United States Senate election in Nebraska, 2008

United States Senate election in Nebraska, 2008

November 4, 2008

Nominee Mike Johanns Scott Kleeb Party Republican Democratic Popular vote 455,854 317,456 Percentage 57.5% 40.1%

County results

U.S. Senator before election Chuck Hagel Republican Elected U.S. Senator Mike Johanns Republican

The 2008 United States Senate election in Nebraska was held on November 4, 2008. The primary elections was held on May 13. Incumbent Republican U.S. Senator Chuck Hagel decided to retire instead of seeking a third term. Republican Mike Johanns won the open seat.

Democratic primary

Candidates

• Scott Kleeb, CEO and President of Energy Pioneer Solutions, and runner-up in Nebraska's 3rd district congressional election in 2006
• Tony Raimondo
• James Bryan Wilson
• Larry Marvin

Results

Democratic primary results[1]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Scott Kleeb	65,582	68.37
	Democratic	Tony Raimondo	24,141	25.17
	Democratic	James Bryan Wilson	3,224	3.36
	Democratic	Larry Marvin	2,672	2.79
Total votes			95,919	100.00

Green primary

Candidates

• Steve Larrick

Results

Green Party primary results[1]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Green	Steve Larrick	123	100.00
Total votes			123	100.00

Nebraska primary

Candidates

• Kelly Renee Rosberg

Results

Nebraska Party primary results[1]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Nebraska	Barry Richards	209	100.00
Total votes			209	100.00

Republican primary

Candidates

• Mike Johanns, former United States Secretary of Agriculture and former Governor of Nebraska
• Pat Flynn, businessman

Results

Republican primary results[1]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Mike Johanns	112,191	78.61
	Republican	Pat Flynn	31,560	22.11
Total votes			143,751	100.00

General election

Predictions

Prior to the election, CQ Politics rated this race as 'Republican Favored'.^[2] The Cook Political Report considered it 'Likely Republican'.^[3] The Rothenberg Political Report considered it a 'Safe Republican'.^[4]

Polling

Poll Source	Dates administered	Kleeb	Johanns
Rasmussen Reports	September 30, 2008	38%	52%
Rasmussen Reports	July 28, 2008	34%	60%
Rasmussen Reports	June 23, 2008	33%	60%
Research 2000/Daily Kos	May 19-May 21, 2008	31%	58%
Rasmussen Reports	May 15, 2008	40%	55%
Research 2000/Daily Kos	November 12-November 14, 2007	28%	59%

Results

2008 Nebraska U.S. Senate general election
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Republican	Mike Johanns	455,854	57.5	-25.2
	Democratic	Scott Kleeb	317,456	40.1	+25.5
	Nebraska	Kelly Renee Rosberg	11,438	1.4	n/a
	Green	Steve Larrick	7,763	1.0	n/a
Majority			138,398
Turnout			792,511
	Republican hold		Swing

References

1. "Official Results of Nebraska Primary Election, May 13, 2008" (PDF). Government of Nebraska. June 20, 2008.
2. Race Ratings Chart: Senate CQ Politics
3. 2008 Senate Race Ratings The Cook Political Report, October 9, 2008
4. 2008 Senate Ratings The Rothenberg Political Report, September 29, 2008

External links

• Elections from the Nebraska Secretary of State
• U.S. Congress candidates for Nebraska at Project Vote Smart
• Nebraska, U.S. Senate from CQ Politics
• Nebraska U.S. Senate from OurCampaigns.com
• Nebraska U.S. Senate race from 2008 Race Tracker
• Campaign contributions from OpenSecrets.org
• Johanns (R) vs Kleeb (D) graph of multiple polls from Pollster.com
• Official campaign websites
  • Mike Johanns, Republican nominee
  • Scott Kleeb, Democratic nominee
  • Steve Larrick, Green nominee