Mary Loretta Landrieu is an American entrepreneur and politician who served as a United States senator from Louisiana from 1997 to 2015. A member of the Democratic Party, Landrieu served as the Louisiana State Treasurer from 1988 to 1996, and in the Louisiana House of Representatives from 1980 to 1988.
The 2008 United States Senate elections were held on November 4, 2008, with 35 of the 100 seats in the Senate being contested. Thirty-three seats were up for regular elections; the winners were eligible to serve six-year terms from January 3, 2009, to January 3, 2015, as members of Class 2. There were also two special elections, the winners of those seats would finish the terms that ended on January 3, 2013. The presidential election, which was won by Democrat Barack Obama, elections for all House of Representatives seats; elections for several gubernatorial elections; and many state and local elections occurred on the same date.
United States gubernatorial elections were held in October and November 2007 in three states. The final results were a net change of zero among the parties. Republicans picked up the open seat in Louisiana and reelected incumbent Haley Barbour in Mississippi, while Democrats defeated Republican incumbent Ernie Fletcher in Kentucky.
Suzanne Haik Terrell was the first Republican woman elected to statewide office in Louisiana. A practicing attorney, Terrell was the state's final commissioner of elections, a position which she held from 2000 to 2004. In 2002, she was the Republican nominee for United States Senate, losing a hotly contested and closely watched race against incumbent Senator Mary Landrieu. In 2005, U.S. President George W. Bush appointed Terrell to a position as Deputy Assistant Secretary in the United States Department of Commerce's Economic Development Administration. Terrell is currently a partner with the New Orleans law firm of Hangartner, Rydberg, and Terrell.
The politics of Louisiana involve political parties, laws and the state constitution, and the many other groups that influence the governance of the state. The state was a one-party Deep South state dominated by the Democratic Party from the end of Reconstruction to the 1960s, forming the backbone of the "Solid South." This was due to the near-total disenfranchisement of the state's large African-American population during this time, who mostly voted Republican. The Civil Rights era turned the state into a competitive one on the federal level, as it voted for the nationwide winner in every election between 1972 and 2004. It remained Democratic on the state and local level until the turn of the 21st century, allowing Republicans to win control of the state legislature and every statewide office in 2011. Republicans won a United States Senate seat for Louisiana in the election of 2004, for the first time since 1876. Republicans captured both seats in the election of 2014 for the first time since 1872. In the election of 2008, the state voted for a losing presidential candidate for the first time since 1968. Democrats won less than 40% of the presidential popular vote in the state in the elections of 2016 and 2020.
The Mississippi U.S. House elections took place on November 7, 2006. All 4 House seats for Mississippi were up for election with all incumbents running for re-election. All incumbents succeeded in being re-elected.
The United States Senate election in New Hampshire was held on November 4, 2008. Incumbent Republican U.S. Senator John E. Sununu ran for re-election to a second term, but was defeated by Democrat Jeanne Shaheen in a rematch of the 2002 election. Shaheen's win marked the first time since 1972 that Democrats won this seat, and made her the first Democratic Senator elected from New Hampshire since John A. Durkin's victory in 1975.
The 2008 United States Senate election in Massachusetts took place on November 4, 2008. Incumbent Democratic U.S. Senator John Kerry, who remained in the Senate after losing the presidency to incumbent President George W. Bush in the 2004 presidential election, won re-election to a fifth term in office. Four years into his term, Kerry resigned upon becoming United States Secretary of State in the Barack Obama administration.
The 2008 United States Senate election in Colorado was held November 4, 2008. The primary elections were held August 12, 2008. Incumbent Republican U.S. Senator Wayne Allard decided to retire instead of seeking a third term. Democratic nominee Mark Udall won the open seat, making this the first time a Democrat won this seat since 1972, and that Democrats held both Senate seats since 1979.
The 2008 United States Senate election in Oklahoma was held on November 4, 2008. The statewide primary election was held July 29, with the run-off on August 26. Incumbent Republican U.S. Senator Jim Inhofe won re-election to a third term over Democrat Andrew Rice.
The 2008 United States Senate election in Arkansas was held on November 4, 2008. Incumbent Senator Mark Pryor ran for a second term. No Republican filed to challenge him, and his only opponent was Green Party candidate Rebekah Kennedy. Pryor won re-election with almost 80% of the vote, despite Republican John McCain winning the state by nearly 20 points in the concurrent presidential election.
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.
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.
The political balance in Louisiana was heavily affected by the post-Hurricane Katrina departure from New Orleans. Heavily Democratic New Orleans lost some 1/3 of its population. The overall effect reduced the Democrats' base of support in the state and turned Louisiana into a Republican-leaning state thereafter. New Orleans remained Democratic, electing Mitch Landrieu as mayor in February 2010. In the 2008 elections, Louisiana sent a mixed result, with the election of U.S. Senator John McCain for President and the reelection of Democratic U.S. Senator Mary Landrieu. The other senator, at the time, was Republican David Vitter.
The 2004 United States Senate election in Louisiana was held on November 2, 2004. Incumbent Democratic Senator John Breaux decided to retire after three terms in office. Republican Representative David Vitter won the open seat with more than 50% of the primary vote. He thus avoided a runoff that would have otherwise been held on December 4, became the first Louisiana Republican elected to the U.S. Senate since 1876, and the first ever to be popularly elected. This election was the first time ever that a Republican won a full term to this Senate seat in Louisiana.
The 2002 United States Senate election in Louisiana was held on November 5, 2002. Incumbent Democratic U.S. Senator Mary Landrieu won re-election to a second term, although she did not earn 50% of the vote in the first round and was therefore forced into a runoff election with Republican Suzanne Haik Terrell, the Louisiana Elections Commissioner.
The 2008 United States presidential election in Louisiana took place on November 4, 2008, was part of the 2008 United States presidential election. Voters chose nine representatives, or electors to the Electoral College, who voted for president and vice president.
The 2010 United States Senate election in Alabama took place on November 2, 2010, alongside other elections to the United States Senate in other states, as well as elections to the United States House of Representatives and various state and local elections. Incumbent Republican Senator Richard Shelby won re-election to a fifth term.
The 2014 United States Senate election in Louisiana was held on November 4, 2014, to elect a member of the United States Senate to represent the State of Louisiana.
The 2015 Louisiana gubernatorial election was held on November 21, 2015, to elect the governor of Louisiana. Incumbent Republican Governor Bobby Jindal was not eligible to run for re-election to a third term because of term limits established by the Louisiana Constitution.
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