The 2008 congressional elections in Missouri were held on November 4, 2008 to determine who will 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 ...

Missouri Missouri is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking 21st in land area, it is bordered by eight states (tied for the most with Tennessee): Iowa to the north, Illinois, Kentucky and Tennessee to the east, Arkansas t ...

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 ...

. The primary election for candidates seeking the nomination of the Republican Party, the Democratic Party, and the Libertarian Party was held on August 5. Missouri has nine 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 coincided 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 races not forecasted as safe for the incumbent party were 6 and 9; however, the Republicans held both seats.

Overview

District 1

Incumbent Democratic Congressman William Lacy Clay Jr. easily dispatched with Libertarian challenger Robb Cunningham in this

St. Louis St. Louis () is the second-largest city in Missouri, United States. It sits near the confluence of the Mississippi and the Missouri Rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a population of 301,578, while the bi-state metropolitan area, which e ...

-based liberal district.

Democratic primary results

Libertarian primary results

General election results

District 2

Incumbent Republican Congressman

Todd Akin William Todd Akin (July 5, 1947 – October 3, 2021) was an American politician who served as the U.S. representative for from 2001 to 2013. He was a member of the Republican Party. Born in New York City, Akin grew up in the Greater St. Louis ...

easily won re-election to a fifth term over Democratic nominee Bill Haas and Libertarian candidate Thomas Knapp in this conservative district rooted in the northern and western suburbs of

Democratic primary results

Libertarian primary results

General election results

District 3

In this fairly liberal district based in the southern portion of

and previously represented by

House Minority Leader Party leaders of the United States House of Representatives, also known as floor leaders, are congresspeople who coordinate legislative initiatives and serve as the chief spokespersons for their parties on the House floor. These leaders are el ...

Dick Gephardt, Democratic Congressman

Russ Carnahan John Russell Carnahan (; born July 10, 1958) is an American politician from the state of Missouri. A member of the Democratic Party, he served as the U.S. representative for from 2005 to 2013. At the time, the district included the southern ...

easily defeated Republican Chris Sander, Libertarian Kevin Babcock, and Constitution Party candidate Cindy Redburn to win a third term.

Democratic primary results

Republican primary results

Libertarian primary results

General election results

District 4

Long-serving incumbent Democratic Congressman

Ike Skelton Isaac Newton Skelton IV (December 20, 1931 – October 28, 2013) was an American politician and lawyer who served as the U.S. representative for from 1977 to 2011. During his tenure, he served as the chairman of the House Armed Services Committ ...

, the Chairman of the

House Armed Services Committee The U.S. House Committee on Armed Services, commonly known as the House Armed Services Committee or HASC, is a standing committee of the United States House of Representatives. It is responsible for funding and oversight of the Department of De ...

, easily defeated Republican nominee Jeff Parnell in this conservative, west-central Missouri district to win a seventeenth term.

Democratic primary results

Republican primary results

General election results

District 5

Democratic incumbent Congressman Emanuel Cleaver defeated Republican nominee Jacob Turk to win a third term in this fairly liberal district based in Kansas City.

Democratic primary results

Republican primary results

General election results

District 6

Incumbent Republican Congressman

Sam Graves Samuel Bruce Graves Jr. (born November 7, 1963) is an American politician serving as the United States representative for , serving since 2001. He is a member of the Republican Party. The district stretches across most of the northern third of t ...

survived a high-profile challenge from Democratic nominee and former Kansas City Mayor

Kay Barnes Kay Waldo Barnes (born March 30, 1938) is a former American politician and two-term Mayor of Kansas City, Missouri, and the first woman to be elected to the office. She was the Democratic nominee for map of the United States House of Representat ...

by a much healthier margin than expected. Barnes' inability to capitalize on the strong Democratic wave sweeping the country ultimately left her defeated in this normally conservative district based in northwest Missouri.

Republican primary results

Democratic primary results

Libertarian primary results

General election results

District 7

Incumbent Republican Congressman

Roy Blunt Roy Dean Blunt (born January 10, 1950) is an American politician serving as the senior United States senator for Missouri, a seat he was first elected to in 2010. A member of the Republican Party, he previously served as the 33rd Missouri Secr ...

, a former short-serving

House Majority Leader Party leaders of the United States House of Representatives, also known as floor leaders, are congresspeople who coordinate legislative initiatives and serve as the chief spokespersons for their parties on the House floor. These leaders are ele ...

defeated Democrat Richard Monroe, Libertarian Kevin Craig, and Constitution candidate Travis Maddox to easily win another term in office.

Republican primary results

Democratic primary results

Libertarian primary results

General election results

District 8

In this staunchly conservative district based in southeast Missouri, incumbent Republican Congresswoman

Jo Ann Emerson Jo Ann Emerson (née Hermann; born September 16, 1950) is an American politician who was the U.S. representative for from 1996 to 2013. The district consists of Southeast and South Central Missouri and includes the Bootheel, the Lead Belt an ...

had no difficulty in dispatching Democrat Joe Allen, Libertarian Branden McCullough, and Constitution candidate Richard Smith to win another term in office.

Republican primary results

Democratic primary results

Libertarian primary results

General election results

District 9

When Republican Congressman

Kenny Hulshof Kenneth C. "Kenny" Hulshof (; born May 22, 1958) is an American politician and lawyer who represented in the United States House of Representatives. He was the unsuccessful nominee of the Republican Party for Governor of Missouri in the 2008 el ...

declined to seek another term in favor of running for Governor, an open seat emerged. Former Missouri State Representative

Blaine Luetkemeyer William Blaine Luetkemeyer ( ; born May 7, 1952) is an American politician serving as the U.S. representative for , a seat he has held since 2009. A member of the Republican Party, Luetkemeyer formerly served as a member of the Missouri House of ...

, the Republican nominee, defeated Democratic nominee Judy Baker, a member of the

Missouri House of Representatives The Missouri House of Representatives is the lower chamber of the Missouri General Assembly. It has 163 members, representing districts with an average size of 37,000 residents. House members are elected for two-year terms during general elections ...

by a thin margin in this normally conservative district based in northeast Missouri, a part of " Little Dixie."

Republican primary results

Democratic primary results

Libertarian primary results

General election results

References

External links

Elections
from the ''Missouri Secretary of State''
U.S. Congress candidates for Missouri
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 ...

Campaign contributions for Missouri 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; ...