2008 United States Senate election in Kentucky

none 2008 Kentucky Senate election March 2026 December 2017 2008 United States Senate election in Kentucky Kentucky presidential no 2002 United States Senate election in Kentucky 2002 2014 United States Senate election in Kentucky 2014 November 4, 2008 x155px Sen Mitch McConnell official cropped.jpg Mitch McConnell Republican Party (United States) 953,816 52.97% Bruce Lunsford (cropped).jpg Bruce Lunsford Democratic Party (United States) 847,005 47.03% 300px County results 300px Congressional district results McConnell: #e27f7f 50–60% #d75d5d 60–70% #d72f30 70–80%Lunsford: #7996e2 50–60% #6674de 60–70% #584cde 70–80% U.S. Senator Mitch McConnell Republican Party (United States) Mitch McConnell Republican Party (United States) The 2008 United States Senate election in Kentucky was held on November 4, 2008. Minority Leader and incumbent Republican U.S. Senator Mitch McConnell won re-election to a fifth term. Although Barack Obama lost Kentucky by a 16.22% margin to John McCain in the concurrent presidential election, McConnell more narrowly kept his seat with a 5.94% margin against businessman Bruce Lunsford. This was a greatly reduced margin from when he won re-election in 2002 with a 29.4% margin. John McCain outperformed McConnell by 4.4%, while Bruce Lunsford outperformed Obama by 5.88%. Background In 2007, Kentucky's unpopular Republican Governor Ernie Fletcher lost his re-election bid. The Democrats took control of both Houses of Congress in the 2006 mid-term elections, and in October Chuck Schumer acknowledged they were aiming for McConnell's seat.http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2007/10/31/schumer-takes-aim-at-sena_n_70622.html Schumer Takes Aim At Senate's Top Republican Huffington Post October 31, 2007 Sam Stein October 31, 2007 State Auditor Crit Luallen was considered a top contender for the Democratic nomination, but she decided to remain as auditor.https://www.dailykos.com/story/2007/11/7/407451/- KY-Sen: Schumer says Crit is in Daily Kos Lunsford was asked to run by Kentucky Governor Steve Beshear.Courier-Journal January 30, 2008 Lunsford to challenge McConnell; Lewis is out http://www.courier-journal.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080130/NEWS0106/801300833 Gerth, Joseph Seven candidates competed for the Democratic Primary nomination. The primaries for both parties took place on May 20, 2008, in which Lunsford took more than 50%. Republican primary Candidates Daniel Essek Mitch McConnell, incumbent U.S. senator Results Republican primary resultshttp://www.elect.ky.gov/NR/rdonlyres/46AE3F8B-88D5-4807-8110-DC3023585DF4/152039/STATE2.txt Archived copy August 1, 2017 https://web.archive.org/web/20110721044845/http://elect.ky.gov/NR/rdonlyres/46AE3F8B-88D5-4807-8110-DC3023585DF4/152039/STATE2.txt July 21, 2011 dead mdy-all Mitch McConnell (incumbent) Republican Party (United States) 168,127 86.09% Daniel Essek Republican Party (United States) 27,170 13.91% 195,297 100.00% Democratic primary Candidates Michael Cassaro Greg Fischer, businessman Bruce Lunsford, former Kentucky secretary of commerce and candidate for governor in 2003 and 2007 James Rice Kenneth Stepp David Williams David Wylie Results thumb|300px|Democratic primary results by county #7996e2 Lunsford #BED4FF <40% #A6B2FF 40–50% #7996e2 50–60% #6674de 60–70% #51C2C2 Fischer #ADF2F2 <40% #7EDEDE 40–50% Democratic primary results https://elect.ky.gov/SiteCollectionDocuments/Election%20Results/2000-2009/2008/Primary%20Election/STATEwide%20by%20office%20Pri%2008.txt 2008 Kentucky Statewide Election Results by Office June 11, 2008 February 16, 2018 Kentucky State Board of Elections Bruce Lunsford Democratic Party (United States) 316,992 51.15% Greg Fischer Democratic Party (United States) 209,827 33.85% David L. Williams Democratic Party (United States) 34,363 5.54% James E. Rice Democratic Party (United States) 20,403 3.29% Michael Cassaro Democratic Party (United States) 17,340 2.80% Kenneth Stepp Democratic Party (United States) 13,451 2.17% David Wylie Democratic Party (United States) 7,528 1.21% 619,904 100.00% General election Candidates Bruce Lunsford (D), businessman Mitch McConnell (R), incumbent U.S. senator Campaign In October, Lunsford and McConnell were statistically tied in the polls. Larry Sabato, director of the University of Virginia Center for Politics, said, "If Lunsford is actually doing this well, it's got to be because the public is so upset by the economic meltdown and may be blaming the legislative leaders."http://www.courier-journal.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080927/NEWS0106/809270303&referrer=FRONTPAGECAROUSEL McConnell, Lunsford race a dead heat The Courier-Journal September 27, 2008 September 27, 2008September 2010 H3llBot A debate scheduled for October 7 hosted by the League of Women Voters was canceled when incumbent McConnell decided not to participate even though Lunsford announced he wanted to debate.http://www.kypost.com/content/wcposhared/story.aspx?content_id=f07be9b6-9dd1-4672-93fa-4de5e6f93a5a Lunsford-McConnell Debate Now Off Kentucky Post September 30, 2008 October 17, 2008 https://web.archive.org/web/20081011191700/http://www.kypost.com/content/wcposhared/story.aspx?content_id=f07be9b6-9dd1-4672-93fa-4de5e6f93a5a October 11, 2008 dead On November 2, 2008, media outlets such as The Wall Street Journal noted that the website of The New Republic had reported that anti-McConnell flyers questioning the senator's sexuality, as well as the reasons for his 1967 military discharge, were being distributed in Kentucky.http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story/McConnell-Outing-Controversy-Breaks-Into/story.aspx?guid=%7B2C3266E6-F4E8-4215-A107-6B72069FE8A1%7D McConnell Outing Controversy Breaks Into National Mainstream Media Proud of Who We Are Proud of Who We Are November 3, 2008 Democratic Gay-Baiting? You Don't Say... Cottle Michelle Christopher Orr Jason Zengerle Jason Zengerle The New Republic November 2, 2008 http://blogs.tnr.com/tnr/blogs/the_plank/archive/2008/11/02/democratic-gay-baiting-you-don-t-say.aspx dead https://web.archive.org/web/20081106080713/http://blogs.tnr.com/tnr/blogs/the_plank/archive/2008/11/02/democratic-gay-baiting-you-don-t-say.aspx November 6, 2008 Predictions SourceRankingAs of The Cook Political Report2008 Senate Race ratings for October 23, 2008 https://cookpolitical.com/ratings/senate-race-ratings/139080 The Cook Political Report April 1, 2021 June 25, 2021 https://web.archive.org/web/20210625160336/https://cookpolitical.com/ratings/senate-race-ratings/139080 dead Lean ROctober 23, 2008 CQ PoliticsRace Ratings Chart: Senate https://web.archive.org/web/20101028234525/http://www.cqpolitics.com/wmspage.cfm?docID=ratings-senate October 28, 2010 CQ Politics Lean ROctober 31, 2008 Rothenberg Political Report2008 Senate ratings https://www.insideelections.com/ratings/senate/2008-senate-ratings Inside Elections April 1, 2021 Lean RNovember 2, 2008 Real Clear Politics2008 RCP Averages & Senate Results https://www.realclearpolitics.com/epolls/2008/senate/election_2008_senate_races.html Real Clear Politics August 31, 2021 TossupNovember 1, 2008 Polling Poll source Dates administered Lunsford McConnellVoter/Consumer ResearchVoter/Consumer Research January 6–8, 2008 37% 52%Research 2000/Lexington Herald-Leader/WKYT-TVResearch 2000/Lexington Herald-Leader/WKYT-TV https://web.archive.org/web/20080705102400/http://media.kentucky.com/smedia/2008/05/12/08/Poll-McConnell.source.prod_affiliate.79.pdf July 5, 2008 May 7–9, 2008 36% 48%Voter/Consumer ResearchVoter/Consumer Research May 21–22, 2008 39% 50%Rasmussen ReportsRasmussen Reports May 22, 2008 49% 44%Survey USASurvey USA June 13–16, 2008 46% 50%Voter/Consumer ResearchVoter/Consumer Research June 15–17, 2008 39% 50%Rasmussen ReportsRasmussen Reports June 25, 2008 41% 48%Rasmussen ReportsRasmussen Reports July 29, 2008 42% 52%Survey USAhttps://archive.today/20130131181736/http://www.pollster.com/blogs/poll_surveyusa_kentucky_8911.php/ Survey USA August 11, 2008 40% 52%Voter/Consumer ResearchVoter/Consumer Research September 7–9, 2008 35% 52%Research 2000 for Daily KosResearch 2000 for Daily Kos September 15–17, 2008 37% 50%SurveyUSASurveyUSA September 21–22, 2008 46% 49%Rasmussen ReportsRasmussen Reports September 30, 2008 42% 51%SurveyUSASurveyUSA October 20, 2008 48% 48%Rasmussen ReportsRasmussen Reports October 21, 2008 43% 50%Research 2000/Lexington Herald-Leader/WKYT-TVResearch 2000/Lexington Herald-Leader/WKYT-TV https://web.archive.org/web/20160120053028/http://media.graytvinc.com/documents/SenateHorseRace.pdf January 20, 2016 October 22, 2008 43% 47%Rasmussen ReportsRasmussen Reports October 29, 2008 44% 51%Survey USASurvey USA November 1, 2008 45% 53% Results General election resultshttp://elect.ky.gov/SiteCollectionDocuments/Election%20Results/2000-2009/2008/General%20Election/STATEwide%20by%20office%20gen%2008.txt Results elect.ky.gov 2021-05-09 Republican Party (United States) Mitch McConnell (incumbent) 953,816 52.97% -11.7% Democratic Party (United States) Bruce Lunsford 847,005 47.03% +11.7% 1,800,821 100.0% Republican Party (United States) By county Countyhttp://elect.ky.gov/SiteCollectionDocuments/Election%20Results/2000-2009/2008/General%20Election/STATEwide%20by%20candidate%20by%20county%20gen%2008.txt Results elect.ky.gov 2021-05-09PrecinctsReportingLunsford% LunsfordMcConnell% McConnellTotal Adair16162,19830.88%4,92069.12%7,118 (R) Allen13132,33131.85%4,98768.15%7,318 (R) Anderson14144,78746.27%5,55853.73%10,345 (R) Ballard13131,89346.68%2,16253.32%4,055 (R) Barren24246,73541.15%9,63058.85%16,365 (R) Bath12122,74761.36%1,73038.64%4,477 (D) Bell33333,49438.83%5,50561.17%8,999 (R) Boone606015,22430.75%34,28569.25%49,509 (R) Bourbon18184,32552.26%3,95147.74%8,276 (D) Boyd474711,17454.23%9,43045.77%20,604 (D) Boyle25255,85446.90%6,62753.10%12,481 (R) Bracken881,38241.17%1,97558.83%3,357 (R) Breathitt21213,11161.41%1,95538.59%5,066 (D) Breckinridge15153,73644.02%4,75255.98%8,488 (R) Bullitt444412,50141.85%17,36858.15%29,869 (R) Butler12121,77133.59%3,50166.41%5,272 (R) Caldwell13132,82146.30%3,27253.70%6,093 (R) Calloway30306,87045.39%8,26654.61%15,136 (R) Campbell666614,78937.55%24,59162.45%39,380 (R) Carlisle661,22046.51%1,40353.49%2,623 (R) Carroll11112,15757.23%1,61242.77%3,769 (D) Carter23235,22053.74%4,49446.26%9,714 (D) Casey15151,78330.55%4,05369.45%5,836 (R) Christian44449,03040.79%13,10959.21%22,139 (R) Clark26267,43648.49%7,89851.51%15,334 (R) Clay20202,45833.85%4,80466.15%7,262 (R) Clinton13131,02925.42%3,01974.58%4,048 (R) Crittenden12121,61541.59%2,26858.41%3,883 (R) Cumberland9976328.62%1,90371.38%2,666 (R) Daviess848420,77947.94%22,56352.06%43,342 (R) Edmonson10101,99638.06%3,24961.94%5,245 (R) Elliott771,83071.99%71228.01%2,542 (R) Estill15152,16241.36%3,06558.64%5,227 (R) Fayette27427468,02954.15%57,60545.85%125,634 (R) Fleming18182,84550.04%2,84149.96%5,686 (D) Floyd424210,10564.35%5,59835.65%15,703 (D) Franklin444413,88859.00%9,65141.00%23,539 (R) Fulton13131,45653.49%1,26646.51%2,722 (D) Gallatin881,43545.66%1,70854.34%3,143 (R) Garrard13132,85840.11%4,26859.89%7,126 (R) Grant23233,40839.33%5,25760.67%8,665 (R) Graves30307,83948.76%8,23951.24%16,078 (R) Grayson23233,86339.23%5,98360.77%9,846 (R) Green10101,77735.73%3,19764.27%4,974 (R) Greenup32328,25852.83%7,37447.17%15,632 (D) Hancock10102,29856.09%1,79943.91%4,097 (D) Hardin555517,31843.68%22,32656.32%39,644 (R) Harlan35354,44045.92%5,22954.08%9,669 (R) Harrison17173,81450.47%3,74349.53%7,557 (D) Hart19192,96244.60%3,68055.40%6,642 (R) Henderson424211,04856.06%8,65943.94%19,707 (D) Henry20203,19446.52%3,67253.48%6,866 (R) Hickman661,04947.49%1,16052.51%2,209 (R) Hopkins40408,48144.87%10,41955.13%18,900 (R) Jackson14141,24524.71%3,79475.29%5,039 (R) Jefferson515515195,40155.73%155,24144.27%350,642 (D) Jessamine37377,84739.60%11,96960.40%19,816 (R) Johnson31313,25238.81%5,12861.19%8,380 (R) Kenton10810819,21736.26%33,78763.74%53,004 (R) Knott30303,47762.14%2,11837.86%5,595 (D) Knox30304,32939.01%6,76760.99%11,096 (R) LaRue12122,52341.97%3,48958.03%6,012 (R) Laurel45456,85031.15%15,13868.85%21,988 (R) Lawrence18182,64147.47%2,92352.53%5,564 (R) Lee10101,07339.77%1,62560.23%2,698 (R) Leslie17171,08325.15%3,22474.85%4,307 (R) Letcher32324,19851.82%3,90348.18%8,101 (D) Lewis14141,78738.26%2,88461.74%4,671 (R) Lincoln17174,11945.47%4,93954.53%9,058 (R) Livingston10102,14247.35%2,38252.65%4,524 (R) Logan20204,37940.70%6,37959.30%10,758 (R) Lyon661,82147.80%1,98952.20%3,810 (R) McCracken545413,00642.91%17,30357.09%30,309 (D) McCreary18181,57630.41%3,60669.59%5,182 (R) McLean882,22550.55%2,17749.45%4,402 (D) Madison565614,65745.96%17,23754.04%31,894 (R) Magoffin14142,71958.81%1,90441.19%4,623 (D) Marion17174,30457.68%3,15842.32%7,462 (D) Marshall25257,46348.94%7,78551.06%15,248 (R) Martin14141,20333.19%2,42266.81%3,625 (R) Mason20203,09544.58%3,84755.42%6,942 (R) Meade18185,14946.58%5,90553.42%11,054 (R) Menifee661,52061.51%95138.49%2,471 (D) Mercer17174,33844.17%5,48455.83%9,822 (R) Metcalfe12121,76644.03%2,24555.97%4,011 (R) Monroe12121,23727.16%3,31872.84%4,555 (R) Montgomery18185,52654.25%4,66045.75%10,186 (D) Morgan12122,47557.03%1,86542.97%4,340 (D) Muhlenberg26267,43657.90%5,40642.10%12,842 (R) Nelson26268,82349.60%8,96550.40%17,788 (R) Nicholas551,73759.47%1,18440.53%2,921 (D) Ohio25254,66447.08%5,24252.92%9,906 (R) Oldham343410,20435.25%18,74464.75%28,948 (R) Owen13132,01942.93%2,68457.07%4,703 (R) Owsley8855934.46%1,06365.54%1,622 (R) Pendleton12122,15537.97%3,52062.03%5,675 (R) Perry37375,02649.10%5,21150.90%10,237 (R) Pike575712,91257.16%9,67942.84%22,591 (D) Powell11112,86357.91%2,08142.09%4,944 (D) Pulaski57578,10832.20%17,07267.80%25,180 (R) Robertson5549849.21%51450.79%1,012 (R) Rockcastle14141,83730.55%4,17769.45%6,014 (R) Rowan18184,71058.71%3,31241.29%8,022 (D) Russell16162,45033.67%4,82766.33%7,277 (R) Scott35359,23847.36%10,26752.64%19,505 (R) Shelby33337,54641.15%10,79058.85%18,336 (R) Simpson13133,11844.29%3,92255.71%7,040 (R) Spencer11113,15939.64%4,81160.36%7,970 (R) Taylor20204,16338.52%6,64461.48%10,807 (R) Todd13131,77236.89%3,03263.11%4,804 (R) Trigg14142,63740.76%3,83359.24%6,470 (R) Trimble12121,92750.87%1,86149.13%3,788 (D) Union16163,33555.46%2,67844.54%6,013 (D) Warren636319,16243.84%24,54756.16%43,709 (R) Washington14142,31645.04%2,82654.96%5,142 (R) Wayne19193,04543.30%3,98756.70%7,032 (R) Webster14143,00054.39%2,51645.61%5,516 (D) Whitley36364,84936.37%8,48463.63%13,333 (R) Wolfe881,88662.74%1,12037.26%3,006 (D) Woodford16165,90348.65%6,23151.35%12,134 (R) Counties that flipped from Republican to Democratic Bourbon (largest city: Paris) Carroll (largest city: Carrollton) Carter (largest city: Grayson) Hancock (largest city: Hawesville) Magoffin (largest city: Salyersville) Trimble (largest city: Bedford) Webster (largest city: Providence) McLean (largest city: Livermore) Morgan (largest city: West Liberty) Harrison (largest city: Cynthiana) Henderson (largest city: Henderson) Letcher (largest city: Jenkins) Muhlenberg (largest city: Central City) Greenup (largest city: Flatwoods) Fulton (largest city: Fulton) Fleming (largest city: Flemingsburg) Lincoln (largest city: Stanford) Bath (largest city: Owingsville) Fayette (largest city: Lexington) Marion (largest city: Lebanon) Menifee (largest city: Frenchburg) Nicholas (largest city: Carlisle) Rowan (largest city: Morehead) Franklin (largest city: Frankfort) Jefferson (largest city: Louisville) By congressional district McConnell won four of six congressional districts.KENTUCKY STATE BOARD OF ELECTIONS https://elect.ky.gov/SiteCollectionDocuments/Election%20Results/2000-2009/2008/General%20Election/STATEwide%20by%20congressional%20dist%20gen%2008.txt District McConnell Lunsford RepresentativeKentucky 1 1st 56% 44%Ed WhitfieldKentucky 2 2nd56%44%Ron Lewis (110th Congress)Brett Guthrie (111th Congress)Kentucky 3 3rd 44% 56%John YarmuthKentucky 4 4th 59% 41%Geoff DavisKentucky 5 5th 56% 44%Hal RogersKentucky 6 6th 49% 51%Ben Chandler See also 2008 United States Senate elections References External links Kentucky State Board of Elections U.S. Congress candidates for Kentucky https://web.archive.org/web/20081024065637/http://www.votesmart.org/election_congress_state.php?state_id=KY&go33.x=9&go33.y=11 October 24, 2008 at Project Vote Smart http://www.cqpolitics.com/wmspage.cfm?docID=senate-KY Kentucky, U.S. Senate June 27, 2008 https://web.archive.org/web/20080504014554/http://www.cqpolitics.com/wmspage.cfm?docID=senate-KY May 4, 2008 dead mdy-all – CQ Politics Kentucky U.S. Senate from OurCampaigns.com http://www.2008racetracker.com/page/KY-Sen Kentucky U.S. Senate race July 26, 2008 https://web.archive.org/web/20080622070112/http://www.2008racetracker.com/page/KY-Sen June 22, 2008 dead mdy-all – 2008 Race Tracker http://www.opensecrets.org/races/summary.php?cycle=2008&id=KYS1 Campaign contributions July 21, 2016 https://web.archive.org/web/20080612130507/http://www.opensecrets.org/races/summary.php?cycle=2008&id=KYS1 June 12, 2008 bot: unknown mdy-all – OpenSecrets http://www.pollster.com/08-KY-Sen-GE-MvL.php McConnell (R-i) vs Lunsford (D) May 23, 2008 http://arquivo.pt/wayback/20091012010452/http://www.pollster.com/08-KY-Sen-GE-MvL.php October 12, 2009 dead mdy-all – graph of multiple polls from Pollster.com Official campaign websites http://bruce2008.com/ Bruce Lunsford for U.S. Senate September 9, 2016 https://web.archive.org/web/20080324231011/http://bruce2008.com/ March 24, 2008 bot: unknown mdy-all – Democratic nominee Mitch McConnell for Senate – Republican nominee 2008 Kentucky United States Senate Category:Mitch McConnell