The 2008 United States Senate election in Idaho was held on November 4, 2008. The primary elections were held on May 27. Incumbent Republican U.S. Senator

Larry Craig Lawrence Edwin Craig (born July 20, 1945) is an American retired politician from the state of Idaho. A Republican Party (United States), Republican, he served 18 years in the United States Senate (1991–2009), preceded by 10 years in the U.S. ...

decided to retire instead of seeking a fourth term. Republican

Jim Risch James Elroy Risch ( ; born May 3, 1943) is an American lawyer and politician serving as the junior United States senator from Idaho since 2009. A member of the Republican Party, he served as lieutenant governor of Idaho under governors Dirk Kem ...

won the open seat.

Background

Incumbent

announced his intent to resign following an incident where he allegedly solicited another man for gay sex in a public restroom. Craig later decided not to resign; however, he announced that he would not seek re-election. The filing deadline for the election was March 21, 2008. A total of 13 candidates filed for the seat. Republican and Democratic candidates ran for their respective nominations in the May 27 primary.

Lieutenant Governor A lieutenant governor, lieutenant-governor, or vice governor is a high officer of state, whose precise role and rank vary by jurisdiction. Often a lieutenant governor is the deputy, or lieutenant, to or ranked under a governor — a "second-in-comm ...

defeated a crowded field for the

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

nomination, while former Congressman

Larry LaRocco Larry LaRocco (born August 25, 1946) is an American politician who served two terms in the U.S. House of Representatives, representing the Idaho's 1st congressional district. LaRocco ran for lieutenant governorship in 2006 and the U.S. Senate in ...

won the Democratic nomination in similar fashion.

Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization i ...

independents Rex Rammell and

Pro-Life Anti-abortion movements, also self-styled as pro-life or abolitionist movements, are involved in the abortion debate advocating against the practice of abortion and its legality. Many anti-abortion movements began as countermovements in respons ...

(formerly Marvin Richardson) also qualified for the general election ballot. Former

Caldwell Caldwell may refer to: People * Caldwell (surname) * Caldwell (given name) * Caldwell First Nation, a federally recognized Indian band in southern Ontario, Canada Places Great Britain * Caldwell, Derbyshire, a hamlet * Caldwell, East ...

city council member Kent Marmon secured the

Libertarian Libertarianism (from french: libertaire, "libertarian"; from la, libertas, "freedom") is a political philosophy that upholds liberty as a core value. Libertarians seek to maximize autonomy and political freedom, and minimize the state's e ...

nomination. In the general election, Risch defeated LaRocco and the other candidates to keep the seat in Republican hands.

Republican primary

Candidates

Lieutenant Governor of Idaho The lieutenant governor of Idaho is a constitutional statewide elected office in the U.S. state of Idaho. According to the Idaho Constitution, the officeholder is elected to a four-year term. The current lieutenant governor of Idaho is Republican ...

* Fred Adams * Brian Hefner * Bill Hunter * Richard Phenneger, Businessman * Hal James Styles * Scott Syme, Iraq War veteran * Neal Thompson

Results

Democratic primary

Candidates

, former

U.S. Representative 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 c ...

* David J. Archuleta

Results

General election

Candidates

, former U.S. Congressman (Democratic) * Kent A. Marmon, former member of the Caldwell City Council (Libertarian) *

Pro-life Anti-abortion movements, also self-styled as pro-life or abolitionist movements, are involved in the abortion debate advocating against the practice of abortion and its legality. Many anti-abortion movements began as countermovements in respons ...

(Independent) *

Rex Rammell Rex Floyd Rammell (born January 2, 1961) is an American veterinarian and perennial candidate for public office in Idaho and Wyoming. Early life Rammell was born on January 2, 1961, in Tetonia, Idaho and was raised in Eastern Idaho. Career Ramme ...

, veterinarian, elk rancher, and Republican candidate for State House in 2002 and 2004 (Independent) *

, Lieutenant Governor and former Governor (Republican)

Predictions

Polling

Results

Counties that flipped from Republican to Democratic

Latah Latah is a condition in which abnormal behaviors result from a person experiencing a sudden shock or other external stressor almost exclusively having been observed in persons from Southeast Asia. When induced, the affected person typically engag ...

(largest municipality:

Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 million ...

) *

Shoshone The Shoshone or Shoshoni ( or ) are a Native American tribe with four large cultural/linguistic divisions: * Eastern Shoshone: Wyoming * Northern Shoshone: southern Idaho * Western Shoshone: Nevada, northern Utah * Goshute: western Utah, easter ...

(largest municipality: Kellogg) * Teton (largest municipality:

Victor The name Victor or Viktor may refer to: * Victor (name), including a list of people with the given name, mononym, or surname Arts and entertainment Film * ''Victor'' (1951 film), a French drama film * ''Victor'' (1993 film), a French shor ...

)

References

External links

U.S. Congress candidates for Idaho
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 si ...

Robinson Research

Idaho, U.S. Senate
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 combined ...

Idaho U.S. Senate
from ''OurCampaigns.com''
Idaho U.S. Senate race
from ''2008 Race Tracker''
Campaign contributions for Idaho 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). ...

* ''Official campaign websites'' (Archived) *
Jim Risch
Republican nominee *
Larry LaRocco
Democratic nominee *
Kent Marmon
Libertarian nominee *
Rex Rammell
Independent candidate {{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; ...

Idaho Idaho ( ) is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. To the north, it shares a small portion of the Canada–United States border with the province of British Columbia. It borders the states of Montana and Wyom ...

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 ...

Background

Republican primary

Candidates

Results

Democratic primary

Candidates

Results

General election

Candidates

Predictions

Polling

Results

Counties that flipped from Republican to Democratic

See also

References

External links