2008 United States Senate election in Iowa

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2008 United States Senate election in Iowa
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←  2002 November 4, 2008 2014  →
  Tom Harkin official portrait (cropped).jpg Christopher Reed announcment1-300x226 (cropped).jpg
Nominee Tom Harkin Christopher Reed
Party Democratic Republican
Popular vote941,665560,006
Percentage62.66%37.26%
2008 United States Senate election in Iowa results map by county.svg
2008 United States Senate election in Iowa by precinct.svg
Harkin:      50–60%     60–70%     70–80%     80–90%     >90%
Reed:      50–60%     60–70%     70–80%     80–90%
Tie:     50%     No Data
U.S. senator before election

Tom Harkin
Democratic

Elected U.S. Senator

Tom Harkin
Democratic

The 2008 United States Senate election in Iowa was held on November 4, 2008. Incumbent Senator Tom Harkin sought re-election to a fifth term in office. Unlike Harkin's three previous reelection bids, he was not challenged by a sitting United States Congressman but instead faced small businessman Christopher Reed, who won the Republican primary by just a few hundred votes. Harkin defeated Reed in a landslide, winning 94 of Iowa's 99 counties. As of August 2024, this is the last time that a Democrat has won a U.S. Senate election in Iowa.

Contents

Democratic primary

Candidates

Results

Democratic primary results [1]
PartyCandidateVotes%
Democratic Tom Harkin (incumbent) 90,785 98.83%
Democratic Write-ins1,0741.17%
Total votes91,859 100.00%

Republican primary

Candidates

Results

Republican primary results by county .mw-parser-output .legend{page-break-inside:avoid;break-inside:avoid-column}.mw-parser-output .legend-color{display:inline-block;min-width:1.25em;height:1.25em;line-height:1.25;margin:1px 0;text-align:center;border:1px solid black;background-color:transparent;color:black}.mw-parser-output .legend-text{} Reed 30-40% 40-50% 50-60% Eichhorn 30-40% 40-50% 50-60% 70-80% Rathje 30-40% 40-50% 50-60% 2008 United States Senate Republican primary election in Iowa results map by county.svg
Republican primary results by county
  Reed
  •   30–40%
  •   40–50%
  •   50–60%
  Eichhorn
  •   30–40%
  •   40–50%
  •   50–60%
  •   70–80%
  Rathje
  •   30–40%
  •   40–50%
  •   50–60%
Republican primary results [1]
PartyCandidateVotes%
Republican Christopher Reed 24,964 35.32%
Republican George Eichhorn24,39034.52%
Republican Steve Rathje21,06229.80%
Republican Write-ins2560.36%
Total votes70,672 100.00%

General election

Predictions

SourceRankingAs of
The Cook Political Report [2] Safe DOctober 23, 2008
CQ Politics [3] Safe DOctober 31, 2008
Rothenberg Political Report [4] Safe DNovember 2, 2008
Real Clear Politics [5] Safe DNovember 4, 2008

Polling

Governor Chet Culver campaigning for Senator Harkin Chet Culver (3916888101).jpg
Governor Chet Culver campaigning for Senator Harkin
Poll sourceDates administeredChristopher
Reed (R)		Tom
Harkin (D)
Survey USA [6] April 21–23, 200820%59%
Research 2000 [7] June 10, 200837%53%
Rasmussen Reports [8] July 10, 200837%55%
Rasmussen Reports [9] August 7, 200836%60%
Rasmussen Reports [10] September 17–18, 200837%60%
Survey USA [11] October 23, 200841%57%
Rasmussen Reports [12] October 29, 200835%61%

Results

United States Senate election in Iowa, 2008 [13]
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
Democratic Tom Harkin (incumbent) 941,665 62.66% +8.48%
Republican Christopher Reed560,00637.26%−6.52%
Write-in 1,2470.08%N/A
Majority381,65925.39%+15.00%
Turnout 1,502,918
Democratic hold Swing

Counties that flipped from Republican to Democratic

See also

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References

  1. 1 2 "Official Results Report 2008 Primary Election" (PDF). Retrieved January 17, 2020.
  2. ↑ "2008 Senate Race ratings for October 23, 2008". The Cook Political Report. Retrieved April 1, 2021.
  3. ↑ Race Ratings Chart: Senate Archived October 28, 2010, at the Wayback Machine CQ Politics
  4. ↑ "2008 Senate ratings". Inside Elections. Retrieved April 1, 2021.
  5. ↑ "2008 RCP Averages & Senate Results". Real Clear Politics. Retrieved August 31, 2021.
  6. ↑ Survey USA
  7. ↑ Research 2000
  8. ↑ Rasmussen Reports
  9. ↑ Rasmussen Reports
  10. ↑ Rasmussen Reports
  11. ↑ Survey USA
  12. ↑ Rasmussen Reports
  13. ↑ "Statistics of the Presidential and Congressional Election of November 4, 2008" (PDF). Retrieved January 17, 2020.
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