The 2008 United States Senate election in Texas was held on November 4, 2008. Incumbent Republican John Cornyn defeated Democratic nominee Rick Noriega, a member of the Texas House of Representatives, to win re-election to a second term in office.
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County results Cornyn: 50–60% 60–70% 70–80% 80–90% >90% Noriega: 40–50% 50–60% 60–70% 70–80% 80–90% | |||||||||||||||||
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Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Democratic | Rick Noriega | 1,110,579 | 51.01% | |
Democratic | Gene Kelly | 584,966 | 26.87% | |
Democratic | Ray McMurrey | 269,402 | 12.37% | |
Democratic | Rhett Smith | 213,305 | 9.75% | |
Total votes | 2,178,252 | 100.00% |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Republican | John Cornyn (incumbent) | 997,216 | 81.48% | +4.17% | |
Republican | Larry Kilgore | 226,649 | 18.52% | +0.00% |
Cornyn, running as an incumbent, had a 42% approval rating with a 43% disapproval rating in June 2007.[4] Texas is a red state, that Republican presidential nominee John McCain won with over 55% of the vote. Cornyn slightly underperformed McCain. However, Noriega underperformed both 2008 Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama in Texas and Cornyn's 2002 opponent, Ron Kirk, with Noriega receiving just 42.8% of the vote.
Source | Ranking | As of |
---|---|---|
The Cook Political Report[5] | Safe R | October 23, 2008 |
CQ Politics[6] | Likely R | October 31, 2008 |
Rothenberg Political Report[7] | Safe R | November 2, 2008 |
Real Clear Politics[8] | Safe R | November 4, 2008 |
Poll source | Dates administered | Rick Noriega (D) | John Cornyn (R) |
---|---|---|---|
Rasmussen | September 18, 2007 | 30% | 53% |
Research 2000 | September 24–26, 2007 | 35% | 51% |
Rasmussen Reports | May 1, 2008 | 43% | 47% |
Research 2000/Daily Kos | May 5–7, 2008 | 44% | 48% |
Baselice & Associates | May 20–25, 2008 | 33% | 49% |
Rasmussen Reports | June 2, 2008 | 35% | 52% |
Rasmussen Reports | June 25, 2008 | 35% | 48% |
Rasmussen Reports | July 30, 2008 | 39% | 50% |
Rasmussen Reports | September 29, 2008 | 43% | 50% |
Rasmussen Reports | October 21, 2008 | 40% | 55% |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Republican | John Cornyn (incumbent) | 4,337,469 | 54.82% | −0.48% | |
Democratic | Rick Noriega | 3,389,365 | 42.84% | −0.50% | |
Libertarian | Yvonne Adams Schick | 185,241 | 2.34% | +1.55% | |
Majority | 948,104 | 11.98% | |||
Turnout | 7,912,075 | 58.28% | |||
Republican hold | Swing |