The 2008 Delaware gubernatorial election took place on November 4, 2008, coinciding with the

United States presidential election The election of the president and the vice president of the United States is an indirect election in which citizens of the United States who are registered to vote in one of the fifty U.S. states or in Washington, D.C., cast ballots not dir ...

. Democratic state Treasurer

Jack Markell Jack Alan Markell (born November 26, 1960) is an American politician who currently serves as the United States ambassador to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. He previously served as the 73rd governor of Delaware from 2 ...

defeated Republican William Swain Lee in a landslide, succeeding incumbent Ruth Ann Minner, also a Democrat, who was prevented from running for a third term. As of 2008, Democrats had controlled the

Delaware Delaware ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States, bordering Maryland to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and New Jersey and the Atlantic Ocean to its east. The state takes its name from the adjacent Del ...

governorship for 16 years. In an upset, state Treasurer

defeated Lieutenant Governor John Carney by 51 to 49% for the Democratic nomination on September 9. Carney was considered the favorite. The Republican nominee was former state Superior Court Judge William Swain "Bill" Lee, defeating airline pilot Michael Protrack. Lee was the Republican nominee for governor in 2004, and lost to Minner by a narrow margin. The race received more attention with the potential elevation of U.S. Senator Joe Biden as

Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, Obama was the first African-American president of the ...

's choice as his

Vice President of the United States The vice president of the United States (VPOTUS) is the second-highest officer in the executive branch of the U.S. federal government, after the president of the United States, and ranks first in the presidential line of succession. The vice ...

. Election of a Republican governor would assist the party by proxy gaining an additional seat in the

US 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 po ...

. Senator Biden resigned his seat in the

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 ...

on January 15, 2009, and

Ted Kaufman Edward Emmett Kaufman (born March 15, 1939) is a retired American politician and businessman who served as a United States senator from Delaware from 2009 to 2010. He chaired the Congressional Oversight Panel for the Oversight of the Troubled As ...

was appointed by

Governor A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...

Minner to the vacant seat.

Kaufman Kaufman or Kauffman may refer to: People * Kaufmann (surname) ''Includes Kaufman, Kauffman, Kauffmann'' Places * Kaufman, Illinois, an unincorporated community in Madison Count * Kaufman, Texas, a city in Kaufman County * Kaufman County, Texa ...

had previously served as Senator Biden's Chief of Staff during his tenure in the United States Senate.

Democratic primary

Candidates

* John Carney,

Lieutenant Governor of Delaware The lieutenant governor of Delaware is the second ranking executive officer of the U.S. state of Delaware. Lieutenant governors are elected for a term of four years in the same general election as the U.S. president and take office the following ...

, Delaware State Treasurer

Results

Republican primary

Candidates

* William Swain Lee, former Delaware Superior Court justice and nominee for governor in 2004 *Michael Protack, airline pilot

Results

Blue Enigma Party

*Jeffrey Brown, bartender and party founder

General election

Predictions

Polling

Results

References

External links

Delaware Commissioner of ElectionsDelaware Governor candidates
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 ...

Delaware Governor race
from ''OurCampaigns.com''
Delaware Governor race
from ''2008 Race Tracker''
Campaign contributions
from ''Follow the Money'' *Official campaign websites (archived)
John Carney
Democratic candidate
Bill Lee
Republican candidate
Jack Markell
Democratic candidate

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; ...

2008 United States gubernatorial elections

Gubernatorial A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...

{{Delaware-election-stub

Democratic primary

Candidates

Results

Republican primary

Candidates

Results

Blue Enigma Party

General election

Predictions

Polling

Results

See also

References

External links