2008 New Hampshire gubernatorial election

For related races, see 2008 United States gubernatorial elections.

The 2008 New Hampshire gubernatorial election, took place on November 4, 2008. Incumbent governor John Lynch won his third term with a landslide victory over Republican opponent Joseph Kenney.

2008 New Hampshire gubernatorial election

← 2006 November 4, 2008 2010 →

Nominee John Lynch Joseph Kenney Party Democratic Republican Popular vote 479,042 188,555 Percentage 70.1% 27.6%

County results Municipality results Lynch:      40–50%      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%      80–90%      >90% Kenney:      50–60%

Governor before election John Lynch Democratic Elected Governor John Lynch Democratic

Democratic primary

Candidates

• John Lynch, incumbent governor of New Hampshire
• Kathryn Forry

Results

Democratic primary results^[1]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	John Lynch (incumbent)	44,549	90.69
	Democratic	Kathryn Forry	4,444	9.05
	Democratic	Write-ins	131	0.27
Total votes			49,124	100.00

Republican primary

Candidates

• Joseph Kenney, New Hampshire state senator

Results

Republican primary results^[2]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Joseph Kenney	49,235	92.69
	Republican	Write-ins	3,885	7.31
Total votes			53,120	100.00

General election

Predictions

Source	Ranking	As of
The Cook Political Report[3]	Safe D	October 16, 2008
Rothenberg Political Report[4]	Safe D	November 2, 2008
Sabato's Crystal Ball[5]	Safe D	November 3, 2008
Real Clear Politics[6]	Safe D	November 4, 2008

Polling

Poll source	Date(s) administered	John Lynch (D)	Joseph Kenney (R)
Survey USA[7]	October 29–30, 2008	65%	28%
Survey USA[8]	October 4–5, 2008	67%	24%
American Research Group[9]	June 13–17, 2008	65%	21%
University of New Hampshire[10]	April 25–30, 2008	68%	17%
American Research Group[11]	March 21, 2008	62%	20%
American Research Group[12]	December 21, 2007	48%	32%

Results

2008 New Hampshire gubernatorial election^[13]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Democratic	John Lynch (incumbent)	479,042	70.15%	−3.86%
	Republican	Joseph Kenney	188,555	27.61%	+1.78%
	Libertarian	Susan Newell	14,987	2.19%	+2.01%
	Write-in		326	0.05%	N/A
Total votes			682,910	100.00%	N/A
	Democratic hold

References

1. "dgovsummary2008". Archived from the original on June 7, 2011. Retrieved May 26, 2011.
2. "rgovsummary2008". Archived from the original on June 7, 2011. Retrieved May 26, 2011.
3. "2008 Governor Race ratings". The Cook Political Report. Retrieved March 4, 2021.
4. "2008 Gubernatorial Ratings". Gubernatorial Ratings. The Rothenberg Political Report. Retrieved May 25, 2021.
5. "THE LAST LAST WORD The Crystal Ball's Final Projections for the 2008 Election". Sabato's Crystal Ball. Retrieved December 25, 2021.
6. "2008 New Hampshire Governor Race". RealClearPolitics. November 4, 2008. Retrieved March 5, 2021.
7. Survey USA
8. Survey USA
9. American Research Group
10. University of New Hampshire
11. American Research Group
12. American Research Group
13. "Summary Governor". Archived from the original on June 7, 2011. Retrieved May 26, 2011.

External links

• Elections Division from the New Hampshire Secretary of State
• New Hampshire Governor candidates at Project Vote Smart
• New Hampshire Governor race from OurCampaigns.com
• New Hampshire Governor race from 2008 Race Tracker
• Campaign contributions^{[permanent dead link]} from Follow the Money
• Kenney (R) vs. Lynch (D-i) graph of collected polls from Pollster.com
• Official campaign websites
  • John Lynch, Democratic incumbent candidate
  • Joseph Kenney, Republican candidate