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| Elections in Alabama |
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The 2008 United States Senate election in Alabama was held on November 4, 2008, to elect one of Alabama's members to the United States Senate. Incumbent Republican U.S. Senator Jeff Sessions won re-election to a third term.
Since 1980, Alabama voters have increasingly voted for Republican candidates at the Federal level, especially in Presidential elections. By contrast, Democratic candidates have been elected to many state-level offices and, until 2010, comprised a longstanding majority in the Alabama Legislature; see Dixiecrat.
In the 2004 presidential election, George W. Bush won Alabama's nine electoral votes by a margin of 25 percentage points with 62.5% of the vote. The eleven counties that voted Democratic are part of the Black Belt counties, where African Americans are the majority racial group.
On January 10, 2007, Rep. Artur Davis announced that he would not run for the seat. [1] Despite voting heavily for George W. Bush in 2004, Alabama still had a strong Democratic presence in 2008, and Democrats controlled majorities in both chambers in the Alabama Legislature. Commissioner of Agriculture and Industries Ron Sparks appeared to be preparing for a run, but on June 12, 2007, he announced that he would not seek the Senate seat, in order to avoid a primary battle with State Senator Vivian Davis Figures. [2]
Primary elections were held on June 3. [3]
Sessions' approval rating was 56% in December 2007. [4]
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Jeff Sessions (incumbent) | 199,690 | 92.27% | |
| Republican | Earl Mack Gavin | 16,718 | 7.73% | |
| Total votes | 216,408 | 100.00% | ||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Vivian Davis Figures | 112,074 | 63.72% | |
| Democratic | Johnny Swanson | 38,757 | 22.03% | |
| Democratic | Mark Townsend | 25,058 | 14.25% | |
| Total votes | 175,889 | 100.00% | ||
| Source | Ranking | As of |
|---|---|---|
| The Cook Political Report [9] | Safe R | October 23, 2008 |
| CQ Politics [10] | Safe R | October 31, 2008 |
| Rothenberg Political Report [11] | Safe R | November 2, 2008 |
| Real Clear Politics [12] | Safe R | November 4, 2008 |
| Poll source | Dates administered | Vivian Davis Figures (D) | Jeff Sessions (R) |
|---|---|---|---|
| SurveyUSA [13] | August 25–27, 2007 | 37% | 59% |
| Rasmussen Reports [14] | November 14, 2007 | 30% | 62% |
| Rasmussen Reports [15] | April 2, 2008 | 36% | 57% |
| Rasmussen Reports [16] | May 27, 2008 | 29% | 62% |
| Rasmussen Reports [17] | June 30, 2008 | 34% | 58% |
| Rasmussen Reports [18] | July 31, 2008 | 31% | 58% |
| Survey USA [19] | September 16–17, 2008 | 31% | 66% |
| Survey USA [20] | October 8–9, 2008 | 33% | 64% |
| Survey USA [21] | October 27–28, 2008 | 32% | 65% |
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Jeff Sessions (incumbent) | 1,305,383 | 63.36% | |
| Democratic | Vivian Davis Figures | 752,391 | 36.52% | |
| Write-in | 2,417 | 0.12% | ||
| Total votes | 2,060,191 | 100.00% | ||
| Republican hold | ||||
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The 2008 United States Senate election in Maine took place on November 4, 2008. Incumbent Republican U.S. Senator Susan Collins won re-election to a third term against Democrat Tom Allen, the U.S. Congressman from the 1st district.
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The 2008 United States Senate election in Georgia took place on November 4, 2008. The runoff 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 2002 United States Senate election in Alabama was held on November 5, 2002. Incumbent Republican U.S. Senator Jeff Sessions won re-election to a second term. Sessions became the first Republican to be elected to two full terms to the Senate from the state. As of 2022, this is the most recent Senate election in Alabama in which Colbert and Lawrence counties voted for the Democratic candidate.
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The 2014 Alabama gubernatorial election took place on November 4, 2014, to elect the governor of Alabama. Incumbent Governor Robert J. Bentley won a second term over Democrat Parker Griffith. This was the first Alabama gubernatorial race where either Choctaw and/or Conecuh counties voted Republican. This alongside the concurrent Senate race is the last time Jefferson County voted Republican in any statewide election. Bentley did not complete this term; he resigned in April 2017 due to a scandal and was succeeded by fellow Republican Kay Ivey.
The 2014 United States Senate election in Oregon took place on November 4, 2014, to elect a member of the United States Senate to represent the State of Oregon, concurrently with the election of the Governor of Oregon, 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 2014 United States Senate election in Alabama took place on November 4, 2014, to elect a member of the United States Senate for Alabama.
