2008 United States Senate election in Illinois
{{Short description|none}}
{{Use mdy dates | date=December 2017}}
{{Infobox election
| election_name = 2008 United States Senate election in Illinois
| country = Illinois
| type = presidential
| ongoing = no
| previous_election = 2002 United States Senate election in Illinois
| previous_year = 2002
| next_election = 2014 United States Senate election in Illinois
| next_year = 2014
| election_date = November 4, 2008
| turnout = 68.42%
| image1 = File:Richard Durbin official photo (cropped).jpg
| image_size= x150px
| nominee1 = Dick Durbin
| party1 = Democratic Party (United States)
| popular_vote1 = 3,615,844
| percentage1 = 67.84%
| image2 = 3x4.svg
| nominee2 = Steve Sauerberg
| party2 = Republican Party (United States)
| popular_vote2 = 1,520,621
| percentage2 = 28.53%
| map_image = 2008 United States Senate election in Illinois results map by county.svg
| map_size = 160px
| map_caption = County results
Durbin: {{legend0|#a5b0ff|40–50%}} {{legend0|#7996e2|50–60%}} {{legend0|#6674de|60–70%}} {{legend0|#584cde|70–80%}}
Sauerberg: {{legend0|#ffb2b2|40–50%}} {{legend0|#e27f7f|50–60%}}
| title = U.S. Senator
| before_election = Dick Durbin
| before_party = Democratic Party (United States)
| after_election = Dick Durbin
| after_party = Democratic Party (United States)
}}
{{ElectionsIL}}
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.
This is the last Senate election in Illinois in which a candidate received above 60% of the vote.
Background
The primaries and general elections coincided with those for other federal elections (United States President and House), as well as those for state offices.
{{See also|2008 Illinois elections#Turnout}}
For the primary elections, turnout was 32.37%, with 2,364,409 votes cast.{{cite web |title=Voter Turnout |url=https://www.elections.il.gov/ElectionOperations/VoterTurnout.aspx |website=www.elections.il.gov |publisher=Illinois State Board of Elections |access-date=22 March 2020 |archive-date=May 30, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210530142655/https://www.elections.il.gov/ElectionOperations/VoterTurnout.aspx |url-status=dead }}{{cite web |title=Election Results |url=https://www.elections.il.gov/ElectionOperations/ElectionVoteTotals.aspx |website=www.elections.il.gov |publisher=Illinois State Board of Elections |access-date=23 March 2020 |archive-date=February 22, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200222093629/https://www.elections.il.gov/ElectionOperations/ElectionVoteTotals.aspx |url-status=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 =
{{Election box begin no change
}}
{{Election box winning candidate with party link no change
| candidate = Dick Durbin (incumbent)
| party = Democratic Party (United States)
| votes = 1,653,833
| percentage = 100.00%
}}
{{Election box total no change
| votes = 1,653,833
| percentage = 100.00%
}}
{{Election box end}}
Republican primary
= Candidates =
- Steve Sauerberg, physician
- Andy Martin, perennial candidate
- Mike Psak, trucker and perennial candidate
= Results =
{{Election box begin no change
| title = Republican primary results
}}
{{Election box winning candidate with party link no change
| candidate = Steve Sauerberg
| party = Republican Party (United States)
| votes = 395,199
| percentage = 55.62%
}}
{{Election box candidate with party link no change
| candidate = Andy Martin
| party = Republican Party (United States)
| votes = 240,548
| percentage = 33.85%
}}
{{Election box candidate with party link no change
| candidate = Mike Psak
| party = Republican Party (United States)
| votes = 74,829
| percentage = 10.53%
}}
{{Election box total no change
| votes = 710,576
| percentage = 100.00%
}}
{{Election box end}}
General election
= Predictions =
= Results =
Durbin's 3,615,844 votes is the highest vote total in a statewide election in Illinois. No one has broken his record since, 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.
{{Election box begin
| title = 2008 United States Senate election in Illinois{{cite web | url=http://clerk.house.gov/member_info/electionInfo/2008election.pdf | title=Statistics of the Presidential and Congressional Election of November 4, 2008 | publisher=Clerk.house.gov | access-date=April 4, 2015}}
}}
{{Election box winning candidate with party link
| party = Democratic Party (United States)
| candidate = Dick Durbin (incumbent)
| votes = 3,615,844
| percentage = 67.84%
| change = +7.51%
}}
{{Election box candidate with party link
| party = Republican Party (United States)
| candidate = Steve Sauerberg
| votes = 1,520,621
| percentage = 28.53%
| change = -9.49%
}}
{{Election box candidate with party link
| party = Green Party (United States)
| candidate = Kathy Cummings
| votes = 119,135
| percentage = 2.24%
| change = 0.00%
}}
{{Election box candidate with party link
| party = Libertarian Party (United States)
| candidate = Larry A. Stafford
| votes = 50,224
| percentage = 0.94%
| change = -0.70%
}}
{{Election box candidate with party link
| party = Constitution Party (United States)
| candidate = Chad N. Koppie
| votes = 24,059
| percentage = 0.45%
| change = 0.00%
}}
{{Election box total
| votes = 5,329,884
| percentage = 100.00%
| change = N/A
}}
{{Election box hold with party link no swing
| winner = Democratic Party (United States)
| loser = Republican Party (United States)
}}
{{Election box end}}
==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
References
{{reflist}}
External links
- [https://web.archive.org/web/20090221005343/http://www.elections.state.il.us/ Illinois State Board of Elections]
- [http://www.votesmart.org/election_congress_state.php?state_id=IL&go33.x=12&go33.y=8 U.S. Congress candidates for Illinois] at Project Vote Smart
- [https://web.archive.org/web/20080504023713/http://www.cqpolitics.com/wmspage.cfm?docID=senate-IL Illinois, U.S. Senate] from CQ Politics
- [http://www.ourcampaigns.com/RaceDetail.html?RaceID=78893 Illinois U.S. Senate] from OurCampaigns.com
- [https://web.archive.org/web/20070514200441/http://www.2008racetracker.com/page/IL-Sen Illinois U.S. Senate race] from 2008 Race Tracker
- [http://www.opensecrets.org/races/election.php?state=IL Campaign contributions for Illinois congressional races] from OpenSecrets
- Official campaign websites (Archived)
- [https://web.archive.org/web/20081031225353/http://www.dickdurbin.com/home Dick Durbin], Democratic incumbent nominee
- [https://web.archive.org/web/20081010211356/http://www.sauerberg2008.com/ Steve Sauerberg], Republican nominee
- [https://web.archive.org/web/20081029214142/http://www.stafford4senate.com/ Larry Stafford], Libertarian nominee
- [https://web.archive.org/web/20080704134359/http://www.kathycummings4senate.com/ Kathy Cummings], Green Party nominee
- [https://web.archive.org/web/20081003051651/http://www.koppieforsenate.com/ Chad Koppie], Constitution nominee
{{Illinois elections}}
{{2008 United States elections}}