2008_United_States_Senate_election_in_Oklahoma
The 2008 United States Senate election in Oklahoma was held on November 4, 2008. The statewide primary election was held July 29, with the run-off on August 26. Incumbent Republican U.S. Senator Jim Inhofe won re-election to a third term over Democrat Andrew Rice.
 | |||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||
 County results Inhofe: 40–50% 50–60% 60–70% 70–80% 80–90% Rice: 50–60% | |||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||
.jpg)
.jpg)
This was the last time a Democrat carried any counties in an Oklahoma U.S. Senate election until 2022 and the last time any Democrat did so in a regular Senate election.
Candidates
- Jim Inhofe, incumbent U.S. Senator
- Dennis Lopez
- Evelyn Rogers
- Ted Ryals
Results
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Jim Inhofe (Incumbent) | 116,371 | 84.18% | |
| Republican | Evelyn R. Rogers | 10,770 | 7.79% | |
| Republican | Ted Ryals | 7,306 | 5.28% | |
| Republican | Dennis Lopez | 3,800 | 2.75% | |
| Total votes | 138,247 | 100.00% | ||
Background
Rice officially filed as a candidate for the United States Senate from Oklahoma on Monday, June 2, 2008.[2][3] He won the Democratic primary against Jim Rogers, a retired schoolteacher who stressed campaign finance reform. As in earlier campaigns, Rogers refused to accept money to avoid any question of his allegiances. State Senator Kenneth Corn had earlier expressed interest in the race.
Candidates
- Andrew Rice, State Senator
- Jim Rogers
Results
- 50–60%
- 60–70%
- 70–80%
- 50–60%
- 70–80%
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Andrew Rice | 113,795 | 59.65% | |
| Democratic | Jim Rogers | 76,981 | 40.35% | |
| Total votes | 190,776 | 100.00% | ||
Candidates
- Jim Inhofe (R), incumbent U.S. Senator
- Andrew Rice (D), State Senator
- Stephen Wallace (I), businessman[4]
Campaign
Inhofe, who in August 2008 had a 61% approval rating,[5] emphasized his conservative record and tried to label Rice as a "committed liberal." In the debates, Rice tried to connect Inhofe to George W. Bush saying "An era allowed this to happen. George Bush came into office eight years ago with a Republican majority and … an agenda of radical deregulation."[6] Rice also believed in global warming, something Inhofe is famous for denying.[7] In the election, Inhofe had over $5 million in the bank. Rice had $3.8 million.[8]
Endorsements
- Individuals
- Wesley Clark, General, 2004 democratic presidential candidate[9]
Predictions
| Source | Ranking | As of |
|---|---|---|
| The Cook Political Report[10] | Likely R | October 23, 2008 |
| CQ Politics[11] | Likely R | October 31, 2008 |
| Rothenberg Political Report[12] | Safe R | November 2, 2008 |
| Real Clear Politics[13] | Safe R | November 4, 2008 |
Polling
| Poll Source | Dates administered | Rice | Inhofe |
|---|---|---|---|
| Benenson Strategy Group | December 8–12, 2007 | 35% | 49% |
| Tulsa World/KOTV/SoonerPoll | December 16–19, 2007 | 19% | 60% |
| Research 2000/Daily Kos | June 9–11, 2008 | 31% | 53% |
| KSWO | August 12–14, 2008 | 41% | 50% |
| Survey USA | September 5–7, 2008 | 34% | 56% |
| Rasmussen Reports | September 11, 2008 | 39% | 55% |
| Survey USA | September 29, 2008 | 37% | 53% |
| Survey USA | October 19, 2008 | 39% | 51% |
| Survey USA | October 29, 2008 | 36% | 56% |
Results
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Jim Inhofe (Incumbent) | 763,375 | 56.68% | -0.62% | |
| Democratic | Andrew Rice | 527,736 | 39.18% | +2.87% | |
| Independent | Stephen Wallace | 55,708 | 4.14% | ||
| Majority | 235,639 | 17.50% | -3.50% | ||
| Turnout | 1,346,819 | ||||
| Republican hold | Swing | ||||
Counties that flipped from Democratic to Republican
- Atoka (Largest city: Atoka)
- Coal (Largest city: Coalgate)
- Bryan (Largest city: Durant)
- Johnston (Largest city: Tishomingo)
- Ottawa (Largest city: Miami)
- Harmon (Largest city: Hollis)
- Kiowa (Largest city: Hobart)
- Jefferson (Largest city: Waurika)
- Love (Largest city: Marietta)
- Murray (Largest city: Sulphur)
- Pushmataha (Largest city: Antlers)
- Choctaw (Largest city: Hugo)
- Le Flore (Largest city: Poteau)
- McCurtain (Largest city: Idabel)
- Hughes (Largest city: Holdenville)
- Seminole (Largest city: Seminole)
- Okfuskee (Largest city: Okemah)
- Latimer (Largest city: Wilburton)
- Pittsburg (Largest city: McAlester)
- Sequoyah (Largest city: Sallisaw)
- Haskell (Largest city: Stigler)
- "Oklahoma State Election Board - Primary Election 2008". Ok.gov. July 29, 2008. Retrieved December 8, 2012.
- Candidates for Federal, State and Legislative Offices Oklahoma State Election Board, June 2–4, 2008
- "State Lawmaker To Run For U.S. Senate" Archived September 27, 2007, at the Wayback Machine, Associated Press, August 3, 2007
- "Wallace". Archived from the original on September 3, 2010. Retrieved June 8, 2010.
- "RealClearPolitics - Politics Nation - OK: Inhofe +22". Retrieved April 8, 2023.
- "Rice, Inhofe spar over economy | Tulsa World". Retrieved April 8, 2023.
- "An interview with Andrew Rice, the Democrat challenging GOP Sen. James Inhofe". Grist. January 8, 2008. Retrieved April 8, 2023.
- "Politics Home Page : Roll Call". Archived from the original on September 29, 2008. Retrieved July 27, 2008.
- "Patty Wetterling (MN-6) | WesPAC". November 4, 2006. Archived from the original on November 4, 2006. Retrieved April 8, 2023.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link) - "2008 Senate Race ratings for October 23, 2008". The Cook Political Report. Retrieved April 1, 2021.
- Race Ratings Chart: Senate Archived October 28, 2010, at the Wayback Machine CQ Politics
- "2008 Senate ratings". Inside Elections. Retrieved April 1, 2021.
- "2008 RCP Averages & Senate Results". Real Clear Politics. Retrieved August 31, 2021.
- "2008 Election Statistics". Clerk.house.gov. Retrieved December 8, 2012.
- U.S. Congress candidates for Oklahoma at Project Vote Smart
- Oklahoma, U.S. Senate from CQ Politics
- Oklahoma U.S. Senate from OurCampaigns.com
- Oklahoma U.S. Senate race from 2008 Race Tracker
- Campaign contributions from OpenSecrets
- Inhofe (R-i) vs Rice (D) graph of multiple polls from Pollster.com
- Official campaign websites (Archived)
- James Inhofe, (R)
- Andrew Rice (D)