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 Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

U.S. Senator

Jim Inhofe James Mountain Inhofe ( ; born November 17, 1934) is an American politician serving as the senior United States senator from Oklahoma, a seat he was first elected to in 1994. A member of the Republican Party, he chaired the U.S. Senate Commit ...

won re-election to a third term over

Democrat Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (United States) (D) **Democratic ...

Andrew Rice. This was the last time a Democrat carried any counties in an Oklahoma U.S. Senate election until

2022 File:2022 collage V1.png, Clockwise, from top left: Road junction at Yamato-Saidaiji Station several hours after the assassination of Shinzo Abe; 2022 Sri Lankan protests, Anti-government protest in Sri Lanka in front of the Presidential Secretari ...

and the last time any Democrat did so in a regular Senate election.

Democratic primary

Background

Rice officially filed as a candidate for the United States Senate from Oklahoma on Monday, June 2, 2008. 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 Kenneth Corn (born October 8, 1976) is a former member of the Oklahoma Senate, representing an electoral district that includes Sequoyah and Le Flore counties. He served as caucus chair for the Democratic caucus in the Oklahoma Senate. He prev ...

had earlier expressed interest in the race.

Candidates

* Andrew Rice, State Senator * Jim Rogers

Results

Republican primary

Candidates

, incumbent U.S. Senator * Dennis Lopez * Evelyn Rogers * Ted Ryals

Results

General election

Candidates

(R), incumbent U.S. Senator * Andrew Rice (D), State Senator * Stephen Wallace (I), businessman

Campaign

Inhofe, who in August 2008 had a 61% approval rating, emphasized his conservative record and tried to label Rice as a "committed

liberal Liberal or liberalism may refer to: Politics * a supporter of liberalism ** Liberalism by country * an adherent of a Liberal Party * Liberalism (international relations) * Sexually liberal feminism * Social liberalism Arts, entertainment and m ...

." In the debates, Rice tried to connect Inhofe to

George W. Bush George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Republican Party, Bush family, and son of the 41st president George H. W. Bush, he ...

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 Deregulation is the process of removing or reducing state regulations, typically in the economic sphere. It is the repeal of governmental regulation of the economy. It became common in advanced industrial economies in the 1970s and 1980s, as a ...

." Rice also believed in

global warming In common usage, climate change describes global warming—the ongoing increase in global average temperature—and its effects on Earth's climate system. Climate change in a broader sense also includes previous long-term changes to E ...

, something Inhofe is famous for denying. In the election, Inhofe had over $5 million in the bank. Rice had $3.8 million.

Endorsements

Predictions

Polling

Results

References

External links

U.S. Congress candidates for Oklahoma
at

Project Vote Smart Vote Smart, formerly called Project Vote Smart, is a non-profit, non-partisan research organization that collects and distributes information on candidates for public office in the United States. It covers candidates and elected officials in si ...

Oklahoma, U.S. Senate
from

CQ Politics Congressional Quarterly, Inc., or CQ, is part of a privately owned publishing company called CQ Roll Call that produces a number of publications reporting primarily on the United States Congress. CQ was acquired by the Economist Group and combined ...

Oklahoma U.S. Senate
from ''OurCampaigns.com''
Oklahoma U.S. Senate race
from ''2008 Race Tracker''
Campaign contributions
from

OpenSecrets OpenSecrets is a nonprofit organization based in Washington, D.C., that tracks data on campaign finance and lobbying. It was created from a merger of the Center for Responsive Politics (CRP) and the National Institute on Money in Politics (NIMP). ...

Inhofe (R-i) vs Rice (D)
graph of multiple polls from Pollster.com * ''Official campaign websites (Archived)'' *
James Inhofe
(R) *
Andrew Rice
(D) {{2008 United States elections

2008 File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing; ...

Oklahoma Oklahoma (; Choctaw language, Choctaw: ; chr, ᎣᎧᎳᎰᎹ, ''Okalahoma'' ) is a U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States, bordered by Texas on the south and west, Kansas on the nor ...

United States Senate The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and pow ...

Democratic primary

Background

Candidates

Results

Republican primary

Candidates

Results

General election

Candidates

Campaign

Endorsements

Predictions

Polling

Results

See also

References

External links