2008 United States Senate election in Kansas
Nominee
Pat Roberts
Jim Slattery
Party
Republican
Democratic
Popular vote
712,396
429,691
Percentage
60.1%
36.5%
County resultsRoberts : 40–50% 50–60% 60–70% 70–80% 80–90% >90% Slattery : 40-50% 50–60% 60–70%
U.S. senator before election
Pat Roberts
Republican
Elected U.S. Senator
Pat Roberts
Republican
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.
Background [ ]
The state of Kansas has not elected a Democrat to the U.S. Senate since 1932. Kansas's other Republican Senator Sam Brownback announced that he is retiring due to "self-imposed term limits," which meant Roberts became the senior senator from Kansas in 2011. It is considered one of the most Republican states in the U.S. The last time its electors went to a Democrat was the Presidential Election of 1964, when Lyndon Johnson carried the state over Barry Goldwater .
Roberts had announced ahead of the 1996 election that "I plan only to serve two terms in the U.S. Senate",[1] but he broke that pledge in this election.
Republican primary [ ]
Candidates [ ]
Pat Roberts , incumbent U.S. Senator
Results [ ]
Republican Party primary results[2]
Party
Candidate
Votes
%
Republican
Pat Roberts (Incumbent)
214,911
100.00%
Total votes
214,911
100.00%
Democratic primary [ ]
Candidates [ ]
Jim Slattery , former U.S. Representative and nominee for Governor in 1994
Lee Jones, nominee for the U.S. Senate in 2004
Results [ ]
Democratic primary results[2]
Party
Candidate
Votes
%
Democratic
Jim Slattery
68,106
68.93%
Democratic
Lee Jones
30,699
31.07%
Total votes
98,805
100.00%
General election [ ]
Candidates [ ]
Pat Roberts (R), incumbent U.S. Senator
Jim Slattery (D), former U.S. Representative
Randall Hodgkinson (L), attorney
Joseph L. Martin (Re), nominee for Secretary of State in 2006
Predictions [ ]
Source
Ranking
As of
The Cook Political Report [3]
Safe R
October 23, 2008
CQ Politics [4]
Likely R
October 31, 2008
Rothenberg Political Report [5]
Safe R
November 2, 2008
Real Clear Politics [6]
Safe R
November 4, 2008
Polling [ ]
Poll Source
Dates administered
Slattery
Roberts
Rasmussen Reports
May 13, 2008
40%
52%
Research 2000/Daily Kos
June 2–4, 2008
38%
50%
Cooper & Secrest
June 5–8, 2008
36%
48%
Rasmussen Reports
June 11, 2008
39%
48%
TargetPoint Consulting, Inc.
July 1, 2008
34%
54%
Rasmussen Reports
July 15, 2008
33%
61%
Rasmussen Reports
August 11, 2008
37%
56%
Survey USA
August 20, 2008
31%
58%
Survey USA
September 22, 2008
35%
55%
Rasmussen Reports
September 23, 2008
38%
58%
Rasmussen Reports
October 13, 2008
36%
55%
Survey USA
October 22, 2008
35%
57%
Survey USA
October 28, 2008
33%
60%
Results [ ]
Roberts won by 24 percentage points over Slattery, carrying 102 of the state's 105 counties. Slattery only carried three counties in northeast Kansas: Atchison , Douglas and Wyandotte .
General election results[7]
Party
Candidate
Votes
%
Republican
Pat Roberts (Incumbent)
727,121
60.06%
-22.46%
Democratic
Jim Slattery
441,399
36.46%
Libertarian
Randall Hodgkinson
25,727
2.12%
-6.98%
Reform
Joseph L. Martin
16,443
1.36%
-7.02%
Majority
285,722
23.60%
-49.82%
Turnout
1,210,690
Republican hold
Swing
See also [ ]
2008 United States Senate elections
References [ ]
^ "Pat Roberts Said In 1996 He'd Only Serve Two Terms — He's Running For His Fourth" . BuzzFeed. October 14, 2014. Retrieved October 15, 2014 .
^ Jump up to: a b "Results" (PDF) . www.kssos.org. Retrieved May 9, 2021 .
^ "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 .
^ "Office of the Clerk, U.S. House of Representatives" . Clerk.house.gov. Retrieved May 9, 2021 .
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