2008_United_States_Senate_election_in_Iowa Knowpia

2008 United States Senate election in Iowa
	County results; Harkin: 50–60% 60–70% 70–80%; Reed: 50–60% 60–70% 70–80%
U.S. senator before election; Tom Harkin; Democratic	Elected U.S. Senator ; Tom Harkin; Democratic

The 2008 United States Senate election in Iowa was held on November 4, 2008. Incumbent Senator Tom Harkin sought re-election to a fifth term in office. Unlike Harkin's three previous reelection bids, he was not challenged by a sitting United States Congressman but instead faced small businessman Christopher Reed, who won the Republican primary by just a few hundred votes. Harkin defeated Reed in a landslide, winning 94 of Iowa's 99 counties. As of 2023^[update], this is the last time that a Democrat has won a U.S. Senate election in Iowa.

Democratic primary edit

Candidates edit

Tom Harkin, incumbent U.S. Senator

Results edit

Democratic primary results^[1]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Tom Harkin (incumbent)	90,785	98.83%
	Democratic	Write-ins	1,074	1.17%
Total votes			91,859	100.00%

Republican primary edit

Candidates edit

George Eichhorn, former Iowa State Representative
Steve Rathje, construction company executive
Christopher Reed, small businessman

Results edit

Republican primary results by county

Reed

30–40%
40–50%
50–60%

Eichhorn

30–40%
40–50%
50–60%
70–80%

Rathje

30–40%
40–50%
50–60%

Republican primary results^[1]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Christopher Reed	24,964	35.32%
	Republican	George Eichhorn	24,390	34.52%
	Republican	Steve Rathje	21,062	29.80%
	Republican	Write-ins	256	0.36%
Total votes			70,672	100.00%

General election edit

Predictions edit

Source	Ranking	As of
The Cook Political Report^[2]	Safe D	October 23, 2008
CQ Politics^[3]	Safe D	October 31, 2008
Rothenberg Political Report^[4]	Safe D	November 2, 2008
Real Clear Politics^[5]	Safe D	November 4, 2008

Polling edit

Governor Chet Culver campaigning for Senator Harkin

Poll source	Dates administered	Christopher Reed (R)	Tom Harkin (D)
Survey USA	April 21–23, 2008	20%	59%
Research 2000	June 10, 2008	37%	53%
Rasmussen Reports	July 10, 2008	37%	55%
Rasmussen Reports	August 7, 2008	36%	60%
Rasmussen Reports	September 17–18, 2008	37%	60%
Survey USA	October 23, 2008	41%	57%
Rasmussen Reports	October 29, 2008	35%	61%

Results edit

United States Senate election in Iowa, 2008^[6]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Democratic	Tom Harkin (incumbent)	941,665	62.66%	+8.48%
	Republican	Christopher Reed	560,006	37.26%	-6.52%
	Write-in		1,247	0.08%	N/A
Majority			381,659	25.39%	+15.00%
Turnout			1,502,918
	Democratic hold		Swing

Counties that flipped from Republican to Democratic edit

Butler (Largest city: Parkersburg)
Crawford (Largest city: Denison)
Delaware (Largest city: Manchester)
Van Buren (Largest city: Keosauqua)
Plymouth (largest city: Le Mars)
Grundy (largest city: Grundy Center)
Harrison (largest city: Missouri Valley)
Cass (largest city: Atlantic)
Ida (largest city: Ida Grove)
Fremont (largest city: Sidney)
Pottawattamie (largest city: Council Bluffs)
Sac (largest city: Sac City)
Shelby (largest city: Harlan)
Marion (largest city: Pella)
Mills (largest city: Glenwood)
Montgomery (largest city: Red Oak)
Mahaska (largest city: Oskaloosa)

References edit

^ ^a ^b "Official Results Report 2008 Primary Election" (PDF). Retrieved January 17, 2020.
^ "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.
^ "Statistics of the Presidential and Congressional Election of November 4, 2008" (PDF). Retrieved January 17, 2020.