2008 United States Senate election in Texas
(Redirected from Texas United States Senate election, 2008)
The 2008 United States Senate election in Texas was held on November 4, 2008. Incumbent Republican John Cornyn defeated Democratic nominee Rick Noriega, a member of the Texas House of Representatives, to win re-election to a second term in office.
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 County results Cornyn: 50–60% 60–70% 70–80% 80–90% >90% Noriega: 40–50% 50–60% 60–70% 70–80% 80–90% | |||||||||||||||||
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Democratic primary
editCandidates
edit- Gene Kelly, U.S. Air Force veteran and nominee for the U.S. Senate in 2000
- Ray McMurrey, teacher at Mary Carroll High School
- Rick Noriega, State Representative
- Rhett Smith, U.S. Navy veteran and auditor at the Texas Department of Human Services
Results
edit| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Rick Noriega | 1,110,579 | 51.01% | |
| Democratic | Gene Kelly | 584,966 | 26.87% | |
| Democratic | Ray McMurrey | 269,402 | 12.37% | |
| Democratic | Rhett Smith | 213,305 | 9.75% | |
| Total votes | 2,178,252 | 100.00% | ||
Republican primary
editCandidates
edit- John Cornyn, incumbent U.S. Senator
- Larry Kilgore, conservative/Secessionist activist
Results
edit| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | John Cornyn (incumbent) | 997,216 | 81.48% | +4.17% | |
| Republican | Larry Kilgore | 226,649 | 18.52% | +0.00% | |
General election
editCandidates
edit- John Cornyn (R), incumbent U.S. Senator
- Rick Noriega (D), State Representative
- Yvonne Adams Schick (L), real estate entrepreneur[3]
Campaign
editCornyn, running as an incumbent, had a 42% approval rating with a 43% disapproval rating in June 2007.[4] Texas is a red state, that Republican presidential nominee John McCain won with over 55% of the vote. Cornyn slightly underperformed McCain. However, Noriega underperformed both 2008 Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama in Texas and Cornyn's 2002 opponent, Ron Kirk, with Noriega receiving just 42.8% of the vote.
Predictions
edit| Source | Ranking | As of |
|---|---|---|
| The Cook Political Report[5] | Safe R | October 23, 2008 |
| CQ Politics[6] | Likely R | October 31, 2008 |
| Rothenberg Political Report[7] | Safe R | November 2, 2008 |
| Real Clear Politics[8] | Safe R | November 4, 2008 |
Polling
edit| Poll source | Dates administered | Rick Noriega (D) | John Cornyn (R) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rasmussen[9] | September 18, 2007 | 30% | 53% |
| Research 2000[10] | September 24–26, 2007 | 35% | 51% |
| Rasmussen Reports | May 1, 2008 | 43% | 47% |
| Research 2000/Daily Kos[11] | May 5–7, 2008 | 44% | 48% |
| Baselice & Associates[12] | May 20–25, 2008 | 33% | 49% |
| Rasmussen Reports | June 2, 2008 | 35% | 52% |
| Rasmussen Reports | June 25, 2008 | 35% | 48% |
| Rasmussen Reports | July 30, 2008 | 39% | 50% |
| Rasmussen Reports | September 29, 2008 | 43% | 50% |
| Rasmussen Reports | October 21, 2008 | 40% | 55% |
Results
edit| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | John Cornyn (incumbent) | 4,337,469 | 54.82% | −0.48% | |
| Democratic | Rick Noriega | 3,389,365 | 42.84% | −0.50% | |
| Libertarian | Yvonne Adams Schick | 185,241 | 2.34% | +1.55% | |
| Majority | 948,104 | 11.98% | |||
| Turnout | 7,912,075 | 58.28% | |||
| Republican hold | Swing | ||||
Counties that flipped from Republican to Democratic
edit- Bexar (largest municipality: San Antonio)
- Harris (largest municipality: Houston)
- Brewster (largest city: Alpine)
- Uvalde (largest city: Uvalde)
Counties that flipped from Democratic to Republican
edit- Bee (Largest city: Beeville)
- Caldwell (Largest city: Lockhart)
- Fisher (Largest city: Rotan)
- Foard (Largest city: Crowell)
- Haskell (Largest city: Haskell)
- Marion (Largest city: Jefferson)
- Pecos (Largest city: Fort Stockton)
- Refugio (Largest city: Refugio)
- San Augustine (Largest city: San Augustine)
- San Patricio (Largest city: Portland)
- Terrell (Largest city: Sanderson)
- Morris (Largest city: Daingerfield)
- Newton (Largest city: Newton)
- Calhoun (Largest city: Port Lavaca)
- Robertson (Largest city: Hearne)
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ "Our Campaigns - TX US Senate - D Primary Race - Mar 04, 2008". www.ourcampaigns.com. Retrieved December 19, 2022.
- ^ "Our Campaigns - TX US Senate - R Primary Race - Mar 04, 2008". www.ourcampaigns.com. Retrieved December 19, 2022.
- ^ "NewsBank". Archived from the original on October 25, 2012. Retrieved May 17, 2011.
- ^ "SurveyUSA News Poll #12245". www.surveyusa.com. Retrieved December 19, 2022.
- ^ "2008 Senate Race ratings for October 23, 2008". The Cook Political Report. Retrieved April 1, 2021.
- ^ Race Ratings Chart: Senate Archived October 28, 2010, at the Wayback Machine CQ Politics
- ^ "2008 Senate ratings". Inside Elections. Retrieved April 1, 2021.
- ^ "2008 RCP Averages & Senate Results". Real Clear Politics. Retrieved August 31, 2021.
- ^ Rasmussen
- ^ Research 2000
- ^ Research 2000/Daily Kos
- ^ Baselice & Associates
External links
edit- Elections Division from the Texas Secretary of State
- U.S. Congress candidates for Texas at Project Vote Smart
- Texas, U.S. Senate from CQ Politics
- Texas U.S. Senate from OurCampaigns.com
- Texas Senate race from 2008 Race Tracker
- Campaign contributions from OpenSecrets
- Cornyn (R-i) vs Noriega (D) graph of multiple polls from Pollster.com
- Official campaign websites (Archived)
- John Cornyn, Republican candidate
- Rick Noriega, Democratic candidate
- Yvonne Schick, Libertarian candidate