ^ Kosseff, Jeff; Charles Pope (February 7, 2008). "Rep. Hooley will not run for re-election". The Oregonian. http://www.oregonlive.com/politics/index.ssf/2008/02/hooley_will_not_run_for_reelec.html. 
  5. ^ "Congressman Everett Announces Intentions to Retire". Website of Congressman Terry Everett. September 26, 2007. http://www.everett.house.gov/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=544&Itemid=1. 
  6. ^ J. Wilke (August 24, 2007). "Renzi Won't Seek Re-election as Federal Inquiry Broadens". Wall Street Journal: p. A6. 
  7. ^ Peter Hecht (June 2, 2008). "Fight to replace Doolittle divides Placer Republicans". The Sacramento Bee. http://www.sacbee.com/capolitics/story/981087.html. 
  8. ^ Jackie Kucinich and Aaron Blake (January 25, 2008). "Weldon will not seek reelection". The Hill. http://thehill.com/leading-the-news/weldon-expected-not-to-seek-reelection-2008-01-25.html. 
  9. ^ "Rep. Weller will not seek another term in Congress". The State Journal Register. September 9, 2007. http://www.sj-r.com/News/stories/16761.asp. Retrieved September 24, 2007. 
  10. ^ Hal Dardick (September 21, 2007). "Weller won't seek new term"]. Chicago Tribune. http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/chi-070921weller,1,2907622.story. 
  11. ^ Raymond Hernandez (November 10, 2007). "Citing Health, Lawmaker Announces Plan to Retire". The New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/2007/11/10/us/politics/10saxton.html?adxnnl=1&adxnnlx=1196572930-whAzTi2tav27hzd9pGVZ3w. Retrieved December 1, 2007. , "Representative Jim Saxton of New Jersey, a Republican who has served in Congress since 1984, said Friday that he would not seek re-election next year because he had prostate cancer."
  12. ^ Raju Chebium (November 19, 2007). "Ferguson won't seek re-election to Congress". Home News Tribune. http://www.thnt.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071119/NEWS/71119016. Retrieved November 19, 2007. , "Rep. Mike Ferguson, R-Warren Township, said today he won’t seek re-election next year to a fifth term.... he next elections are in November 2008; Stender is again a Democratic candidate for the 7th district seat Ferguson currently occupies."
  13. ^ Associated Press (October 15, 2007). "Ohio Representative David Hobson Announces Retirement". Fox News. http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,301697,00.html. Retrieved June 1, 2009. 
  14. ^ http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/20294735
  15. ^ "GOP Rep. Peterson Will Retire at End of Term". CQ Politics. January 3, 2008. http://www.cqpolitics.com/wmspage.cfm?parm1=5&docID=cqmidday-000002651478. 
  16. ^ Josh Kraushaar (January 3, 2008). "Peterson To Retire". CBS News. http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2008/01/03/politics/politico/thecrypt/main3669984.shtml. 
  17. ^ "Top Hispanic Republican Wins Gubernatorial Election in Puerto Rico". Market Watch. http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story/Top-Hispanic-Republican-Wins-Gubernatorial/story.aspx?guid={2E529F17-BF50-4EBC-A6C4-293412C85278}. 
  18. ^ Amy Gardner (January 30, 2008). "U.S. Rep. Davis to Retire, Ending 14-Year Tenure in Congress". The Washington Post. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/story/2008/01/30/ST2008013002179.html. 
  19. ^ Marie Horrigan (November 9, 2007). "Wyoming Republican Cubin to Leave the House". http://www.cqpolitics.com/wmspage.cfm?parm1=5&docID=news-000002625454. 
  20. ^ 2008 Idaho Secretary of State- General Elections Statewide Totals
  21. ^ "U.S. House". CNN. November 5, 2008. http://www.cnn.com/ELECTION/2008/results/main.results/#val=H. Retrieved November 5, 2008. 
  22. ^ "The Green Papers 2008 U.S. House Popular Vote and FEC Total Receipts by Party". The Green Papers. http://www.thegreenpapers.com/G08/HouseVoteByParty.phtml. Retrieved November 13, 2008. 
  23. ^ "2008 General Election". The Green Papers. http://www.thegreenpapers.com/G08/. Retrieved November 13, 2008. 
  24. ^ http://www.fec.gov/pubrec/fe2008/tables2008.pdf
  25. ^ "American Samoa 2008 General Election". The Green Papers. http://www.thegreenpapers.com/G08/AS.phtml. Retrieved November 11, 2008. 
  26. ^ "Northern Marianas 2008 General Election". The Green Papers. http://www.thegreenpapers.com/G08/MP.phtml. Retrieved November 11, 2008. 

[edit] External links

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