2008 United States House of Representatives elections in Kentucky
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The 2008 congressional elections in Kentucky were held on November 4, 2008, to determine who would represent the
state State may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Literature * ''State Magazine'', a monthly magazine published by the U.S. Department of State * ''The State'' (newspaper), a daily newspaper in Columbia, South Carolina, United States * ''Our S ...
of
Kentucky Kentucky ( , ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States and one of the states of the Upper South. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north; West Virginia and Virginia ...
in the
United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they ...
. Kentucky has six seats in the House, apportioned according to the
2000 United States Census The United States census of 2000, conducted by the Census Bureau, determined the resident population of the United States on April 1, 2000, to be 281,421,906, an increase of 13.2 percent over the 248,709,873 people enumerated during the 1990 cen ...
. Representatives are elected for two-year terms; those elected will serve in the
111th Congress The 111th United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government from January 3, 2009, until January 3, 2011. It began during the last weeks of the George W. Bush administration, with th ...
from January 4, 2009, until January 3, 2011. The election coincides with the
2008 U.S. presidential election The 2008 United States presidential election was the 56th quadrennial presidential election, held on Tuesday, November 4, 2008. The Democratic ticket of Barack Obama, the junior senator from Illinois, and Joe Biden, the senior senator from ...
. The deadline to file to run in the election was January 29, 2008. The primary for both parties took place on May 20, 2008. The current delegation consists of 2 Democrats and 4 Republicans. All incumbents ran for and won reelection.


Overview


Match-up summary


District breakdown


District 1

This district is in Western
Kentucky Kentucky ( , ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States and one of the states of the Upper South. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north; West Virginia and Virginia ...
. The seat has been held by Republican
Ed Whitfield Wayne Edward Whitfield (born May 25, 1943) is an American politician and attorney who served as the U.S. representative of from January 1995, until his resignation in September 2016. He is a member of the Republican Party, and the first to repr ...
since 1995. Heather A. Ryan of Paducah, a self-described Democratic activist, has no primary opposition and will face Whitfield in the general election. CQ Politics forecasts the race as 'Safe Republican'. Ryan, a Navy veteran and former movie theater manager, launched into the news in January 2008. On January 15, she protested a visit by Mitch McConnell to the non-profit theater where she worked. The theater was raising funds for an expansion and some would potentially come from McConnell. Three days later, the theater's board of directors told her to stay quiet about politics while running the theater. After questioning the request, she was fired. Whitfield declined to debate Ryan before the election. Whitfield won the election with 64% of the vote.
Race ranking and details
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 combine ...

Campaign contributions
from
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District 2

This district is in Western-central Kentucky. Republican state senator
Brett Guthrie Steven Brett Guthrie (born February 18, 1964) is an American businessman and politician serving as the U.S. representative for . The district is in central Kentucky and includes Fort Knox, Owensboro, Bowling Green, and Danville. Guthrie previo ...
won against Democratic state senator David Boswell. CQ Politics forecasted the race as 'Leans Republican'. In a surprise decision on the filing deadline, Republican incumbent
Ron Lewis Ronald Edward Lewis (born September 14, 1946) is an American retired politician who was a Republican member of the United States House of Representatives from 1994 to 2009, having represented the 2nd congressional district of Kentucky. Lewis a ...
, who had held the seat since 1994, announced he would not run for re-election in 2008. It was believed that he intended to be succeeded by his chief of staff, Daniel London. However, State Senator Brett Guthrie learned of Lewis' retirement just before the deadline, and filed himself. After Guthrie won some key endorsements, London withdrew from the race. leaving Guthrie unopposed for the Republican nomination. State Senator David Boswell defeated Daviess County judge executive Reid Hare to win the Democratic nomination. Guthrie won the election with 53% of the vote.
Race ranking and details
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 combine ...

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) ...

Guthrie (R) vs Boswell (D-i)
graph of collected poll results from ''Pollster.com''


Opinion polls


District 3

Democratic incumbent
John Yarmuth John Allan Yarmuth ( ; born November 4, 1947) is an American politician and former newspaper editor serving as the U.S. representative for since 2007. His district encompasses the vast majority of the Louisville Metro Area. Since 2013, he has ...
won against Republican nominee
Anne Northup Anne Meagher Northup (born January 22, 1948) is an American Republican politician and educator from the Commonwealth of Kentucky. From 1997 to 2007, she represented the Louisville-centered 3rd congressional district of Kentucky in the United ...
, who had held the seat previously. CQ Politics forecasted the race as 'Leans Democratic'.


Background and primary

This district consists of
Louisville Louisville ( , , ) is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky and the 28th most-populous city in the United States. Louisville is the historical seat and, since 2003, the nominal seat of Jefferson County, on the Indiana border. ...
and most of its Jefferson County suburbs. The seat had been held by Northup from 1996 through 2006, when she was defeated by Yarmuth in a year in which Democrats regained control of the house, partially due to the unpopularity of the war in Iraq. On January 28, 2008, Northup announced she would run for her old congressional seat in the 2008 election. She had previously endorsed Louisville lawyer Erwin Roberts, who had planned to run, and helped raise money for him. However, Roberts withdrew from the race after learning he would likely be called to active duty in the
U.S. Army Reserve The United States Army Reserve (USAR) is a reserve force of the United States Army. Together, the Army Reserve and the Army National Guard constitute the Army element of the reserve components of the United States Armed Forces. Since July 20 ...
. Bob DeVore Jr., activist Corley C. Everett and developer Chris Thieneman filed to run in the Republican primary. Thieneman, who spearheaded a successful campaign to defeat a Jefferson County library tax referendum in 2007 and ran unsuccessfully for Jefferson County Clerk in 2002, dropped out of the race on January 31, declared a return to the Democratic Party, and endorsed John Yarmuth in the election. Theineman said he had been pressured to drop out by people associated with Northup and Kentucky's senior senator Mitch McConnell, but McConnell and Northup denied they had tried to influence Thieneman. Thieneman subsequently reaffirmed he was a Republican, revoked his endorsement of Yarmuth, and unsuspended his campaign. Everett dropped out less than a week before the primary and endorsed Theineman. Northup won the Republican primary on May 20. Yarmuth was not opposed in the Democratic primary.


General election

At a press conference held in front of a gas station on June 17, 2008, Northup claimed that the 2008 elections were about the rising price of energy. Over a five-day period in September, Yarmuth's campaign headquarters was broken into twice. The thieves took only computers and storage supplies, leaving behind cash and other valuables. Northup reminded voters of her accomplishments during her years in office, claimed that she was better suited to get results in the long-delayed effort to build an east end bridge and, as she had often done, argued her opponent was too liberal for voters. A key issue in the election was funding for a
Veterans Administration The United States Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) is a Cabinet-level executive branch department of the federal government charged with providing life-long healthcare services to eligible military veterans at the 170 VA medical centers a ...
hospital to replace the aging one in Louisville; Yarmuth touted a commitment he and Mitch McConnell secured from the
Department of Veterans Affairs The United States Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) is a Cabinet-level executive branch department of the federal government charged with providing life-long healthcare services to eligible military veterans at the 170 VA medical centers an ...
to spend at least $60 million on the project, while Northup attempted to downplay the merits of the commitment. Northup also attacked Yarmuth for his eventual vote in favor of the
bailout A bailout is the provision of financial help to a corporation or country which otherwise would be on the brink of bankruptcy. A bailout differs from the term ''bail-in'' (coined in 2010) under which the bondholders or depositors of global sys ...
. Yarmuth did not run any attack ads, and generally focused his campaign on informing voters of his accomplishments during his term in the House. The district's daily newspaper, the ''
Courier-Journal ''The Courier-Journal'', also known as the ''Louisville Courier Journal'' (and informally ''The C-J'' or ''The Courier''), is the highest circulation newspaper in Kentucky. It is owned by Gannett and billed as "Part of the ''USA Today'' Net ...
'', endorsed Yarmuth on October 25, saying the Democrat had done "an exceptionally good job as a freshman representative, winning widespread recognition as one of the brightest new stars in Congress." Yarmuth won the election with 59% of the vote.
Race ranking and details
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 combine ...

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) ...

Northup (R) vs Yarmuth (D-i)
graph of collected poll results from ''Pollster.com''


Opinion polls


District 4

This district is a long district in Northern Kentucky that follows the Ohio River. The majority of the voters live in the booming largely
white White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no hue). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully reflect and scatter all the visible wavelengths of light. White o ...
and suburban
Cincinnati Cincinnati ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located at the northern side of the confluence of the Licking and Ohio rivers, the latter of which marks the state line wit ...
counties of Boone, Kenton and
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. CQ Politics forecasted the race as 'Safe Republican'. Davis won the election with 63% of the vote.


District 5

This district is in Eastern
Kentucky Kentucky ( , ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States and one of the states of the Upper South. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north; West Virginia and Virginia ...
. It has been held by Republican Hal Rogers since 1981. He has filed to run for re-election in 2008. He was opposed by Independent Jim Holbert. CQ Politics forecasted the race as 'Safe Republican'. Rogers won the election with 84% of the vote.
Race ranking and details
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 combine ...

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) ...


District 6

This district is located in central
Kentucky Kentucky ( , ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States and one of the states of the Upper South. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north; West Virginia and Virginia ...
. It contains the cities of Lexington (including its suburbs), Danville, and Frankfort, the state capital. Democrat Ben Chandler has held the seat since 2004. He faced Republican Lexington attorney Jon Larson in the general election. CQ Politics forecasted the race as 'Safe Democrat'. Chandler won the election with 65% of the vote.
Race ranking and details
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 combine ...

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) ...


See also

*
United States House of Representatives elections, 2008 United may refer to: Places * United, Pennsylvania, an unincorporated community * United, West Virginia, an unincorporated community Arts and entertainment Films * ''United'' (2003 film), a Norwegian film * ''United'' (2011 film), a BBC Two fi ...


References


External links


Kentucky State Board of Elections

U.S. Congress candidates for Kentucky
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 s ...
* from ''2008 Race Tracker''
Campaign contributions for Kentucky congressional races
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) ...
{{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; ...
Kentucky Kentucky ( , ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States and one of the states of the Upper South. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north; West Virginia and Virginia ...
United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they ...