2008 United States House of Representatives elections in Wisconsin

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2008 United States House of Representatives elections in Wisconsin
Flag of Wisconsin.svg
  2006 November 4, 2008 2010  

All 8 Wisconsin seats to the United States House of Representatives
 Majority partyMinority party
 
Party Democratic Republican
Last election53
Seats won53
Seat changeSteady2.svgSteady2.svg
Popular vote1,383,5361,274,987
Percentage49.85%45.94%
SwingIncrease2.svg 1.23%Decrease2.svg 4.47%

2008 Wisconsin United States House of Representatives election by Congressional District.svg
2008 United States House of Representatives Elections in Wisconsin by county.svg

The 2008 congressional elections in Wisconsin were held on November 4, 2008, to determine who would represent the state of Wisconsin in the United States House of Representatives. Representatives were elected for two-year terms; those elected served in the 111th Congress from January 3, 2009, until January 3, 2011. The election coincided with the 2008 U.S. presidential election and other Wisconsin elections.

Contents

Wisconsin has eight seats in the House, apportioned according to the 2000 United States census. Its 2007-2008 congressional delegation consisted of five Democrats and three Republicans. That remained unchanged after the 2008 congressional elections in Wisconsin as all incumbent candidates won re-election, although CQ Politics had forecasted Wisconsin's 8 district to be at some risk for the incumbent party. [1]

As of 2024, this is the last time the Democrats won a majority of congressional districts from Wisconsin. However, they would still go on to win the popular vote in several subsequent House elections.

Overview

United States House of Representatives elections in Wisconsin, 2008 [2]
PartyVotesPercentageSeats+/–
Democratic 1,383,53649.85%5
Republican 1,274,98745.94%3
Libertarian 12,8420.46%0
Independents103,8093.74%0
Totals2,775,174100.00%8

District 1

WI 1st Congressional District.png

In this relatively moderate district in southeast Wisconsin, incumbent Republican Congressman Paul Ryan has enjoyed popularity and faced no serious challenge from Democratic nominee, Marge Krupp, a chemist. Despite Barack Obama's strong performance in Wisconsin that year in the presidential election, Ryan was re-elected overwhelmingly.

Wisconsin's 1st congressional district election, 2008
PartyCandidateVotes%
Republican Paul Ryan (inc.) 231,009 63.97
Democratic Marge Krupp125,26834.69
Libertarian Joseph Kexel4,6061.28
Write-ins2240.06
Total votes361,107 100.00
Republican hold

District 2

WI 2nd Congressional District.png

In this very liberal district based in the Madison metropolitan area, incumbent Democratic Congresswoman Tammy Baldwin, the first openly lesbian member of the House, easily turned away a challenge from Republican candidate Peter Theron and won her sixth term with nearly seventy percent of the vote.

Wisconsin's 2nd congressional district election, 2008
PartyCandidateVotes%
Democratic Tammy Baldwin (inc.) 277,914 69.33
Republican Peter Theron122,51330.56
Write-ins4140.10
Total votes400,841 100.00
Democratic hold

District 3

WI 3rd Congressional District.png

In this relatively liberal district based in western Wisconsin, incumbent Democratic Congressman Ron Kind easily won a seventh term over Republican challenger Paul Stark.

Wisconsin's 3rd congressional district election, 2008
PartyCandidateVotes%
Democratic Ron Kind (inc.) 225,208 63.19
Republican Paul Stark122,76034.44
Libertarian Kevin Barrett 8,2362.31
Write-ins1960.05
Total votes356,400 100.00
Democratic hold

District 4

WI 4th Congressional District.png

Incumbent Democratic Congresswoman Gwen Moore, running for her third term, faced easy re-election prospects in this very liberal district based in Milwaukee; no Republican candidate even filed to run against her. Moore crushed independent candidate Michael LaForest in a landslide.

Wisconsin's 4th congressional district election, 2008
PartyCandidateVotes%
Democratic Gwen Moore (inc.) 222,728 87.63
Independent Michael D. LaForest29,28211.52
Write-ins2,1690.85
Total votes254,179 100.00
Democratic hold

District 5

WI 5th Congressional District.png

In the wealthiest and most conservative district in Wisconsin, based in the northern suburbs of Milwaukee, long-serving incumbent Republican Congressman Jim Sensenbrenner easily defeated his only challenger, independent candidate Robert R. Raymond, to win a sixteenth term in Congress.

Wisconsin's 5th congressional district election, 2008
PartyCandidateVotes%
Republican Jim Sensenbrenner (inc.) 275,271 79.58
Independent Robert R. Raymond 69,71520.15
Write-ins9130.26
Total votes345,899 100.00
Republican hold

District 6

WI 6th Congressional District.png

This traditionally conservative district based in the Oshkosh-Neenah, Metropolitan Statistical Area was narrowly won by Democratic nominee Barack Obama in the 2008 election, but long-serving Republican incumbent Congressman Tom Petri held a tight grip on his seat. Petri sought and won a sixteenth term against Democratic candidate Roger Kittelson, winning handily.

Wisconsin's 6th congressional district election, 2008
PartyCandidateVotes%
Republican Tom Petri (inc.) 221,875 63.71
Democratic Roger A. Kittelson126,09036.21
Write-ins2990.09
Total votes348,264 100.00
Republican hold

District 7

WI 7th Congressional District.png

Long-serving incumbent Democratic Congressman Dave Obey held an iron grip on this district based in northwestern Wisconsin for forty years. Seeking a twenty-first term in Congress, Obey was overwhelmingly re-elected again over Republican challenger Dan Mielke despite the centrist nature of the district.

Wisconsin's 7th congressional district election, 2008
PartyCandidateVotes%
Democratic Dave Obey (inc.) 212,666 60.79
Republican Dan Mielke136,93839.14
Write-ins2330.07
Total votes349,837 100.00
Democratic hold

District 8

United States House of Representatives, Wisconsin District 8 map.gif

Incumbent Congressman Steve Kagen faced off against former Wisconsin State Assembly Speaker John Gard for a second time in this Republican-leaning district that is based in northeastern Wisconsin and that includes the cities of Green Bay and Appleton. Seeking a second term, Kagen defeated Gard by a larger margin than he did in 2006, allowing him to keep this swing district under Democratic control.

Wisconsin's 8th congressional district election, 2008
PartyCandidateVotes%
Democratic Steve Kagen (inc.) 193,662 54.00
Republican John Gard 164,62145.90
Write-ins3640.10
Total votes358,647 100.00
Democratic hold

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References

  1. House: Races to Watch Archived 2007-12-13 at the Wayback Machine CQ Politics
  2. "Office of the Clerk, U.S. House of Representatives".
Preceded by
2006 elections
United States House elections in Wisconsin
2008
Succeeded by
2010 elections