2008 Oklahoma elections

Last updated

2008 Oklahoma elections
Flag of Oklahoma.svg
  2006
2010  

The Oklahoma state elections were held on November 4, 2008. Votes for the Presidential Primary were cast on February 5. The primary election for statewide offices was held on July 29, and the runoff primary election was held August 26.

Contents

The 2008 elections marked the first time in State history that the Republican Party won control of the Oklahoma Senate. They also retained control of the Oklahoma House of Representatives, thereby marking the first time ever that Republicans controlled both of Oklahoma’s state legislative chambers.

President

Primary

Oklahoma voters went to the polls on February 5 (Super Tuesday) to vote in the US presidential primary election. Republicans nominated Senator John McCain, while Democrats nominated Senator Hillary Clinton.

Eleven Republicans appeared on the ballot.

CandidateVotes%
Primary
  John McCain 122,77236.64%
  Mike Huckabee 111,89933.40%
  Mitt Romney 83,03024.78%
  Ron Paul 11,1833.34%
  Rudy Giuliani 2,412.72%
  Fred Thompson 1,924.57%
  Alan L. Keyes 817.24%
 Jerry R. Curry387.12%
 Duncan Hunter317.09%
 Tom Tancredo189.06%
 Daniel Gilbert124.04%

There were seven candidates in the Democratic primary for president.

CandidateVotes%
Primary
  Hillary Clinton 228,48054.76%
  Barack Obama 130,13031.19%
  John Edwards 42,72510.24%
  Bill Richardson 7,0781.70%
 Jim Rogers3,905.94%
  Christopher Dodd 2,511.60%
  Dennis Kucinich 2,378.57%

General election

Oklahoma Presidential Election Results 2008.svg

Barack Obama faced John McCain in the 2008 Presidential Election. McCain won a majority of the votes in Oklahoma and received all seven of the state's electoral votes. Oklahoma was the only state in which McCain received a majority of the votes in every county. [1]

CandidateVotes%
 John McCain960,16565.65%
 Barack Obama502,49634.35%

U.S. Senate

Two term Republican Senator Jim Inhofe defended his seat in the 2008 election against Democratic State Senator Andrew Rice and Independent Stephen Wallace. The election was considered by most pollsters to be a "safe" Republican seat. [2]

CandidateVotes%
 Jim Inhofe763,37556.68%
 Andrew Rice527,73639.18%
 Stephen Wallace55,7084.14%

Other Statewide Offices

Corporation Commission

Two seats on the Oklahoma Corporation Commission were up for election in 2008.

Partial term

2008 Oklahoma Corporate Commissioner seat 1 special election
Flag of Oklahoma.svg
 2004November 4, 20082010 
 
Nominee Dana Murphy Jim Roth
Party Republican Democratic
Popular vote738,671674,905
Percentage52.3%47.7%

2008 Oklahoma Corporate Commissioner special election.svg
County results
Murphy:      50–60%     60–70%     70–80%     80–90%
Roth:      50–60%     60–70%

Commissioner before election

Jim Roth
Democratic

Elected Commissioner

Dana Murphy
Republican

Democrat Jim Roth was appointed by Oklahoma Governor Brad Henry to fill the vacated seat in 2007. [3] Roth sought a full term, but was defeated by Republican Dana Murphy. Murphy was up for reelection in 2010, winning the general election with no opposition.

CandidateVotes%
 Dana Murphy738,67152.26%
 Jim Roth674,90547.74%

Full term

2008 Oklahoma Corporate Commissioner seat 3 election
Flag of Oklahoma.svg
 2002November 4, 20082014 
 
Nominee Jeff Cloud Charles Gray
Party Republican Democratic
Popular vote856,879548,190
Percentage61.0%39.0%

2008 Oklahoma Corporate Commissioner election.svg
County results
Cloud:      50–60%     60–70%     70–80%     80–90%
Gray:      50–60%

Commissioner before election

Jeff Cloud
Republican

Elected Commissioner

Jeff Cloud
Republican

Incumbent Jeff Cloud was re-elected. Cloud, however, would not serve out the rest of his term, resigning in 2011.

CandidateVotes%
 Jeff Cloud856,87960.98%
 Charles Gray548,19039.02%

U.S. Representatives

2006 Oklahoma Congressional Districts Results.png
CandidateVotes%
District 1
  John Sullivan 193,40466.17%
 Georgianna Oliver98,89033.83%
District 2
  Dan Boren 173,75770.47%
 Raymond Wickson72,81529.53%
District 3
  Frank D. Lucas 184,30669.72%
 Frankie Robbins62,29723.57%
 Forrest Michael17,7566.72%
District 4
  Tom Cole 180,08066.02%
 Blake Cummings79,67429.21%
 David Joyce13,0274.78%
District 5
  Mary Fallin 171,92565.89%
 Steven Perry88,99634.11%

State Questions

State Question #735

TEXT: This measure amends the Oklahoma Constitution. It adds Section 8D to Article 10. The measure takes effect January 1, 2009. It creates an exemption from personal property tax. The exemption would be for the full amount of taxes due on all household personal property. The exemption would apply to certain injured veterans. It would also apply to those veterans’ surviving spouses.

To qualify for the exemption an injured veteran would have to meet certain requirements. First, a branch of the Armed Forces or the Oklahoma National Guard would have to have honorably discharged the veteran from active service. Second, the veteran would have to be an Oklahoma resident. Third, the veteran would have to be the head of the household. Fourth, the veteran would have to be one hundred percent permanently disabled. Fifth, the United States Department of Veterans Affairs would have to certify the disability. Sixth, the disability must have occurred through military action or accident, or resulted from a disease contracted while in active service. The Legislature could pass laws to carry out the exemption. Such laws could not change the amount of the exemption.

         FOR THE PROPOSAL - YES                 1,153,831   85.00%          AGAINST THE PROPOSAL - NO                203,644   15.00%

State Question #741

TEXT: This measure amends the Oklahoma Constitution. It would add a new Section 22A to Article 10. This section is related to exemptions from property taxes. It would require a person or business to file an application for an exemption. No exemption could be granted prior to filing an application. The Legislature may write laws to carry out the provisions of this section.

         FOR THE PROPOSAL - YES                   908,609   68.14%          AGAINST THE PROPOSAL - NO                424,905   31.86%

State Question #742

TEXT: This measure adds a new section to the State Constitution. It adds Section 36 to Article 2. It gives all people of this state the right to hunt, trap, fish and take game and fish. Such activities would be subject to reasonable regulation. It allows the Wildlife Conservation Commission to approve methods and procedures for hunting, trapping, fishing and taking of game and fish. It allows for taking game and fish by traditional means. It makes hunting, fishing, and trapping the preferred means to manage certain game and fish. The new law will not affect existing laws relating to property rights.

         FOR THE PROPOSAL - YES                 1,082,341   80.05%          AGAINST THE PROPOSAL - NO                269,787   19.95%

State Question #743

TEXT: This measure amends Section 3 of Article 28 of the Constitution. It requires a customer to be twenty-one and physically present to purchase wine at a winery, festival or trade show. The measure changes the law to allow certain winemakers to sell directly to retail package stores and restaurants in Oklahoma. The change applies to winemakers who produce up to ten thousand gallons of wine a year. It applies to winemakers in state and out of state. Those winemakers may not also use a licensed wholesale distributor. They must sell their wine to every retail package store and restaurant in Oklahoma that wants to buy the wine. The sales must be on the same price basis. The sales must be without discrimination. Those winemakers must use their own leased or owned vehicles to distribute their wine. They may not use common or private carriers. If any part of this measure is found to be unconstitutional, no winemaker could sell wine directly to retail package stores or restaurants in Oklahoma.

FOR THE PROPOSAL - YES 1,064,972 78.94% AGAINST THE PROPOSAL - NO 284,141 21.06%

Sources

  1. "Local and National Election Results - Election Center 2008 - Elections & Politics from". CNN.com. Retrieved May 28, 2022.
  2. 2008 Senate Ratings The Rothenberg Political Report , September 29, 2008
  3. "KGOU - Your NPR Source - Election 2008". Archived from the original on December 29, 2008. Retrieved March 22, 2009.

Official Results on the Oklahoma State Election Board's Website

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Seventeenth Amendment to the United States Constitution</span> 1913 amendment establishing the direct election of senators

The Seventeenth Amendment to the United States Constitution established the direct election of United States senators in each state. The amendment supersedes Article I, Section 3, Clauses 1 and 2 of the Constitution, under which senators were elected by state legislatures. It also alters the procedure for filling vacancies in the Senate, allowing for state legislatures to permit their governors to make temporary appointments until a special election can be held.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">United States Electoral College</span> Electors of the U.S. president and vice president

In the United States of America, the Electoral College is the group of presidential electors that is formed every four years during the presidential election for the sole purpose of voting for the president and vice president. The process is described in Article II of the U.S. Constitution. The number of electoral votes a state has equals its number of Senators (2) plus its number of Representatives in the House of Representatives, the latter being dependent on the Census's reported population. Each state appoints electors using legal procedures determined by its legislature, equal in number to its congressional delegation totaling 535 electors in the 50 states. The Twenty-third Amendment from 1961 granted the federal District of Columbia three electors, bringing the total number of electors to 538. Federal office holders, including senators and representatives, cannot be electors. Of the current 538 electors, a simple majority of 270 or more electoral votes is required to elect the president and vice president. If no candidate achieves a majority there, a contingent election is held by the House of Representatives to elect the president and by the Senate to elect the vice president.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act</span> 2002 American law regulating political campaigns

The Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act of 2002, commonly known as the McCain–Feingold Act or BCRA, is a United States federal law that amended the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971, which regulates the financing of political campaigns. Its chief sponsors were senators Russ Feingold (D-WI) and John McCain (R-AZ). The law became effective on 6 November 2002, and the new legal limits became effective on January 1, 2003.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Oklahoma Legislature</span> Legislative branch of the state government of Oklahoma

The Legislature of the State of Oklahoma is the state legislative branch of the U.S. state of Oklahoma. The Oklahoma House of Representatives and Oklahoma Senate are the two houses that make up the bicameral state legislature. There are 101 state representatives, each serving a two-year term, and 48 state senators, who serve four-year terms that are staggered so only half of the Oklahoma Senate districts are eligible in each election cycle. Legislators are elected directly by the people from single member districts of equal population. The Oklahoma Legislature meets annually in the Oklahoma State Capitol in Oklahoma City.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2006 Oklahoma elections</span>

The Oklahoma state elections were held on November 7, 2006. The primary election was held on July 25. The runoff primary election was held August 22. The 2006 elections marked the first time in 80 years that the Republican Party gained a majority of seats in the Oklahoma House of Representatives.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jason Murphey</span> American politician

Jason Murphey is an American politician and former Republican State Representative in the US state of Oklahoma. He represented District 31 in the Oklahoma House of Representatives; the district comprised portions of Logan and Oklahoma counties and includes the cities of Edmond and Guthrie. Murphey currently serves as the chair of the Government Modernization Committee and was named to this position prior to the 2009 legislative session. As chair, Murphy was the House author of Senator Glen Coffee's attempt to centralize the state's information technology systems and the Oklahoma Government 2.0 initiative, which resulted in the creation of data.ok.gov.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Disfranchisement after the Reconstruction era</span> Post-civil war voter suppression efforts in the United States

Disfranchisement after the Reconstruction era in the United States, especially in the Southern United States, was based on a series of laws, new constitutions, and practices in the South that were deliberately used to prevent black citizens from registering to vote and voting. These measures were enacted by the former Confederate states at the turn of the 20th century. Efforts were also made in Maryland, Kentucky, and Oklahoma. Their actions were designed to thwart the objective of the Fifteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution, ratified in 1870, which prohibited states from depriving voters of their voting rights based on race. The laws were frequently written in ways to be ostensibly non-racial on paper, but were implemented in ways that selectively suppressed black voters apart from other voters.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Elections in Oregon</span>

Elections in Oregon are all held using a Vote by Mail (VBM) system. This means that all registered voters receive their ballots via postal delivery and can vote from their homes. A state Voters’ Pamphlet is mailed to every household in Oregon about three weeks before each statewide election. It includes information about each measure and candidate in the upcoming election.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2008 Oregon elections</span>

On November 4, 2008, the U.S. state of Oregon held statewide general elections for three statewide offices, both houses of the Oregon Legislative Assembly, and twelve state ballot measures. The primary elections were held on May 20, 2008. Both elections also included national races for President of the US, US Senator, and US House Representatives. Numerous local jurisdictions — cities, counties, and regional government entities — held elections for various local offices and ballot measures on these days as well.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2008 United States presidential election in Oklahoma</span>

The 2008 United States presidential election in Oklahoma took place on November 4, 2008, and was part of the 2008 United States presidential election. Voters chose seven representatives, or electors to the Electoral College, who voted for president and vice president.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2010 Oregon elections</span>

General elections were held in Oregon on November 2, 2010. Primary elections took place on May 18, 2010.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2010 Oklahoma elections</span>

The 2010 Oklahoma elections were held on November 2, 2010. The primary election was held on July 27. The runoff primary election was held August 24.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2012 Oregon elections</span>

On November 6, 2012, the U.S. state of Oregon held statewide general elections for four statewide offices, both houses of the Oregon Legislative Assembly, and several state ballot measures.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1978 Illinois elections</span>

Elections were held in Illinois on Tuesday, November 7, 1978.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2020 Oklahoma State Question 802</span>

Oklahoma Question 802, the Oklahoma Medicaid Expansion Initiative, was a 2020 ballot measure on the June 30 ballot to expand Medicaid in the state of Oklahoma. It passed narrowly, over the objections of many prominent state elected officials, such as Oklahoma's governor Kevin Stitt. Medicaid expansion went into effect on July 1, 2021.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Illinois Governor Recall Amendment</span>

On November 2, 2010, Illinois voters approved the Illinois Governor Recall Amendment, a legislatively referred constitutional amendment to the Constitution of Illinois. The amendment changed the state constitution to allow recall elections of Illinois governors.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2018 Oklahoma State Question 788</span>

Oklahoma Question 788, the Oklahoma Medical Marijuana Legalization Initiative, was a 2018 ballot measure on the June 26 ballot to legalize medical marijuana in the state of Oklahoma. It passed with over 56% "yes" votes.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2022 Kansas abortion referendum</span>

The 2022 Kansas abortion referendum was a rejected legislatively referred constitutional amendment to the Kansas Constitution that appeared on the ballot on August 2, 2022, alongside primary elections for statewide offices, with early voting from July 13. If enacted, the amendment would have declared that the Kansas Constitution does not guarantee a right to abortion, giving the Kansas state government power to prosecute individuals involved in abortions, and further declared that the Kansas government is not required to fund abortions.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2023 Oklahoma State Question 820</span>

Oklahoma State Question 820 was a voter initiative to legalize adult purchasing, possession and consumption of cannabis in the U.S. state of Oklahoma. It would have placed Oklahoma Medical Marijuana Authority in charge of business regulation. It appeared on the March 7, 2023 in a special election to consider this single State Question. Governor Kevin Stitt, who opposed the measure, set the special election in a successful attempt to limit voter turnout.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">August 2023 Ohio Issue 1</span>

A special election was held in the U.S. state of Ohio on August 8, 2023, on a referendum to make it substantially harder for voter-led initiatives intending to amend the Ohio State Constitution to be proposed and approved.