United States Senate election in Colorado, 2008

United States Senate election in Colorado, 2008

2002 ← November 4, 2008 → 2014

Nominee Mark Udall Bob Schaffer Party Democratic Republican Popular vote 1,230,994 990,755 Percentage 52.8% 42.5%

County results

U.S. Senator before election Wayne Allard Republican Elected U.S. Senator Mark Udall Democratic

The 2008 United States Senate election in Colorado was held on November 4, 2008. The primary elections were held August 12, 2008.^[1] Incumbent Republican U.S. Senator Wayne Allard decided to retire instead of seeking a third term. Democratic nominee Mark Udall won the open seat.

Democratic primary

Candidates

• Mark Udall, U.S. Congressman

Results

Democratic primary results[2]
Party		Candidate	Votes	Percentage
	Democratic	Mark Udall	194,227	100.00%
Totals			194,227	100.00%

Republican primary

Candidates

• Bob Schaffer, Colorado State Board of Education member, 2004 Republican candidate for the U.S. Senate, former U.S. Congressman

Results

Republican primary results[3]
Party		Candidate	Votes	Percentage
	Republican	Bob Schaffer	239,212	100.00%
Totals			239,212	100.00%

General election

Campaign

The election featured an open contest because incumbent U.S. Senator Wayne Allard declined to seek re-election. He honored his 1996 pledge to serve no more than two terms in the U.S. Senate and announced that he will retire from his service to the US Senate and not seek a 3rd term, leaving Colorado's Class II Senate seat open. Both parties believed this senate contest would be one of the most competitive senate races during the 2008 election.^[4]

Predictions

CQ Politics rated this race as 'Democrat Favored'.^[5] The Cook Political Report considered it 'Toss Up'.^[6] The Rothenberg Political Report considered it a 'Lean Takeover'.^[7]

Polling

Poll Source	Dates administered	Mark Udall (D)	Bob Schaffer (R)
Rasmussen Reports	October 16, 2008	51%	44%
Ciruli Associates	October 1, 2008	45%	38%
Denver Post	September 29 - October 1, 2008	43%	38%
Rasmussen Reports	September 23, 2008	46%	44%
Quinnipiac	September 14 - September 21, 2008	48%	40%
Public Policy Polling	September 21, 2008	48%	40%
Tarrance Group	September 3, 2008	41%	40%
Hill Research Consultants	August 24, 2008	41%	38%
Rasmussen Reports	August 13, 2008	50%	42%
Quinnipiac	July 24, 2008	44%	44%
Rasmussen Reports	July 22, 2008	49%	46%
Keith Frederick	July 22, 2008	48%	39%
Public Policy Polling(PPP)	July 10, 2008	47%	38%
Quinnipiac	June 26, 2008	48%	38%
Garin-Hart-Yang/DSCC	June 15-17, 2008	46%	37%
Rasmussen Reports	June 17, 2008	49%	40%
Rasmussen Reports	May 19, 2008	47%	41%
Rasmussen Reports	April 16, 2008	45%	42%
New Leadership USA/TargetPoint	March 31-April 7, 2008	45%	45%
Rasmussen Reports	March 17, 2008	46%	43%
McLaughlin & Associates/ Coalition for a Democratic Workplace	March 6-March 9, 2008	44%	32%
Rasmussen Reports	February 11, 2008	43%	44%
Research for Change	December 3-December 5, 2007	39%	37%
Rasmussen Reports	November 28, 2007	41%	42%
SurveyUSA	October 27-October 30, 2007	48%	41%
Ciruli Associates	September 12-September 15, 2007	36%	35%
Hill Research Consultants	August 26-August 28, 2007	45%	40%

Results

General election results[8]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Democratic	Mark Udall	1,230,994	52.80%	+7.03%
	Republican	Bob Schaffer	990,755	42.49%	-8.20%
	Constitution	Douglas Campbell	59,733	2.56%	+1.04%
	Green	Bob Kinsey	50,004	2.14%
	Write-ins		135	0.01%
Majority			240,239	10.30%	+5.38%
Turnout			2,331,621
	Democratic gain from Republican		Swing

References

1. ^ "Candidate List for the August 12, 2008 Primary Election". Colorado State Government. http://www.elections.colorado.gov/WWW/default/Candidates/primary_election_candidate_list.pdf. 
2. ^ http://www.sos.state.co.us/pubs/elections/ElectionArchives/2008/2008_Abstract.pdf
3. ^ http://www.sos.state.co.us/pubs/elections/ElectionArchives/2008/2008_Abstract.pdf
4. ^ Phillips, Kate (2008-06-13). "G.O.P. Leader Maps Senate Elections". The New York Times. http://thecaucus.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/06/13/gop-leader-maps-senate-elections/#more-5357. 
5. ^ "Race Ratings Chart: Senate". CQ Politics. http://www.cqpolitics.com/wmspage.cfm?docID=ratings-senate. 
6. ^ "2008 Senate Race Ratings". The Cook Political Report. 2008-10-09. http://www.cookpolitical.com/charts/senate/raceratings_2008-10-09_12-20-35.php. 
7. ^ 2008 "Senate Ratings". The Rothenberg Political Report. 2008-09-29. http://rothenbergpoliticalreport.blogspot.com/2008/09/2008-senate-ratings_29.html 2008. 
8. ^ http://clerk.house.gov/member_info/electionInfo/2008/2008Stat.htm#stateCO

External links

• Elections Center from the Colorado Secretary of State
• U.S. Congress candidates for Colorado at Project Vote Smart
• Colorado, U.S. Senate from CQ Politics
• Colorado U.S. Senate from OurCampaigns.com
• Colorado U.S. Senate race from 2008 Race Tracker
• Campaign contributions from OpenSecrets.org
• Schaffer (R) vs Udall (D) graph of multiple polls from Pollster.com
• Official campaign websites
  • Bob Kinsey, Green Party candidate
  • Bob Schaffer, Republican candidate
  • Mark Udall, Democratic candidate