2008 United States Senate election in Tennessee

Main article: 2008 United States Senate elections

The 2008 United States Senate election in Tennessee was held on November 4, 2008, to elect a member of the U.S. Senate from the State of Tennessee. Incumbent Republican U.S. senator Lamar Alexander won re-election to a second term.

2008 United States Senate election in Tennessee

← 2002 November 4, 2008 2014 →
Turnout	66.34% [1] 15.94 pp
Nominee Lamar Alexander Bob Tuke Party Republican Democratic Popular vote 1,571,637 767,236 Percentage 65.14% 31.64%
County results Congressional district results Precinct results Alexander:      40–50%      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%     80–90%      >90% Tuke:      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%      80–90%      >90% Tie:      50%
U.S. senator before election Lamar Alexander Republican Elected U.S. Senator Lamar Alexander Republican

Alexander flipped reliably Democratic Davidson County, home to Nashville which has not voted Republican on a presidential level since 1988. With that, he also won 65.1% of the vote against Democrat Bob Tuke, who won just 32.6%. Alexander also won 28% of the African American vote.^[2]

Republican primary

Candidates

• Lamar Alexander, incumbent U.S. senator

Results

Republican Party primary results^[3]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Lamar Alexander (Incumbent)	244,222	100.00%
Total votes			244,222	100.00%

Democratic primary

Candidates

• Bob Tuke, former chairman of the Democratic Party of Tennessee
• Gary Davis, perennial candidate
• Mike Padgett, former Knox County Clerk
• Mark E. Clayton, insurance agent
• Kenneth Eaton, businessman and Nashville mayoral candidate in 2003 and 2007
• Leonard Ladner, truck-driver

Campaign

Mike Padgett finished third after Gary Davis, who did not campaign and used no money. Many were surprised at the results. They claimed that perhaps there was name confusion, with two incumbent congressmen David Davis and Lincoln Davis.^[4]

Results

Democratic Party primary results^[5]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Bob Tuke	59,050	32.21%
	Democratic	Gary G. Davis	39,119	21.34%
	Democratic	Mike Padgett	33,471	18.26%
	Democratic	Mark E. Clayton	32,309	17.62%
	Democratic	Kenneth Eaton	14,702	8.02%
	Democratic	Leonard D. Ladner	4,697	2.55%
Total votes			183,348	100.00%

General election

Candidates

Major

• Lamar Alexander (R), incumbent U.S. Senator and former Governor
• Bob Tuke (D), Chairman of the Democratic Party of Tennessee (2005–2007)

Minor

In Tennessee, a candidate seeking a House or Senate seat at the state or national level must gather 25 signatures from registered voters to be put on the ballot for any elected office.^[6][7][8][9] Presidential candidates seeking to represent an officially recognized party must either be named as candidates by the Tennessee Secretary of State or gather 2,500 signatures from registered voters, and an independent candidate for president must gather 275 signatures and put forward a full slate of eleven candidates who have agreed to serve as electors.^[10] In order to be recognized as a party and have its candidates listed on the ballot under that party's name, a political party must gather signatures equal to or in excess of 2.5% of the total number of votes cast in the last election (about 45,000 signatures based on the election held in 2006).^[11] The last third party to be officially recognized was the American Party in 1968; none of its candidates received five percent of the statewide vote in 1970 and it was then subject to desertification as an official party.^{[citation needed]}. Due to these hurdles third party candidates almost always appear on the ballot as independents.

• Edward Buck (I)
• Christopher Fenner (I)
• David "None of the Above" Gatchell (I)
• Bo Heyward (I)
• Ed Lawhorn (I)
• Daniel T. Lewis (L)^[12]
• Chris Lugo (I), Green party peace activist

Campaign

On April 3, 2007, Alexander confirmed that he would seek re-election to the Senate in 2008. Alexander has remained a popular figure in Tennessee since his first term as governor and faced no opposition in the Republican primary^[13] Tuke is a former Marine who served in the Vietnam War. Tuke served as Barack Obama's Presidential campaign chair in Tennessee. Tuke declared himself to be a candidate March 3, 2008, and he secured the help of several high-profile Democratic campaigners including Joe Trippi. There were many minor candidates in the race. Chris Lugo announced on January 17 that he was seeking the nomination of the Democratic Party as a 'Progressive Democrat.'^[14] In March 2008, Lugo announced he was dropping his candidacy for the Democratic nomination, and would run either for the Green Party nomination or as an independent.^[15]

Predictions

Source	Ranking	As of
The Cook Political Report[16]	Safe R	October 23, 2008
CQ Politics[17]	Likely R	October 31, 2008
Rothenberg Political Report[18]	Safe R	November 2, 2008
Real Clear Politics[19]	Safe R	November 4, 2008

Polling

Source	Date	Alexander (R)	Tuke (D)
Ayres, McHenry & Associates (R)[20]	March 11, 2008	59%	28%
Rasmussen Report[21]	April 8, 2008	59%	30%
MTSU Poll[22]	September 29, 2008	50%	26%
Rasmussen Reports[23]	September 29, 2008	56%	32%
Rasmussen Reports[24]	October 16, 2008	62%	34%

Results

United States Senate election in Tennessee, 2008^[25]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Republican	Lamar Alexander (Incumbent)	1,579,477	65.14%	+10.87%
	Democratic	Bob Tuke	767,236	31.64%	−12.69%
	Independent	Edward L. Buck	31,631	1.30%	N/A
	Independent	Christopher G. Fenner	11,073	0.46%	N/A
	Independent	Daniel Towers Lewis	9,367	0.39%	N/A
	Independent	Chris Lugo	9,170	0.38%	N/A
	Independent	Ed Lawhorn	8,986	0.37%	N/A
	Independent	David Gatchell	7,645	0.32%	N/A
Majority			812,241	33.50%	+23.56%
Turnout			2,424,585	66.34%
	Republican hold		Swing

Counties that flipped from Democratic to Republican

• Bedford (Largest city: Shelbyville)
• Benton (Largest city: Camden)
• Campbell (Largest city: LaFollette)
• Cannon (Largest city: Woodbury)
• Clay (Largest city: Celina)
• Crockett (Largest city: Bells)
• Davidson (Largest city: Nashville)
• Decatur (Largest city: Parsons)
• DeKalb (Largest city: Smithville)
• Dickson (Largest city: Dickson)
• Franklin (Largest city: Winchester)
• Giles (Largest city: Pulaski)
• Grundy (Largest town: Altamont)
• Hardeman (Largest city: Bolivar)
• Henry (Largest city: Paris)
• Hickman (Largest city: Centerville)
• Houston (Largest city: Erin)
• Humphreys (Largest town: Waverly)
• Jackson (Largest town: Gainesboro)
• Lake (Largest town: Tiptonville)
• Lauderdale (Largest city: Ripley)
• Lewis (Largest city: Hohenwald)
• Macon (Largest city: Lafayette)
• Marion (Largest city: Jasper)
• Marshall (Largest city: Lewisburg)
• Morgan (Largest city: Coalfield)
• Obion (Largest city: Union City)
• Overton (Largest municipality: Livingston)
• Perry (Largest municipality: Linden)
• Robertson (Largest city: Springfield)
• Sequatchie (Largest city: Dunlap)
• Smith (Largest municipality: Carthage)
• Stewart (Largest municipality: Dover)
• Trousdale (Largest municipality: Hartsville)
• Van Buren (Largest municipality: Spencer)
• Warren (Largest city: McMinnville)
• Weakley (Largest city: Martin)
• White (Largest city: Sparta)

See also

• 2008 United States presidential election in Tennessee
• 2008 Tennessee elections
• 2008 United States elections

References

1. "Tennessee Voter Turnout in 2008". Tennessee Secretary of State. November 4, 2008. Retrieved February 28, 2023.
2. Dade, Corey (November 22, 2008). "Tennessee Resists Obama Wave". Wall Street Journal. ISSN 0099-9660. Retrieved August 29, 2021.
3. "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on July 13, 2011. Retrieved June 3, 2011.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
4. Cagle, Frank (August 13, 2008). "Last week's county election puts the Republican machine back in power". Knoxville Metro Pulse. Archived from the original on February 14, 2012.
5. "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on July 13, 2011. Retrieved June 3, 2011.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
6. "Qualifying Procedures for Candidates for United States Senator Archived March 25, 2009, at the Wayback Machine", Tennessee Division of Elections (accessed November 3, 2008).
7. "Qualifying Procedures for Tennessee Candidates for United States House of Representatives", Tennessee Division of Elections (accessed November 3, 2008).
8. "Qualifying Procedures for Candidates for Tennessee State Senator", Tennessee Division of Elections (accessed November 3, 2008).
9. "Qualifying Procedures for Candidates for Tennessee House of Representatives", Tennessee Division of Elections (accessed November 3, 2008).
10. "Tennessee Ballot Access Procedures for Candidates for U.S. President Archived March 25, 2009, at the Wayback Machine", Tennessee Division of Elections (accessed November 3, 2008).
11. "Against all odds, third-party candidates fight on", The Tennessean (accessed November 3, 2008).
12. United States Senate Candidate List From Tennessee http://www.state.tn.us/sos/election/cand/USSenateList.pdf
13. "4/3/2007 - Alexander Running Again, Sets Fundraiser - Breaking News - Chattanoogan.com". Archived from the original on October 8, 2007. Retrieved April 6, 2007.
14. Piesyk, Christine Anne (October 29, 2007). "Activist Chris Lugo seeks U.S. Senate seat; critical of 'misdirected' national priorities". Clarksville Online - Clarksville News, Sports, Events and Information. Retrieved June 3, 2024.
15. Nathan Frick (March 21, 2008). "Democratic Senate Field Narrowed". News Channel 9. Retrieved March 30, 2008.
16. "2008 Senate Race ratings for October 23, 2008". The Cook Political Report. Retrieved April 1, 2021.
17. Race Ratings Chart: Senate Archived October 28, 2010, at the Wayback Machine CQ Politics
18. "2008 Senate ratings". Inside Elections. Retrieved April 1, 2021.
19. "2008 RCP Averages & Senate Results". Real Clear Politics. Retrieved August 31, 2021.
20. Ayres, McHenry & Associates (R)
21. Rasmussen Report
22. MTSU Poll
23. Rasmussen Reports
24. Rasmussen Reports
25. "Office of the Clerk, U.S. House of Representatives".

External links

• Division of Elections from the Tennessee Department of State
• U.S. Congress candidates for Tennessee at Project Vote Smart
• Tennessee, U.S. Senate from CQ Politics
• Tennessee U.S. Senate from OurCampaigns.com
• Tennessee Senate race from 2008 Race Tracker
• Campaign contributions from OpenSecrets
• Alexander (R-i) vs Tuke (D) graph of multiple polls from Pollster.com
• Official campaign websites
  • Lamar Alexander, Republican nominee
  • Mark E. Clayton, Democratic candidate
  • Kenneth Eaton, Democratic candidate
  • Mike Padgett, Democratic candidate
  • Bob Tuke, Democratic nominee
  • David "None of the Above" Gatchell, Independent candidate
  • Ed Lawhorn, Independent candidate
  • Daniel T. Lewis, Independent (Libertarian Party) candidate
  • Chris Lugo, Independent (Green Party) candidate