The 2008 United States Senate election in Alabama was held on November 4, 2008, to elect one of Alabama's members to the United States Senate. Incumbent Republican U.S. Senator Jeff Sessions won re-election to a third term.

Background

Since 1980, Alabama voters have increasingly voted for Republican candidates at the Federal level, especially in Presidential elections. By contrast, Democratic candidates have been elected to many state-level offices and, until 2010, comprised a longstanding majority in the

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2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 6 ...

, George W. Bush won Alabama's nine electoral votes by a margin of 25 percentage points with 62.5% of the vote. The eleven counties that voted Democratic are part of the

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counties, where African Americans are the majority racial group. On January 10, 2007, Rep. Artur Davis announced that he would not run for the seat. Despite voting heavily for George W. Bush in 2004, Alabama still had a strong Democratic presence in 2008, and Democrats controlled majorities in both chambers in the

. Commissioner of Agriculture and Industries Ron Sparks appeared to be preparing for a run, but on June 12, 2007, he announced that he would not seek the Senate seat, in order to avoid a primary battle with State Senator Vivian Davis Figures. Primary elections were held on June 3.

Republican primary

Sessions' approval rating was 56% in December 2007.

Candidates

* Earl Mack Gavin, perennial candidate * Jeff Sessions, incumbent U.S. Senator since 1997

Results

Democratic primary

Candidates

* Vivian Davis Figures, State Senator * Johnny Swanson, Army veteran * Mark Townsend, candidate for Governor in

2002 File:2002 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 2002 Winter Olympics are held in Salt Lake City; Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother and her daughter Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon die; East Timor gains East Timor independence, indepe ...

Results

General election

Candidates

* Vivian Figures (D), State Senator * Darryl W. Perry ( write-in), Libertarian Party nominee for

Pennsylvania State Treasurer The Pennsylvania State Treasurer is the head of the Pennsylvania Treasury Department, an independent department of state government. The state treasurer is elected every four years. Treasurers are limited to two consecutive terms. The Pennsylva ...

in 2004 and candidate for Mayor of Birmingham in 2007 * Jeff Sessions (R), incumbent U.S. Senator

Predictions

Polling

Results

References

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; ...

Alabama United States Senate

Background

Republican primary

Candidates

Results

Democratic primary

Candidates

Results

General election

Candidates

Predictions

Polling

Results

See also

References

External links