2008 United States Senate election in Louisiana

2008 United States Senate election in Louisiana
	Parish results; Landrieu: 40-50% 50–60% 60–70% 70–80% 80–90%; Kennedy: 40–50% 50–60% 60–70% 70–80%
U.S. senator before election; Mary Landrieu; Democratic	Elected U.S. Senator ; Mary Landrieu; Democratic

The 2008 United States Senate election in Louisiana was held on November 4, 2008. This was the first time since the 1970s that Louisiana used primaries for federal races. Incumbent Democratic U.S. Senator Mary Landrieu won reelection to a third term, while her Republican opponent John Kennedy won Louisiana's other Senate seat in 2016. As of 2021, this is the last time the Democrats won a U.S. Senate election in Louisiana. Despite her status as one of the most vulnerable senate Democrats up in 2008, Landrieu eked out a victory, boosted by the national Democratic lean. She also received praise and wide publicity for her advocacy after Hurricane Katrina, particularly as it came to hearings concerning the response from FEMA to the disaster. Her opponent had switched parties, becoming a Republican in 2007 just one year before the election, garnering some criticism of being a political opportunist.^[1]

Background[]

Landrieu's increased vulnerability was supposed to be the result of a significant drop in the state's African-American population after Hurricane Katrina, especially in Landrieu's home city of New Orleans. Louisiana also elected a Republican senator in 2004 and President Bush carried the state twice, in 2004 with 58 percent of the vote. Also, Republican Congressman Bobby Jindal won the 2007 gubernatorial election with 54 percent of the vote. After a continued backslide in support for the Democrats, Landrieu would go on to lose her seat by 12 points in 2014 to Bill Cassidy.

Major candidates[]

Democratic[]

Mary Landrieu, incumbent U.S. Senator

Republican[]

John Neely Kennedy, State Treasurer, Democratic candidate for the U.S. Senate in 2004

General election[]

Predictions[]

Source	Ranking	As of
The Cook Political Report^[2]	Lean D	October 23, 2008
CQ Politics^[3]	Lean D	October 31, 2008
Rothenberg Political Report^[4]	Lean D	November 2, 2008
Real Clear Politics^[5]	Lean D	October 23, 2008

Polling[]

Poll Source	Dates administered	Mary Landrieu (D)	John Kennedy (R)
Rasmussen Reports	October 21, 2008	53%	43%
Rasmussen Reports	September 25, 2008	54%	41%
Rasmussen Reports	August 17, 2008	56%	39%
Rasmussen Reports	July 9, 2008	49%	44%
Southern Media & Opinion Research	July 1, 2008	46%	40%
Rasmussen Reports	May 28, 2008	47%	44%
Southern Media & Opinion Research	March 26 – April 9, 2008	50%	38%
Survey USA	December 6–10, 2007	46%	42%

Results[]

Though she was considered one of the most vulnerable incumbent senators in 2008, Landrieu won reelection by a margin of 121,121 votes and 6.39%, over-performing Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama in the state by more than 12 percentage points.

2008 United States Senate election in Louisiana
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Democratic	Mary Landrieu (incumbent)	988,298	52.11%	+0.41%
	Republican	John Kennedy	867,177	45.72%	-2.58%
	Libertarian	Richard Fontanesi	18,590	0.98%	n/a
	Independent	Jay Patel	13,729	0.72%	n/a
	Independent	Robert Stewart	8,780	0.46%	n/a
Majority			121,121	6.39%	+2.99
Turnout			1,896,574	100.0%
	Democratic hold		Swing

References[]

^ Scott, Robert (April 27, 2014). "Treasurer bolts to GOP | NOLA.com". Archived from the original on April 27, 2014. Retrieved March 15, 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.

External links[]

Elections Division from the Louisiana Secretary of State
U.S. Congress candidates for Louisiana at Project Vote Smart
Louisiana U.S. Senate from CQ Politics
Louisiana U.S. Senate from OurCampaigns.com
Campaign contributions from OpenSecrets.org

[1] Scott, Robert (April 27, 2014). "Treasurer bolts to GOP | NOLA.com". Archived from the original on April 27, 2014. Retrieved March 15, 2021.

[Cook_PR-2] "2008 Senate Race ratings for October 23, 2008". The Cook Political Report. Retrieved April 1, 2021.

[3] Race Ratings Chart: Senate Archived October 28, 2010, at the Wayback Machine CQ Politics

[Inside_Elections-4] "2008 Senate ratings". Inside Elections. Retrieved April 1, 2021.

[5] "2008 RCP Averages & Senate Results". Real Clear Politics. Retrieved August 31, 2021.

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