2008 United States Senate election in Illinois

none March 2026 December 2017 2008 United States Senate election in Illinois Illinois presidential no 2002 United States Senate election in Illinois 2002 2014 United States Senate election in Illinois 2014 November 4, 2008 68.42% Richard Durbin official photo (cropped 3x4).jpg 150x150px Dick Durbin Democratic Party (United States) 3,615,844 67.84% 3x4.svg Steve Sauerberg Republican Party (United States) 1,520,621 28.53% 2008 United States Senate election in Illinois results map by county.svg 160px County resultsDurbin: #a5b0ff 40–50% #7996e2 50–60% #6674de 60–70% #584cde 70–80%Sauerberg: #ffb2b2 40–50% #e27f7f 50–60% U.S. Senator Dick Durbin Democratic Party (United States) Dick Durbin Democratic Party (United States) The 2008 United States Senate election in Illinois was held on November 4, 2008. Incumbent Democratic U.S. Senator Dick Durbin sought a third term in office and faced minimal opposition from Republican Steve Sauerberg. As expected, Durbin overwhelmingly won re-election. On the same night, fellow Democratic Senator Barack Obama was elected president of the United States, defeating Republican Senator John McCain of Arizona. As of 2025, this is the last Senate election in Illinois in which a candidate received more than 60% of the vote. Background The primaries and general elections coincided with those for other federal elections (president and House), as well as those for state offices. 2008 Illinois elections#Turnout For the primary elections, turnout was 32.37%, with 2,364,409 votes cast.Voter Turnout https://www.elections.il.gov/ElectionOperations/VoterTurnout.aspx www.elections.il.gov Illinois State Board of Elections 22 March 2020 May 30, 2021 https://web.archive.org/web/20210530142655/https://www.elections.il.gov/ElectionOperations/VoterTurnout.aspx dead Election Results https://www.elections.il.gov/ElectionOperations/ElectionVoteTotals.aspx www.elections.il.gov Illinois State Board of Elections 23 March 2020 February 22, 2020 https://web.archive.org/web/20200222093629/https://www.elections.il.gov/ElectionOperations/ElectionVoteTotals.aspx dead For the general election, turnout was 68.42%, with 5,329,884 votes cast. Democratic primary Candidates Dick Durbin, incumbent U.S. senator Results Democratic primary resultshttp://www.elections.il.gov/ElectionInformation/VoteTotalsList.aspx?ElectionType=GP&ElectionID=21&SearchType=OfficeSearch&OfficeID=4266&QueryType=Office& Ballots Cast Elections.il.gov February 5, 2008 April 4, 2015 March 3, 2016 https://web.archive.org/web/20160303231142/http://www.elections.il.gov/ElectionInformation/VoteTotalsList.aspx?ElectionType=GP&ElectionID=21&SearchType=OfficeSearch&OfficeID=4266&QueryType=Office& dead Dick Durbin (incumbent) Democratic Party (United States) 1,653,833 100.00% 1,653,833 100.00% Republican primary Candidates Andy Martin, perennial candidate Mike Psak, trucker and perennial candidate Steve Sauerberg, physician Results Republican primary results Steve Sauerberg Republican Party (United States) 395,199 55.62% Andy Martin Republican Party (United States) 240,548 33.85% Mike Psak Republican Party (United States) 74,829 10.53% 710,576 100.00% General election 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 Safe DOctober 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 Safe DOctober 31, 2008 Rothenberg Political Report2008 Senate ratings https://www.insideelections.com/ratings/senate/2008-senate-ratings Inside Elections April 1, 2021 Safe DNovember 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 Safe DNovember 4, 2008 Results Durbin's 3,615,844 votes is the highest vote total in a statewide election in Illinois. No one has broken his record; however, then-Vice President Joe Biden received the most votes in the presidential election in Illinois in 2020. Durbin comfortably won re-election with the best margin of his career, winning all but four of the state's 102 counties. 2008 United States Senate election in Illinoishttp://clerk.house.gov/member_info/electionInfo/2008election.pdf Statistics of the Presidential and Congressional Election of November 4, 2008 Clerk.house.gov April 4, 2015 Democratic Party (United States) Dick Durbin (incumbent) 3,615,844 67.84% +7.51% Republican Party (United States) Steve Sauerberg 1,520,621 28.53% -9.49% Green Party (United States) Kathy Cummings 119,135 2.24% 0.00% Libertarian Party (United States) Larry A. Stafford 50,224 0.94% -0.70% Constitution Party (United States) Chad N. Koppie 24,059 0.45% 0.00% 5,329,884 100.00% N/A Democratic Party (United States) Republican Party (United States) Counties that flipped from Republican to Democratic Ogle (largest city: Rochelle) Jo Daviess (largest city: Galena) Carroll (largest city: Savanna) Stephenson (largest city: Freeport) Boone (largest city: Belvidere) DuPage (largest city: Aurora) Kane (largest city: Aurora) Kendall (largest village: Oswego) McHenry (largest city: Crystal Lake) Putnam (largest city: Hennpin) Ford (largest city: Paxton) Iroqouis (largest city: Watseka) Livingston (largest city: Pontiac) Washington (largest city: Nashville) Monroe (largest city: Waterloo) Effingham (largest city: Effingham) Wabash (largest city: Mount Carmel) Richland (largest city: Olney) Lawrence (largest city: Lawrenceville) Crawford (largest city: Robinson) Clark (largest city: Marshall) See also 2008 United States Senate elections References External links Illinois State Board of Elections U.S. Congress candidates for Illinois https://web.archive.org/web/20081024132800/http://www.votesmart.org/election_congress_state.php?state_id=IL&go33.x=12&go33.y=8 October 24, 2008 at Project Vote Smart Illinois, U.S. Senate from CQ Politics Illinois U.S. Senate from OurCampaigns.com Illinois U.S. Senate race from 2008 Race Tracker Campaign contributions for Illinois congressional races from OpenSecrets Official campaign websites (archived) Dick Durbin, Democratic incumbent nominee Steve Sauerberg, Republican nominee Larry Stafford, Libertarian nominee Kathy Cummings, Green Party nominee Chad Koppie, Constitution nominee 2008 Illinois United States Senate Category:Dick Durbin