2008 United States House of Representatives election in South Dakota

2008 United States House of Representatives election in South Dakota

←  2006 November 4, 2008 2010  →

Nominee Stephanie Herseth Sandlin Chris Lein Party Democratic Republican Popular vote 256,041 122,966 Percentage 67.56% 32.44%

County results Precinct results Herseth Sandlin:     50–60%     60–70%     70–80%     80–90%     >90% Lein:     50–60%     60–70%     70–80% Tie:     50%

U.S. Representative before election Stephanie Herseth Sandlin Democratic Elected U.S. Representative Stephanie Herseth Sandlin Democratic

The 2008 United States House of Representatives election in South Dakota took place on Tuesday, November 4, 2008. Voters selected a representative for their single at-large district, who ran on a statewide ballot.

Democratic incumbent Stephanie Herseth Sandlin was challenged by the Republican nominee, businessman and attorney Chris Lien. Neither candidate was opposed in the June 3, 2008 primary. ^[1] CQ Politics forecasted this race as 'Safe Democrat'. ^[2] George W. Bush won in this district 60% to 38% for John Kerry in 2004.

As of 2025, this election, along with the simultaneous Senate race, is the last time a Democrat won a statewide election in South Dakota. This also the last time either party won every county in the state in a contested race.

General election

Predictions

Source	Ranking	As of
The Cook Political Report [3]	Safe D	November 6, 2008
Rothenberg [4]	Safe D	November 2, 2008
Sabato's Crystal Ball [5]	Safe D	November 6, 2008
Real Clear Politics [6]	Safe D	November 7, 2008
CQ Politics [7]	Safe D	November 6, 2008

Results

South Dakota's at-large congressional district election, 2008 ^[8]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Stephanie Herseth Sandlin (incumbent)	256,041	67.56%
	Republican	Chris Lien	122,966	32.44%
Total votes			379,007	100.00%
	Democratic hold

Counties that flipped from Republican to Democratic

• Douglas (largest city: Armour)

See also

• South Dakota's at-large congressional district

References

1. Unofficial Results Primary Election - June 3, 2008 Archived June 4, 2008, at the Wayback Machine South Dakota Secretary of State
2. Race ranking and details Archived 2008-10-07 at the Wayback Machine from CQ Politics
3. "2008 Competitive House Race Chart". House: Race Ratings. The Cook Political Report. November 6, 2006. Archived from the original on November 6, 2008. Retrieved November 20, 2023.
4. "2008 House Ratings". House Ratings. The Rothenberg Political Report. November 2, 2006. Archived from the original on November 6, 2008. Retrieved November 20, 2023.
5. "2008 House". Sabato's Crystal Ball. November 6, 2008. Archived from the original on November 6, 2008. Retrieved November 20, 2023.
6. "Battle for the House of Representatives". realclearpolitics.com. Real Clear Politics. November 7, 2008. Archived from the original on December 17, 2008. Retrieved December 9, 2023.
7. "Race Ratings Chart: House". cqpolitics.com. Congressional Quarterly Inc. Archived from the original on November 6, 2008. Retrieved November 20, 2023.
8. "Office of the Clerk, U.S. House of Representatives".

External links

• Elections from the South Dakota Secretary of State
• U.S. Congress candidates for South Dakota at Project Vote Smart
• South Dakota U.S. House Races from 2008 Race Tracker
• Campaign contributions for South Dakota congressional races from OpenSecrets
• Campaign contributions from OpenSecrets
• Campaign websites (Archived)
  • Stephanie Herseth Sandlin for Congress
  • Chris Lien for Congress