United States Senate election in Tennessee, 2008
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Elections in Tennessee | ||||||||||||
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The 2008 United States Senate election in Tennessee was held on November 4, 2008. Incumbent Republican U.S. Senator Lamar Alexander won re-election to a second term.
Contents
Democratic primary
Candidates
- Bob Tuke, former Chairman of the Democratic Party of Tennessee
- Gary Davis, perennial candidate
- Mike Padgett, former Knox County Clerk
- Mark Clayton, insurance agent
- Kenneth Eaton, businessman and Nashville mayoral candidate in 2003 and 2007
- Leonard Ladner, truck-driver
Campaign
Mike Padgett finished third after Gary Davis, who did not campaign and used no money. Many were surprised at the results. They claimed that perhaps there was name confusion, with two incumbent congressmen David Davis and Lincoln Davis.[1]
Results
Democratic Party primary results[2] | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
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 | 2.56 | |
Total votes | 183,348 | 100.00 |
Republican primary
Candidates
- Lamar Alexander, incumbent U.S. Senator
Results
Republican Party primary results[3] | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
Republican | Lamar Alexander (inc.) | 244,222 | 100.00 | |
Total votes | 244,222 | 100.00 |
General election
Candidates
Major
- Lamar Alexander (R), incumbent U.S. Senator and former Governor
- Bob Tuke (D), Chairman of the Democratic Party of Tennessee (2005–2007)
Minor
In Tennessee, a candidate seeking a House or Senate seat at the state or national level must gather 25 signatures from registered voters to be put on the ballot for any elected office.[4][5][6][7] Presidential candidates seeking to represent an officially recognized party must either be named as candidates by the Tennessee Secretary of State or gather 2,500 signatures from registered voters, and an independent candidate for President must gather 275 signatures and put forward a full slate of eleven candidates who have agreed to serve as electors.[8] In order to be recognized as a party and have its candidates listed on the ballot under that party's name, a political party must gather signatures equal to or in excess of 2.5% of the total number of votes cast in the last election (about 45,000 signatures based on the election held in 2006).[9] The last third party to be officially recognized was the American Party in 1968; none of its candidates received five percent of the statewide vote in 1970 and it was then subject to desertification as an official party.[citation needed]. Due to these hurdles third party candidates almost always appear on the ballot as independents.
- Edward Buck (I)
- Christopher Fenner (I)
- David "None of the Above" Gatchell (I)
- Bo Heyward (I)
- Ed Lawhorn (I)
- Daniel T. Lewis (L)[10]
- Chris Lugo (I), Green party peace activist
Campaign
On April 3, 2007, Alexander confirmed that he would seek re-election to the Senate in 2008. Alexander has remained a popular figure in Tennessee since his first term as governor and faced no opposition in the Republican primary[11] Tuke is a former Marine who served in the Vietnam War. Tuke served as Barack Obama's Presidential campaign chair in Tennessee. Tuke declared himself to be a candidate March 3, 2008, and he secured the help of several high profile Democratic campaigners including Joe Trippi. There were many minor candidates in the race. Chris Lugo announced on January 17 that he was seeking the nomination of the Democratic Party as a 'Progressive Democrat.'[citation needed] In March 2008, Lugo announced he was dropping his candidacy for the Democratic nomination, and would run either for the Green Party nomination or as an independent.[12]
Polling
Source | Date | Alexander (R) | Tuke (D) |
---|---|---|---|
Rasmussen Reports | October 16, 2008 | 62% | 34% |
Rasmussen Reports | September 29, 2008 | 56% | 32% |
MTSU Poll | September 29, 2008 | 50% | 26% |
Rasmussen Report | April 8, 2008 | 59% | 30% |
Ayres, McHenry & Associates (R) | March 11, 2008 | 59% | 28% |
Results
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Republican | Lamar Alexander (inc.) | 1,579,477 | 65.14% | +10.87% | |
Democratic | Bob Tuke | 767,236 | 31.64% | -12.69% | |
Independent | Edward L. Buck | 31,631 | 1.30% | ||
Independent | Christopher G. Fenner | 11,073 | 0.46% | ||
Independent | Daniel Towers Lewis | 9,367 | 0.39% | ||
Independent | Chris Lugo | 9,170 | 0.38% | ||
Independent | Ed Lawhorn | 8,986 | 0.37% | ||
Independent | David Gatchell | 7,645 | 0.32% | ||
Majority | 812,241 | 33.50% | +23.56% | ||
Turnout | 2,424,585 | ||||
Republican hold | Swing |
References
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ http://www.tn.gov/sos/election/results/2008-08/demUSS.pdf
- ↑ http://www.tn.gov/sos/election/results/2008-08/repUSS.pdf
- ↑ "Qualifying Procedures for Candidates for United States Senator", Tennessee Division of Elections (accessed 3 November 2008).
- ↑ "Qualifying Procedures for Tennessee Candidates for United States House of Representatives", Tennessee Division of Elections (accessed 3 November 2008).
- ↑ "Qualifying Procedures for Candidates for Tennessee State Senator", Tennessee Division of Elections (accessed 3 November 2008).
- ↑ "Qualifying Procedures for Candidates for Tennessee House of Representatives", Tennessee Division of Elections (accessed 3 November 2008).
- ↑ "Tennessee Ballot Access Procedures for Candidates for U.S. President", Tennessee Division of Elections (accessed 3 November 2008).
- ↑ "Against all odds, third-party candidates fight on", The Tennessean (accessed 3 November 2008).
- ↑ United States Senate Candidate List From Tennessee http://www.state.tn.us/sos/election/cand/USSenateList.pdf
- ↑ 4/3/2007 - Alexander Running Again, Sets Fundraiser - Breaking News - Chattanoogan.com
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ http://clerk.house.gov/member_info/electionInfo/2008/2008Stat.htm#stateTN
External links
- Division of Elections from the Tennessee Department of State
- U.S. Congress candidates for Tennessee at Project Vote Smart
- Tennessee, U.S. Senate from CQ Politics
- Tennessee U.S. Senate from OurCampaigns.com
- Tennessee Senate race from 2008 Race Tracker
- Campaign contributions from OpenSecrets.org
- Alexander (R-i) vs Tuke (D) graph of multiple polls from Pollster.com
- Official campaign websites
- Lamar Alexander, Republican incumbent candidate
- Mark E. Clayton, Democratic candidate
- Kenneth Eaton, Democratic candidate
- Mike Padgett, Democratic candidate
- Bob Tuke, Democratic candidate
- David "None of the Above" Gatchell, Independent candidate
- Ed Lawhorn, Independent candidate
- Daniel T. Lewis, Independent (Libertarian Party) candidate
- Chris Lugo, Independent (Green Party) candidate
Preceded by | Tennessee U.S. Senate election 2008 |
Succeeded by 2012 |