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2008 United States Senate election in Tennessee

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2008 United States Senate election in Tennessee
← 2002
November 4, 2008
2014 →
Turnout66.34% Increase[1] 15.94 pp
 
Nominee Lamar Alexander Bob Tuke
Party Republican Democratic
Popular vote 1,571,637 767,236
Percentage 65.14% 31.64%
Alexander:      40–50%      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%      80–90%      >90%
Tuke:      40–50%      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%      80–90%      >90%
Tie:      50%
U.S. senator before election

Lamar Alexander
Republican

 Elected U.S. Senator

Lamar Alexander
Republican

The 2008 United States Senate election in Tennessee was held on November 4, 2008, to elect a member of the U.S. Senate to represent the state of Tennessee. Republican incumbent Lamar Alexander won re-election to a second term, defeating Democratic former state party chair Bob Tuke.

Alexander flipped reliably Democratic Davidson County, home to Nashville which has not voted Republican on a presidential level since 1988. With that, he also won 65.1% of the vote against Tuke, who won just 32.6%. Alexander also won 28% of the African American vote.[2]

Republican primary

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Candidates

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Nominee

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Results

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Republican Party primary results[3]
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Lamar Alexander (Incumbent) 244,222 100.00%
Total votes 244,222 100.00%

Democratic primary

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Candidates

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Nominee

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Eliminated in primary

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  • Gary Davis, perennial candidate
  • Mike Padgett, former Knox County Clerk
  • Mark E. Clayton, insurance agent
  • Kenneth Eaton, businessman and Nashville mayoral candidate in 2003 and 2007
  • Leonard Ladner, truck-driver

Campaign

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Mike Padgett finished third after Gary Davis, who did not campaign and used no money. Many were surprised at the results. They[who?] claimed that perhaps there was name confusion, with two incumbent congressmen David Davis and Lincoln Davis.[4]

Results

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Democratic Party primary results[5]
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%

General election

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Candidates

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Major

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Minor

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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.[6][7][8][9] 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.[10] 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).[11] 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 decertification 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)[12]
  • Chris Lugo (I), Green party peace activist

Campaign

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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[13] 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.'[14] 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.[15]

Predictions

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Source Ranking As of
The Cook Political Report[16] Safe R October 23, 2008
CQ Politics[17] Likely R October 31, 2008
Rothenberg Political Report[18] Safe R November 2, 2008
Real Clear Politics[19] Safe R November 4, 2008

Polling

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Aggregate polls

Source of poll
aggregation		 Dates
administered		 Dates
updated		 Lamar
Alexander (R)		 Bob
Tuke (R)		 Other/Undecided
[a]		 Margin
RealClearPolitics[20] September 15 – October 22, 2008 October 22, 2008 57.0% 32.5% 10.5% Alexander +24.5%
Poll source Date(s)
administered		 Sample
size[b]		 Margin
of error		 Lamar
Alexander (R)		 Bob
Tuke (D)		 Other Undecided
Rasmussen Reports[21] October 16, 2008 500 (LV) ± 4.5% 62% 34% – 4%
Research 2000[22][A] October 21–22, 2008 600 (LV) ± 4.0% 59% 37% – 4%
Rasmussen Reports[20] September 29, 2008 500 (LV) – 56% 32% – 12%
Middle Tennessee State University[23] September 15–27, 2008 635 (LV) ± 4.0% 50% 26% 1% 23%
Mason-Dixon Polling & Strategy[24][B] September 22–24, 2008 625 (LV) ± 4.0% 57% 33% – 10%
Ayres McHenry (R)[25][C] August 10–12, 2008 500 (RV) ± 4.4% 60% 30% – 10%
Rasmussen Reports[26] April 3, 2008 500 (LV) ± 4.5% 59% 30% 4% 7%
Hypothetical polling
Poll source Date(s)
administered		 Sample
size[b]		 Margin
of error		 Lamar
Alexander (R)		 Mike
Padgett (D)		 Other Undecided
Rasmussen Reports[26] April 3, 2008 500 (LV) ± 4.5% 58% 31% 4% 7%

Results

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United States Senate election in Tennessee, 2008[27]
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

By county

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County[28] Lamar Alexander
Republican		 Bob Tuke
Democratic		 Others
Independent		 Margin Total
votes
% # % # % #
Anderson71.40%21,36525.65%7,6752.95%88313,69029,923
Bedford70.37%9,71725.70%3,5483.93%5436,16913,808
Benton59.71%3,61436.63%2,2173.66%2221,3976,053
Bledsoe68.87%3,10527.77%1,2523.36%1511,8534,508
Blount79.16%38,96117.60%8,6643.24%1,59330,29749,218
Bradley79.41%28,82017.87%6,4852.72%98622,33536,291
Campbell71.96%8,26424.29%2,7903.75%4305,47411,484
Cannon64.39%3,12529.53%1,4336.08%2951,6924,853
Carroll67.83%7,25428.75%3,0753.42%3664,17910,695
Carter79.75%16,14817.03%3,4483.22%65312,70020,249
Cheatham69.39%10,66527.07%4,1603.54%5446,50515,369
Chester73.99%4,40322.58%1,3443.43%2043,0595,951
Claiborne73.36%7,09523.22%2,2463.42%3304,8499,671
Clay63.00%1,62333.07%8523.93%1017712,576
Cocke77.38%8,74219.75%2,2312.87%3256,51111,298
Coffee65.84%13,17329.91%5,9854.25%8507,18820,008
Crockett72.58%3,76624.55%1,2742.87%1492,4925,189
Cumberland72.06%17,09424.15%5,7303.79%89811,36423,722
Davidson49.17%119,99647.27%115,3543.56%8,6994,642244,049
Decatur64.53%2,95832.46%1,4883.01%1381,4704,584
DeKalb64.55%3,91430.70%1,8614.75%2882,0536,063
Dickson62.18%11,26433.41%6,0534.41%7995,21118,116
Dyer73.34%9,53323.04%2,9953.62%4716,53812,999
Fayette70.03%12,45727.69%4,9252.28%4057,53217,787
Fentress76.41%4,46919.95%1,1673.64%2133,3025,849
Franklin64.94%10,46131.44%5,0643.62%5835,39716,108
Gibson69.46%13,20827.20%5,1723.34%6348,03619,014
Giles62.02%6,35533.51%3,4334.47%4582,92210,246
Grainger75.52%5,22920.87%1,4453.61%2503,7846,924
Greene77.37%18,46820.06%4,7882.57%61313,68023,869
Grundy57.93%2,36838.43%1,5713.64%1497974,088
Hamblen76.45%16,19120.90%4,4262.65%56111,76521,178
Hamilton64.34%91,56333.56%47,7542.10%2,98743,809142,304
Hancock77.28%1,53719.41%3863.32%661,1511,989
Hardeman51.82%5,14445.09%4,4763.09%3076689,927
Hardin72.31%6,77024.61%2,3043.08%2884,4669,362
Hawkins75.06%15,26021.83%4,4373.11%63310,82320,330
Haywood45.32%3,40252.87%3,9691.81%136-5677,507
Henderson73.29%7,36723.44%2,3563.27%3295,01110,052
Henry66.78%8,08430.29%3,6672.93%3554,41712,106
Hickman60.22%4,73834.76%2,7355.02%3952,0037,868
Houston52.95%1,57243.55%1,2933.50%1042792,969
Humphreys55.52%3,96540.99%2,9273.49%2491,0387,141
Jackson52.86%2,09742.15%1,6724.99%1984253,967
Jefferson77.03%13,54219.31%3,3953.66%64410,14717,581
Johnson76.12%4,62019.62%1,1914.25%2583,4296,069
Knox71.22%126,77625.75%45,8443.03%5,38880,932178,008
Lake56.47%1,03837.27%6856.26%1153531,838
Lauderdale64.58%5,25632.31%2,6303.11%2532,6268,139
Lawrence70.50%10,11526.21%3,7613.28%4716,35414,347
Lewis63.73%2,85731.92%1,4314.35%1951,4264,483
Lincoln69.94%8,65325.84%3,1974.22%5225,45612,372
Loudon80.28%17,11017.16%3,6582.55%54413,45221,312
Macon72.23%4,66521.40%1,3826.38%4123,2836,459
Madison59.15%23,89037.96%15,3332.89%1,1678,55740,390
Marion62.18%6,80334.76%3,8033.05%3343,00010,940
Marshall64.59%6,67530.69%3,1724.72%4883,50310,335
Maury61.94%20,33034.59%11,3553.47%1,1388,97532,823
McMinn75.35%13,46421.45%3,8323.20%5729,63217,868
McNairy69.29%6,90827.91%2,7832.80%2794,1259,970
Meigs72.33%2,80724.50%9513.17%1231,8563,881
Monroe75.18%12,19821.83%3,5412.99%4858,65716,224
Montgomery62.65%31,01233.01%16,3374.34%2,14814,67549,497
Moore70.01%1,98926.43%7513.55%1011,2382,841
Morgan75.86%4,74621.32%1,3342.81%1763,4126,256
Obion68.18%8,05628.65%3,3853.17%3744,67111,815
Overton62.19%4,22034.03%2,3093.79%2571,9116,786
Perry58.04%1,55938.20%1,0263.76%1015332,686
Pickett73.55%1,80523.43%5753.02%741,2302,454
Polk67.83%4,23328.75%1,7943.43%2142,4396,241
Putnam67.38%16,62928.32%6,9904.30%1,0619,63924,680
Rhea76.67%7,90720.38%2,1022.95%3045,80510,313
Roane74.55%16,61722.62%5,0422.83%63211,57522,291
Robertson69.49%17,48526.80%6,7443.70%93210,74125,161
Rutherford65.44%62,46430.28%28,9064.28%4,08433,55895,454
Scott77.74%4,50118.98%1,0993.28%1903,4125,790
Sequatchie71.66%3,55324.97%1,2383.37%1672,3154,958
Sevier79.52%26,02116.93%5,5393.55%1,16120,48232,721
Shelby50.88%189,85146.61%173,9242.51%9,36415,927373,139
Smith64.16%4,45830.74%2,1365.10%3542,3226,948
Stewart59.87%3,00635.43%1,7794.70%2361,2275,021
Sullivan77.15%47,72120.86%12,9061.99%1,22934,81561,856
Sumner71.84%44,94524.19%15,1343.97%2,48429,81162,563
Tipton74.22%17,15722.92%5,2992.86%66011,85823,116
Trousdale62.75%1,72532.38%8904.87%1348352,749
Unicoi78.35%5,25118.76%1,2572.89%1943,9946,702
Union75.82%4,27620.20%1,1393.99%2253,1375,640
Van Buren62.27%1,22333.66%6614.07%805621,964
Warren64.02%8,22531.49%4,0454.49%5774,18012,847
Washington75.92%34,59221.32%9,7152.76%1,25624,87745,563
Wayne76.18%3,68521.40%1,0352.42%1172,6504,837
Weakley66.69%8,54629.73%3,8093.58%4594,73712,814
White66.20%5,96929.06%2,6204.74%4273,3499,016
Williamson75.49%68,25821.46%19,4053.05%2,75948,85390,422
Wilson70.78%34,78124.91%12,2404.31%2,12222,54149,143
Total65.14%1,579,47731.64%767,2363.21%77,872812,2412,424,585

Counties that flipped from Democratic to Republican

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See also

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Notes

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  1. ↑ Calculated by taking the difference of 100% and all other candidates combined.
  2. 1 2 Key:
    A – all adults
    RV – registered voters
    LV – likely voters
    V – unclear

Partisan clients

  1. ↑ Poll sponsored by Daily Kos
  2. ↑ Poll commissioned by the Chattanooga Free Times Press
  3. ↑ Poll sponsored by Alexander's campaign

References

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  1. ↑ "Tennessee Voter Turnout in 2008". Tennessee Secretary of State. November 4, 2008. Retrieved February 28, 2023.
  2. ↑ Dade, Corey (November 22, 2008). "Tennessee Resists Obama Wave". Wall Street Journal. ISSN 0099-9660. Retrieved August 29, 2021.
  3. ↑ "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)
  4. ↑ Cagle, Frank (August 13, 2008). "Last week's county election puts the Republican machine back in power". Knoxville Metro Pulse. Archived from the original on February 14, 2012.
  5. ↑ "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)
  6. ↑ "Qualifying Procedures for Candidates for United States Senator Archived March 25, 2009, at the Wayback Machine", Tennessee Division of Elections (accessed November 3, 2008).
  7. ↑ "Qualifying Procedures for Tennessee Candidates for United States House of Representatives", Tennessee Division of Elections (accessed November 3, 2008).
  8. ↑ "Qualifying Procedures for Candidates for Tennessee State Senator Archived March 25, 2009, at the Wayback Machine", Tennessee Division of Elections (accessed November 3, 2008).
  9. ↑ "Qualifying Procedures for Candidates for Tennessee House of Representatives Archived March 25, 2009, at the Wayback Machine", Tennessee Division of Elections (accessed November 3, 2008).
  10. ↑ "Tennessee Ballot Access Procedures for Candidates for U.S. President Archived March 25, 2009, at the Wayback Machine", Tennessee Division of Elections (accessed November 3, 2008).
  11. ↑ "Against all odds, third-party candidates fight on", The Tennessean (accessed November 3, 2008).
  12. ↑ United States Senate Candidate List From Tennessee http://www.state.tn.us/sos/election/cand/USSenateList.pdf
  13. ↑ "4/3/2007 - Alexander Running Again, Sets Fundraiser - Breaking News - Chattanoogan.com". Archived from the original on October 8, 2007. Retrieved April 6, 2007.
  14. ↑ Piesyk, Christine Anne (October 29, 2007). "Activist Chris Lugo seeks U.S. Senate seat; critical of 'misdirected' national priorities". Clarksville Online - Clarksville News, Sports, Events and Information. Retrieved June 3, 2024.
  15. ↑ Nathan Frick (March 21, 2008). "Democratic Senate Field Narrowed". News Channel 9. Retrieved March 30, 2008.[dead link]
  16. ↑ "2008 Senate Race ratings for October 23, 2008". The Cook Political Report. Archived from the original on June 25, 2021. Retrieved April 1, 2021.
  17. ↑ Race Ratings Chart: Senate Archived October 28, 2010, at the Wayback Machine CQ Politics
  18. ↑ "2008 Senate ratings". Inside Elections. Retrieved April 1, 2021.
  19. ↑ "2008 RCP Averages & Senate Results". Real Clear Politics. Retrieved August 31, 2021.
  20. 1 2 "2008 Tennessee Senate". RealClearPolitics. Retrieved June 6, 2026.
  21. ↑ "Election 2008: Tennessee Senate | Alexander Stretches Lead to 28 Points in Tennessee". Rasmussen Reports. October 21, 2008. Archived from the original on January 16, 2009. Retrieved June 6, 2026.
  22. ↑ Daily Kos (October 25, 2008). "TN-Pres: Worse than Kerry". Daily Kos. Archived from the original on October 28, 2008. Retrieved June 6, 2026.
  23. ↑ Blake, Ken; Wyatt, Robert; Reineke, Jason. "Summary of Findings, Fall 2008 | MTSU Poll" (PDF). Middle Tennessee State University. Archived from the original (PDF) on October 29, 2008. Retrieved June 6, 2026.
  24. ↑ Associated Press. "Poll: McCain, Alexander with clear leads in TN". Knox News. Archived from the original on October 7, 2008. Retrieved June 6, 2026.
  25. ↑ Whitehouse, Ken (August 15, 2008). "Double-digit leads for McCain and Alexander". Nashville Post. Archived from the original on August 29, 2008. Retrieved June 6, 2026.
  26. 1 2 "Toplines - Tennessee Senate - April 3, 2008". Rasmussen Reports. April 3, 2008. Archived from the original on April 13, 2008. Retrieved June 6, 2026.
  27. ↑ "Office of the Clerk, U.S. House of Representatives".
  28. ↑ "United States Senate" (PDF). Tennessee Secretary of State. November 4, 2008.
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