The United States House of Representative elections of 2008 in North Carolina were held on 4 November 2008 as part of the
biennial election to 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 ...
. All thirteen seats in
North Carolina
North Carolina () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the 28th largest and 9th-most populous of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, Georgia and ...
, and 435 nationwide, were elected to the
111th United States 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 ...
. The party primary elections were held 6 May 2008.
Carried on the
coattails
The coattail effect or down-ballot effect is the tendency for a popular political party leader to attract votes for other candidates of the same party in an election. For example, in the United States, the party of a victorious presidential cand ...
of
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 ...
winning the state
in the presidential election, the
Democrats added one seat to their seven won
in 2006. The
Republican Party won the other five. In the
8th district, Democrat
Larry Kissell
Lawrence Webb Kissell (born January 31, 1951) is an American politician who served as the U.S. representative for , a district that stretched from Charlotte to Fayetteville. A member of the Democratic Party, he served from 2009 to 2013. In 201 ...
defeated incumbent
Robin Hayes
Robert Cannon "Robin" Hayes (born August 14, 1945) is an American politician and businessman from North Carolina. A member of the Republican Party, he represented North Carolina's 8th congressional district in the House of Representatives from 19 ...
. All other incumbents won re-election. The Republicans' hold on the
10th district had been thought to be at risk by ''
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 ...
'', but Republican
Patrick McHenry
Patrick Timothy McHenry (born October 22, 1975) is the U.S. representative for , serving since 2005. He is a member of the Republican Party. The district includes the cities of Hickory and Mooresville. McHenry was a member of the North Carolina ...
won re-election. The Democrats increased their total vote share by 1.5% statewide, and 2.5% if excluding the
1st, which the Republicans didn't contest in 2006.
It is not to be confused with the election to the North Carolina House of Representatives, which was held on the same day.
Summary
District 1
This district, located in the northeastern portion of the state, is represented by Democrat
G.K. Butterfield, who first won it in a 2004
special election
A by-election, also known as a special election in the United States and the Philippines, a bye-election in Ireland, a bypoll in India, or a Zimni election (Urdu: ضمنی انتخاب, supplementary election) in Pakistan, is an election used to f ...
. It is the only majority-black district in the state, and is overwhelmingly Democratic (
Cook Partisan Voting Index
The Cook Partisan Voting Index, abbreviated Cook PVI, CPVI, or PVI, is a measurement of how strongly a United States congressional district or U.S. state leans toward the Democratic or Republican Party, compared to the nation as a whole, based ...
of D+9). It is one of the few districts in the former Confederacy that has not elected a Republican since the end of
Reconstruction
Reconstruction may refer to:
Politics, history, and sociology
*Reconstruction (law), the transfer of a company's (or several companies') business to a new company
*'' Perestroika'' (Russian for "reconstruction"), a late 20th century Soviet Unio ...
. Butterfield was opposed by Republican William A. "Dean" Stephens. CQ Politics forecasted the race as 'Safe Democrat'.
Race ranking and detailsfrom
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 contributionsfrom
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 2
This district includes several suburban and rural areas near
Raleigh
Raleigh (; ) is the capital city of the state of North Carolina and the seat of Wake County in the United States. It is the second-most populous city in North Carolina, after Charlotte. Raleigh is the tenth-most populous city in the Southeas ...
,
Rocky Mount and
Fayetteville. It has been represented by Democrat
Bob Etheridge
Bobby Ray "Bob" Etheridge (born August 7, 1941) is an American politician who was the U.S. representative for from 1997 to 2011.
He previously served as a county commissioner, state representative and state superintendent of public instructio ...
since 1997. The district is a swing district on paper (CPVI of R+3); it narrowly supported
Bill Clinton
William Jefferson Clinton ( né Blythe III; born August 19, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 42nd president of the United States from 1993 to 2001. He previously served as governor of Arkansas from 1979 to 1981 and agai ...
in 1992 and 1996, and gave equally narrow margins 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 ...
in 2000 and 2004. However, Etheridge is very popular in this area. In 2008, he faced his 2006 opponent, Republican
Dan Mansell, and Libertaria
Will Adkins CQ Politics forecasted the race as 'Safe Democrat'.
Race ranking and detailsfrom
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 contributionsfrom
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 3
This district stretches along the northeastern and east-central portions of the state, including the
Outer Banks
The Outer Banks (frequently abbreviated OBX) are a string of barrier islands and spits off the coast of North Carolina and southeastern Virginia, on the east coast of the United States. They line most of the North Carolina coastline, separating ...
. It has been represented by Republican
Walter B. Jones, Jr.
Walter Beaman Jones Jr. (February 10, 1943 – February 10, 2019) was an American politician who served twelve terms in the United States House of Representatives as a member of the Republican Party for from 1995 until his death in 2019. The d ...
since 1995. Although Democrats have a 14-point plurality of registered voters, Jones had long been thought to have an unbreakable hold on this district. Much of this area had been part of the 1st prior to 1993, and Jones's father, popular 14-term Democrat
Walter Jones, Sr., is still an icon in this region. However, Jones's voting record has shifted increasingly to the center for some time, and he has become one of the most vocal Republican opponents of the
Iraq War
{{Infobox military conflict
, conflict = Iraq War {{Nobold, {{lang, ar, حرب العراق (Arabic) {{Nobold, {{lang, ku, شەڕی عێراق ( Kurdish)
, partof = the Iraq conflict and the War on terror
, image ...
. This has caused considerable chagrin among Republicans in his district.
Onslow County
Onslow County is a county located in the U.S. state of North Carolina. As of the 2020 census, the population was 204,576. Its county seat is Jacksonville. The county was created in 1734 as Onslow Precinct and gained county status in 1739. Onslo ...
Commissioner Joe McLaughlin announced in mid-2007 that he would challenge Jones in the Republican primary. Jones defeated McLaughlin in the May 6 primary, with about 60 percent of the vote. 2006 Democratic nominee
Craig Weber
North Carolina's 3rd congressional district is located on the Atlantic coast of North Carolina. It covers the Outer Banks and the counties adjacent to the Pamlico Sound.
The district is currently represented by Greg Murphy following a speci ...
won his party's primary over
Marshall Adame, carrying about 70 percent of the vote. The district has a CPVI of R+15—a three-way statistical tie for the most Republican district in the state, making it a very difficult pickup for Democrats on paper. CQ Politics forecasted the race as 'Safe Republican'.
Race ranking and detailsfrom
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 contributionsfrom
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 4
This district includes the heart of
the Triangle area, including part of Raleigh and all of
Durham Durham most commonly refers to:
*Durham, England, a cathedral city and the county town of County Durham
*County Durham, an English county
* Durham County, North Carolina, a county in North Carolina, United States
*Durham, North Carolina, a city in N ...
and
Chapel Hill, North Carolina. It has been represented by Democrat
David Price since 1997 (he previously represented the 4th from 1987 to 1995). Despite a CPVI of only D+5, the influence of the state's three major research universities plus Price's status as an
Appropriations subcommittee chairman (or "Cardinal") make Price a heavy favorite. Two Republicans competed in a May primary for the right to face Price: Augustus Cho and
William (B.J.) Lawson. Lawson won, with about 70 percent of the vote. Libertarian Maximillian Longley also ran in the general election. CQ Politics forecasted the race as 'Safe Democrat'.
Race ranking and detailsfrom
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 contributionsfrom
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 5
Democrats
Roy Carter
Roy Carter is an English oboist.
Early career
Carter began playing the oboe at the age of 10. He won scholarships to study with Margaret Eliot at the Royal Academy of Music (at 12) and later under Terence MacDonagh at the Royal College of ...
and Diane Hamby filed to run against incumbent
Virginia Foxx
Virginia Ann Foxx ( Palmieri;[Foxx, Virginia Ann](_blank)
. ''Biographical Directory of ...
. Carter won the May 6 primary, with just over 50 percent of the vote. CQ Politics forecasted the race as 'Safe Republican'.
Race ranking and detailsfrom
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 contributionsfrom
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
Democrats Johnny J. Carter, Jay Ovittore, and
Teresa Sue Brattoncampaign website filed to run against incumbent
Howard Coble
John Howard Coble (March 18, 1931 – November 3, 2015) was an American politician who was the U.S. Representative for , serving from 1985 to 2015. He was a member of the Republican Party. The district includes all or portions of ten counties in ...
. Bratton won the May 6 primary, with 61 percent of the vote. CQ Politics forecasted the race as 'Safe Republican'.
Race ranking and detailsfrom
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 contributionsfrom
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 7
Republican
Will Breazeale opposed incumbent
Mike McIntyre
Douglas Carmichael "Mike" McIntyre II (; born August 6, 1956) is an American attorney and politician who was first elected to represent North Carolina's 7th congressional district in the U.S. House of Representatives in 1996. He served for 18 ...
. CQ Politics forecasted the race as 'Safe Democrat'.
Race ranking and detailsfrom
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 contributionsfrom
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 8
Democratic nominee
Larry Kissell
Lawrence Webb Kissell (born January 31, 1951) is an American politician who served as the U.S. representative for , a district that stretched from Charlotte to Fayetteville. A member of the Democratic Party, he served from 2009 to 2013. In 201 ...
won against incumbent
Robin Hayes
Robert Cannon "Robin" Hayes (born August 14, 1945) is an American politician and businessman from North Carolina. A member of the Republican Party, he represented North Carolina's 8th congressional district in the House of Representatives from 19 ...
, reversing the result from 2006 when Kissell came up only 329 votes short of upsetting Hayes. Libertarian Thomas Hill also ran. ''CQ Politics'' rated it as 'No Clear Favorite', ''The Rothenberg Political Report'' as 'Toss-Up/Tilt Democratic', and ''The Cook Political Report'' as 'Republican Toss Up'
Race ranking and detailsfrom
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 contributionsfrom
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) ...
Hayes (R-i) vs Kissell (D)graph of collected poll results from ''Pollster.com''
District 9
Ross Overby and
Harry Taylor ran in the Democratic primary, and incumbent
Sue Myrick
Sue Myrick (née Wilkins; born August 1, 1941) is an American businesswoman and the former U.S. Representative for , serving from 1995 to 2013. She is a member of the Republican Party. She was the first Republican woman to represent North Caroli ...
faced opposition from Jack Stratton in the Republican primary. Taylor defeated Overby, with about 58 percent of the vote, while Myrick easily won re-nomination with 92 percent of the vote. Libertarian Andy Grum also ran in the general election. CQ Politics forecasted the race as 'Safe Republican'.
Race ranking and detailsfrom
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 contributionsfrom
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 10
Republican incumbent
Patrick McHenry
Patrick Timothy McHenry (born October 22, 1975) is the U.S. representative for , serving since 2005. He is a member of the Republican Party. The district includes the cities of Hickory and Mooresville. McHenry was a member of the North Carolina ...
defeated Democratic nominee
Daniel Johnson, but the margin of victory was McHenry's smallest to date. Johnson defeated Steve Ivester in the May 6 Democratic primary, with about 60 percent of the vote. McHenry won the Republican primary, garnering about 67 percent of the vote in a race against attorney Lance Sigmon. CQ Politics forecasted the race as 'Republican Favored', while Cook Political Report ranked it as 'Likely Republican'.
Race ranking and detailsfrom
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 ...
Race Rankingsfrom Cook Political Report
Campaign contributionsfrom
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) ...
McHenry (R-i) vs Johnson (D)graph of collected poll results from ''Pollster.com''
District 11
First-term incumbent
Heath Shuler
Joseph Heath Shuler (born December 31, 1971) is an American businessman, former NFL quarterback, and former U.S. Representative for from 2007 to 2013. He is a member of the Democratic Party and was a member of the Blue Dog Coalition during ...
faced
Carl Mumpower, who won a three-way Republican primary that included Spence Campbell and John C. Armor. Shuler was favored, since he did not face opposition from the man he defeated in 2006, former Rep.
Charles H. Taylor Charles H. Taylor may refer to:
* Charles Taylor (North Carolina politician) (born 1941), US congressman from North Carolina
* Charles H. Taylor (Michigan politician) (1813–1889), American politician who served as the Michigan Secretary of State ...
. Libertarian Keith Smith also ran in the general election. CQ Politics forecasted the race as 'Safe Democrat'.
Race ranking and detailsfrom
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 contributionsfrom
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 12
Incumbent
Mel Watt
Melvin Luther Watt (born August 26, 1945) is an American politician who served as director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency from 2014 to 2019. He was appointed by President Barack Obama. He is a former United States Representative for , from ...
was the heavy favorite over little-known Republican and U.S. Army veteran Ty Cobb, Jr. (no known relation to the baseball legend,
Ty Cobb
Tyrus Raymond Cobb (December 18, 1886 – July 17, 1961), nicknamed "the Georgia Peach", was an American Major League Baseball (MLB) center fielder. He was born in rural Narrows, Georgia. Cobb spent 22 seasons with the Detroit Tigers, the ...
).
Salisbury Post
/ref> CQ Politics forecasted the race as 'Safe Democrat'.
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 13
Incumbent Brad Miller faced Republican former state senator Hugh Webster, after easily defeating little-known Derald Hafner in the Democratic primary, with 88 percent of the vote. CQ Politics forecasted the race as 'Safe Democrat'.
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
*North Carolina congressional districts
North Carolina is currently divided into 13 congressional districts, each represented by a member of the United States House of Representatives. After the 2000 census, the number of North Carolina's seats was increased from 12 to 13 due to the ...
References
References
Congressional Wrap-up, Charlotte Observer, May 7, 2008State Board of Elections: Candidate FilingsLibertarians File List of 2008 Candidates
External links
North Carolina State Board of ElectionsU.S. Congress candidates for North Carolina
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 ...
North Carolina U.S. House Races
from ''2008 Race Tracker''
Campaign contributions for North Carolina 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; ...
North Carolina
North Carolina () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the 28th largest and 9th-most populous of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, Georgia and ...
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 ...