2008 United States Senate election in Illinois

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2008 United States Senate election in Illinois
Flag of Illinois.svg
←  2002 November 4, 2008 2014  →
Turnout68.42%
  Richard Durbin official photo (cropped).jpg 3x4.svg
Nominee Dick Durbin Steve Sauerberg
Party Democratic Republican
Popular vote3,615,8441,520,621
Percentage67.84%28.53%
2008 United States Senate election in Illinois results map by county.svg
County results
Durbin:      40–50%     50–60%     60–70%     70–80%
Sauerberg:      40–50%     50–60%
U.S. senator before election

Dick Durbin
Democratic

Elected U.S. Senator

Dick Durbin
Democratic

The 2008 United States Senate election in Illinois was held on November 4, 2008. Incumbent Democratic U.S. Senator Dick Durbin sought a third term in office and faced minimal opposition from Republican Steve Sauerberg. As expected, Durbin overwhelmingly won re-election. On the same night, fellow Democratic Senator Barack Obama was elected President of the United States, defeating Republican Senator John McCain of Arizona.

Contents

As of 2025, this is the last Senate election in Illinois in which a candidate received above 60% of the vote.

Background

The primaries and general elections coincided with those for other federal elections (United States President and House), as well as those for state offices.

For the primary elections, turnout was 32.37%, with 2,364,409 votes cast. [1] [2] For the general election, turnout was 68.42%, with 5,329,884 votes cast. [1] [2]

Democratic primary

Candidates

Results

Democratic primary results [3]
PartyCandidateVotes%
Democratic Dick Durbin (incumbent) 1,653,833 100.00%
Total votes1,653,833 100.00%

Republican primary

Candidates

Results

Republican primary results [3]
PartyCandidateVotes%
Republican Steve Sauerberg 395,199 55.62%
Republican Andy Martin240,54833.85%
Republican Mike Psak74,82910.53%
Total votes710,576 100.00%

General election

Predictions

SourceRankingAs of
The Cook Political Report [4] Safe DOctober 23, 2008
CQ Politics [5] Safe DOctober 31, 2008
Rothenberg Political Report [6] Safe DNovember 2, 2008
Real Clear Politics [7] Safe DNovember 4, 2008

Results

Durbin's 3,615,844 votes is the highest vote total in a statewide election in Illinois. No one has broken his record since, however then Vice President Joe Biden received the most votes in the presidential election in Illinois in 2020. Durbin comfortably won re-election with the best margin of his career, winning all but four of the state's 102 counties.

2008 United States Senate election in Illinois [1] [8]
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
Democratic Dick Durbin (incumbent) 3,615,844 67.84% +7.51%
Republican Steve Sauerberg1,520,62128.53%−9.49%
Green Kathy Cummings119,1352.24%0.00%
Libertarian Larry A. Stafford50,2240.94%−0.70%
Constitution Chad N. Koppie24,0590.45%0.00%
Total votes5,329,884 100.00% N/A
Democratic hold

Counties that flipped from Republican to Democratic

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Voter Turnout". www.elections.il.gov. Illinois State Board of Elections. Archived from the original on May 30, 2021. Retrieved March 22, 2020.
  2. 1 2 "Election Results". www.elections.il.gov. Illinois State Board of Elections. Archived from the original on February 22, 2020. Retrieved March 23, 2020.
  3. 1 2 "Ballots Cast". Elections.il.gov. February 5, 2008. Archived from the original on March 3, 2016. Retrieved April 4, 2015.
  4. ↑ "2008 Senate Race ratings for October 23, 2008". The Cook Political Report. Retrieved April 1, 2021.
  5. ↑ Race Ratings Chart: Senate Archived October 28, 2010, at the Wayback Machine CQ Politics
  6. ↑ "2008 Senate ratings". Inside Elections. Retrieved April 1, 2021.
  7. ↑ "2008 RCP Averages & Senate Results". Real Clear Politics. Retrieved August 31, 2021.
  8. ↑ "Statistics of the Presidential and Congressional Election of November 4, 2008" (PDF). Clerk.house.gov. Retrieved April 4, 2015.
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