2008 Tennessee elections
Tennessee state elections in 2008 were held on Tuesday, November 4, 2008. Primary elections for the United States Senate, United States House of Representatives, Tennessee Senate, and Tennessee House of Representatives, as well as various judicial retention elections, including elections for two Tennessee Supreme Court justices, were held on August 7, 2008.
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| Elections in Tennessee |
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Presidential election
President of the United States
- 50–60%
- 60–70%
- 70–80%
- 40–50%
- 50–60%
- 60–70%
In 2008, Tennessee was a stronghold for the Republican Party, and was considered a reliable "red state." Tennessee had 11 electoral votes in the Electoral college at the time. In the general election, Republican candidate John McCain won the state with 56.85% of the vote to Democratic candidate Obama's 41.79%.
The presidential primaries were held on February 5, 2008. Mike Huckabee won Tennessee's Republican primary over Senator John McCain of Arizona. Former first lady Hillary Clinton defeated Senator Barack Obama of Illinois in the Tennessee Democratic primary.
Results
| United States presidential election in Tennessee, 2008[1] | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Running mate | Votes | Percentage | Electoral votes | |
| Republican | John McCain | Sarah Palin | 1,479,178 | 56.85% | 11 | |
| Democratic | Barack Obama | Joe Biden | 1,087,437 | 41.79% | 0 | |
| Independent | Ralph Nader | Matt Gonzalez | 11,560 | 0.44% | 0 | |
| Libertarian | Bob Barr | Wayne Allyn Root | 8,547 | 0.33% | 0 | |
| Constitution | Chuck Baldwin | Darrell Castle | 8,191 | 0.31% | 0 | |
| Green | Cynthia McKinney | Rosa Clemente | 2,499 | 0.10% | 0 | |
| Write-ins | Write-ins | Write-ins | 2,333 | 0.09% | 0 | |
| Socialist | Brian Moore | Stewart Alexander | 1,326 | 0.05% | 0 | |
| Boston Tea | Charles Jay | Thomas Knapp | 1,011 | 0.04% | 0 | |
| Totals | 2,601,982 | 100.00% | 11 | |||
| Voter turnout (Voting age population) | 55.5% | |||||
February 5, 2008, Primary Results
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 Primary results by county Clinton: 40–50% 50–60% 60–70% 70–80% 80–90% Obama: 40–50% 50–60% 60–70% | |||||||||||||||||||
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 Election results by county.
Mike Huckabee
John McCain
Mitt Romney | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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United States Congress
Senate
- 40–50%
- 50–60%
- 60–70%
- 70–80%
- 80–90%
- 50–60%
Incumbent Republican U.S. Senator Lamar Alexander won re-election to a second term, with 65.1% of the vote against Democrat Bob Tuke, who won just 32.6%.
Results
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Lamar Alexander (Incumbent) | 1,579,477 | 65.14% | +10.87% | |
| Democratic | Bob Tuke | 767,236 | 31.64% | -12.69% | |
| Independent | Edward L. Buck | 31,631 | 1.30% | N/A | |
| Independent | Christopher G. Fenner | 11,073 | 0.46% | N/A | |
| Independent | Daniel Towers Lewis | 9,367 | 0.39% | N/A | |
| Independent | Chris Lugo | 9,170 | 0.38% | N/A | |
| Independent | Ed Lawhorn | 8,986 | 0.37% | N/A | |
| Independent | David Gatchell | 7,645 | 0.32% | N/A | |
| Majority | 812,241 | 33.50% | +23.56% | ||
| Turnout | 2,424,585 | 66.34% | |||
| Republican hold | Swing | ||||
August 7, 2008, Primary Results
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Bob Tuke | 59,050 | 32.21% | |
| Democratic | Gary G. Davis | 39,119 | 21.34% | |
| Democratic | Mike Padgett | 33,471 | 18.26% | |
| Democratic | Mark E. Clayton | 32,309 | 17.62% | |
| Democratic | Kenneth Eaton | 14,702 | 8.02% | |
| Democratic | Leonard D. Ladner | 4,697 | 2.55% | |
| Total votes | 183,348 | 100.00% | ||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Lamar Alexander (Incumbent) | 244,222 | 100.00% | |
| Total votes | 244,222 | 100.00% | ||
House of Representatives
- 60–70%
- 70–80%
- 50–60%
- 60–70%
- 70–80%
- 80–90%
- >90%
Tennessee elected nine U.S. representatives, each representing one of Tennessee's nine congressional districts.
Results
| District | Incumbent | Party | First elected |
Results | Candidates |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tennessee 1 | David Davis | Republican | 2006 | Incumbent lost renomination. New member elected. Republican hold. |
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| Tennessee 2 | Jimmy Duncan | Republican | 1998 | Incumbent re-elected. |
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| Tennessee 3 | Zach Wamp | Republican | 1994 | Incumbent re-elected. | |
| Tennessee 4 | Lincoln Davis | Democratic | 2002 | Incumbent re-elected. |
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| Tennessee 5 | Jim Cooper | Democratic | 1982 1994 (retired) 2002 |
Incumbent re-elected. |
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| Tennessee 6 | Bart Gordon | Democratic | 1984 | Incumbent re-elected. |
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| Tennessee 7 | Marsha Blackburn | Republican | 2002 | Incumbent re-elected. |
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| Tennessee 8 | John Tanner | Democratic | 1988 | Incumbent re-elected. |
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| Tennessee 9 | Steve Cohen | Democratic | 2006 | Incumbent re-elected. |
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State Legislature
State Senate
Elections for 16 of the 33 seats in Tennessee's State Senate were held on November 4, 2008.
After this election, Republicans had 19 seats while Democrats had 14 seats, with Republicans gaining three seats, fully flipping the senate.
State House of Representatives
The election of all 99 seats in the Tennessee House of Representatives occurred on November 4, 2008.
Republicans won 50 seats, while Democrats won 49 seats. Republicans gained four seats, flipping the house during this election.
Supreme Court
Retention elections (August 7, 2008)
All incumbent Tennessee Supreme Court Justices won their retention elections, getting eight more years.
| Choice | Votes | % |
|---|---|---|
 Yes |
295,754 | 76.15 |
| No | 92,632 | 23.85 |
| Total votes | 388,386 | 100.00 |
| Choice | Votes | % |
|---|---|---|
| Yes |
296,645 | 77.08 |
| No | 88,193 | 22.92 |
| Total votes | 384,838 | 100.00 |
See also
References
- "Official General Election Results". The Green Papers. Retrieved December 12, 2008.
- "Office of the Clerk, U.S. House of Representatives".
- "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on July 13, 2011. Retrieved June 3, 2011.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) - "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on July 13, 2011. Retrieved June 3, 2011.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) - State of Tennessee General Election Results, August 7, 2008, Results By Office (Report). Secretary of State of Tennessee. Retrieved January 17, 2023.