2008 United States Senate election in Kansas

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2008 United States Senate election in Kansas
Flag of Kansas.svg
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November 4, 2008
2014  →
  Pat Roberts official photo 2.jpg Jim Slattery.jpg
Nominee Pat Roberts Jim Slattery
Party Republican Democratic
Popular vote712,396429,691
Percentage60.06%36.46%
2008 United States Senate election in Kansas results map by county.svg
County results
Roberts:      40–50%     50–60%     60–70%     70–80%
     80–90%     >90%
Slattery:      40–50%     50–60%     60–70%
U.S. senator before election

Pat Roberts
Republican

Elected U.S. Senator

Pat Roberts
Republican

The 2008 United States Senate election in Kansas was held on November 4, 2008. Incumbent Republican U.S. Senator Pat Roberts won re-election to a third term.

Contents

As of 2025, this is the last time a Democratic candidate won Atchison County in a US Senate election.

Background

The state of Kansas has not elected a Democrat to the U.S. Senate since 1932. Kansas's other Republican Senator Sam Brownback announced that he is retiring due to "self-imposed term limits," which meant Roberts became the senior senator from Kansas in 2011. It is considered one of the most Republican states in the U.S. The last time its electors went to a Democrat was the Presidential Election of 1964, when Lyndon Johnson carried the state over Barry Goldwater.

Roberts had announced ahead of the 1996 election that "I plan only to serve two terms in the U.S. Senate", [1] but he broke that pledge in this election.

Republican primary

Candidates

Results

Republican Party primary results [2]
PartyCandidateVotes%
Republican Pat Roberts (Incumbent) 214,911 100.00%
Total votes214,911 100.00%

Democratic primary

Candidates

Results

Democratic primary results [2]
PartyCandidateVotes%
Democratic Jim Slattery 68,106 68.93%
Democratic Lee Jones30,69931.07%
Total votes98,805 100.00%

General election

Candidates

Predictions

SourceRankingAs of
The Cook Political Report [3] Safe ROctober 23, 2008
CQ Politics [4] Likely ROctober 31, 2008
Rothenberg Political Report [5] Safe RNovember 2, 2008
Real Clear Politics [6] Safe RNovember 4, 2008

Polling

Poll SourceDates administeredSlatteryRoberts
Rasmussen Reports [7] May 13, 200840%52%
Research 2000/Daily Kos [8] June 2–4, 200838%50%
Cooper & Secrest [9] June 5–8, 200836%48%
Rasmussen Reports [7] June 11, 200839%48%
TargetPoint Consulting, Inc. [10] July 1, 200834%54%
Rasmussen Reports [11] July 15, 200833%61%
Rasmussen Reports [11] August 11, 200837%56%
Survey USA [12] August 20, 200831%58%
Survey USA [13] September 22, 200835%55%
Rasmussen Reports [11] September 23, 200838%58%
Rasmussen Reports [11] October 13, 200836%55%
Survey USA [14] October 22, 200835%57%
Survey USA [15] October 28, 200833%60%

Results

General election results [16]
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
Republican Pat Roberts (Incumbent) 727,121 60.06% −22.46%
Democratic Jim Slattery 441,39936.46%+36.46%
Libertarian Randall Hodgkinson25,7272.12%−6.98%
Reform Joseph L. Martin16,4431.36%−7.02%
Majority 285,72223.60%−49.82%
Turnout 1,210,690
Republican hold Swing

Counties that flipped from Republican to Democratic

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Pat Roberts Said In 1996 He'd Only Serve Two Terms — He's Running For His Fourth". BuzzFeed. October 14, 2014. Retrieved October 15, 2014.
  2. 1 2 "Results" (PDF). www.kssos.org. Retrieved May 9, 2021.
  3. ↑ "2008 Senate Race ratings for October 23, 2008". The Cook Political Report. Retrieved April 1, 2021.
  4. ↑ Race Ratings Chart: Senate Archived October 28, 2010, at the Wayback Machine CQ Politics
  5. ↑ "2008 Senate ratings". Inside Elections. Retrieved April 1, 2021.
  6. ↑ "2008 RCP Averages & Senate Results". Real Clear Politics. Retrieved August 31, 2021.
  7. 1 2 Rasmussen Reports
  8. ↑ Research 2000/Daily Kos
  9. ↑ Cooper & Secrest
  10. ↑ TargetPoint Consulting, Inc.
  11. 1 2 3 4 Rasmussen Reports
  12. ↑ Survey USA
  13. ↑ Survey USA
  14. ↑ Survey USA
  15. ↑ Survey USA
  16. ↑ "Office of the Clerk, U.S. House of Representatives". Clerk.house.gov. Retrieved May 9, 2021.
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