The 2008 United States Senate election in Alabama was held on November 4, 2008, to elect one of Alabama's members to the United States Senate. Incumbent Republican U.S. Senator Jeff Sessions won re-election to a third term.
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Background
Since 1980, Alabama voters have increasingly voted for Republican candidates at the Federal level, especially in Presidential elections. By contrast, Democratic candidates have been elected to many state-level offices and, until 2010, comprised a longstanding majority in the Alabama Legislature; see Dixiecrat.
In the 2004 presidential election, George W. Bush won Alabama's nine electoral votes by a margin of 25 percentage points with 62.5% of the vote. The eleven counties that voted Democratic are part of the Black Belt counties, where African Americans are the majority racial group.
On January 10, 2007, Rep. Artur Davis announced that he would not run for the seat.[1] Despite voting heavily for George W. Bush in 2004, Alabama still had a strong Democratic presence in 2008, and Democrats controlled majorities in both chambers in the Alabama Legislature. Commissioner of Agriculture and Industries Ron Sparks appeared to be preparing for a run, but on June 12, 2007, he announced that he would not seek the Senate seat, in order to avoid a primary battle with State Senator Vivian Davis Figures.[2]
Primary elections were held on June 3.[3]
Republican primary
Sessions' approval rating was 56% in December 2007.[4]
Candidates
- Earl Mack Gavin, perennial candidate
- Jeff Sessions, incumbent U.S. Senator since 1997
Results
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Jeff Sessions (incumbent) | 199,690 | 92.27% | |
| Republican | Earl Mack Gavin | 16,718 | 7.73% | |
| Total votes | 216,408 | 100.00% | ||
Democratic primary
Candidates
- Vivian Davis Figures, State Senator from Mobile
- Johnny Swanson, Army veteran
- Mark Townsend, candidate for Governor in 2002
Results
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Vivian Davis Figures | 112,074 | 63.72% | |
| Democratic | Johnny Swanson | 38,757 | 22.03% | |
| Democratic | Mark Townsend | 25,058 | 14.25% | |
| Total votes | 175,889 | 100.00% | ||
General election
Candidates
- Vivian Figures, State Senator from Mobile (Democratic)
- Darryl W. Perry (write-in), candidate for Pennsylvania State Treasurer in 2004 and candidate for Mayor of Birmingham in 2007[7][8]
- Jeff Sessions, incumbent U.S. Senator (Republican)
Predictions
| Source | Ranking | As of |
|---|---|---|
| The Cook Political Report[9] | Safe R | October 23, 2008 |
| CQ Politics[10] | Safe R | October 31, 2008 |
| Rothenberg Political Report[11] | Safe R | November 2, 2008 |
| Real Clear Politics[12] | Safe R | November 4, 2008 |
Polling
| Poll source | Dates administered | Vivian Davis Figures (D) | Jeff Sessions (R) |
|---|---|---|---|
| SurveyUSA | August 25–27, 2007 | 37% | 59% |
| Rasmussen Reports | November 14, 2007 | 30% | 62% |
| Rasmussen Reports | April 2, 2008 | 36% | 57% |
| Rasmussen Reports | May 27, 2008 | 29% | 62% |
| Rasmussen Reports | June 30, 2008 | 34% | 58% |
| Rasmussen Reports | July 31, 2008 | 31% | 58% |
| Survey USA | September 16–17, 2008 | 31% | 66% |
| Survey USA | October 8–9, 2008 | 33% | 64% |
| Survey USA | October 27–28, 2008 | 32% | 65% |
Results
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Jeff Sessions (incumbent) | 1,305,383 | 63.36% | |
| Democratic | Vivian Davis Figures | 752,391 | 36.52% | |
| Write-in | 2,417 | 0.12% | ||
| Total votes | 2,060,191 | 100.00% | ||
| Republican hold | ||||
Counties that flipped from Democratic to Republican
- Marengo (largest municipality: Linden)
- Pickens (Largest city: Aliceville)
- Colbert (Largest city: Muscle Shoals)
- Lawrence (Largest city: Moulton)
Counties that flipped from Republican to Democratic
- Montgomery (largest municipality: Montgomery)
See also
References
External links
- 2008 Election Information from the Secretary of State of Alabama
- U.S. Congress candidates for Alabama at Project Vote Smart
- Alabama U.S. Senate race from Congress.org
- Alabama, U.S. Senate from CQ Politics
- Alabama U.S. Senate race from The Green Papers
- Alabama U.S. Senate race from OurCampaigns.com
- Alabama U.S. Senate race from 2008 Race Tracker
- Campaign contributions from OpenSecrets
- Sessions (R-i) vs Figures (D) graph of multiple polls from Pollster.com
- Election News from Alabama Live news media
- Vivian Davis Figures, Democratic candidate
- Darryl W. Perry, Write-in candidate (Alabama Statesmen/Boston Tea Party)
- Jeff Sessions Archived December 10, 2020, at the Wayback Machine, Republican incumbent
- Johnny Swanson, Democratic candidate