The 2008 congressional elections in Wisconsin were held on November 4, 2008, to determine who would 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 ...

Wisconsin Wisconsin () is a state in the upper Midwestern United States. Wisconsin is the 25th-largest state by total area and the 20th-most populous. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake M ...

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 ...

. Representatives were elected for two-year terms; those elected served 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 3, 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 ...

and other Wisconsin elections. Wisconsin has eight 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 ...

. Its 2007-2008 congressional delegation consisted of five Democrats and three Republicans. That remained unchanged after the 2008 congressional elections in Wisconsin as all incumbent candidates won re-election, although ''CQ Politics'' had forecasted Wisconsin's 8 district to be at some risk for the incumbent party.House: Races to Watch
''CQ Politics'' As of 2023, this is the last election when Democrats won a majority of congressional districts from Wisconsin.

Overview

District 1

In this relatively moderate district in southeast

, incumbent Republican Congressman Paul Ryan has enjoyed popularity and faced no serious challenge from Democratic nominee, Marge Krupp, a chemist. Despite

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 strong performance in Wisconsin that year in the presidential election, Ryan was re-elected overwhelmingly.

District 2

In this very liberal district based in the Madison metropolitan area, incumbent Democratic Congresswoman

Tammy Baldwin Tammy Suzanne Green Baldwin (born February 11, 1962) is an American lawyer and politician who has served as the junior United States senator from Wisconsin since 2013. A member of the Democratic Party, she served three terms in the Wisconsin St ...

, the first openly lesbian member of the House, easily turned away a challenge from Republican candidate Peter Theron and won her sixth term with nearly seventy percent of the vote.

District 3

In this relatively liberal district based in western

, incumbent Democratic Congressman

Ron Kind Ronald James Kind (born March 16, 1963) is an American lawyer and politician serving as the U.S. representative for , since 1997. He is a member of the Democratic Party. The district is in the western part of the state and is anchored by La Cros ...

easily won a seventh term over Republican challenger Paul Stark.

District 4

Incumbent Democratic Congresswoman Gwen Moore, running for her third term, faced easy re-election prospects in this very liberal district based in

Milwaukee Milwaukee ( ), officially the City of Milwaukee, is both the most populous and most densely populated city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the county seat of Milwaukee County. With a population of 577,222 at the 2020 census, Milwaukee ...

; no Republican candidate even filed to run against her. Moore crushed independent candidate Michael LaForest in a landslide.

District 5

In the wealthiest and most conservative district in Wisconsin, based in the northern suburbs of

, long-serving incumbent Republican Congressman Jim Sensenbrenner easily defeated his only challenger, independent candidate Robert R. Raymond, to win a sixteenth term in Congress.

District 6

This traditionally conservative district based in the Oshkosh-

Neenah Neenah () is a city in Winnebago County, Wisconsin, in the north central United States. It is situated on the banks of Lake Winnebago, Little Lake Butte des Morts, and the Fox River, approximately forty miles (60 km) southwest of Green ...

Metropolitan Statistical Area In the United States, a metropolitan statistical area (MSA) is a geographical region with a relatively high population density at its core and close economic ties throughout the area. Such regions are neither legally incorporated as a city or tow ...

was narrowly won by Democratic nominee

in the 2008 election, but long-serving Republican incumbent Congressman

Tom Petri Thomas Evert Petri (born May 28, 1940) is an American politician who was the U.S. representative for from 1979 to 2015; he is a member of the Republican Party. Early life Petri was born in Marinette, Wisconsin. When he was a toddler, his fat ...

held a tight grip on his seat. Petri sought and won a sixteenth term against Democratic candidate Roger Kittelson, winning handily.

District 7

Long-serving incumbent Democratic Congressman

Dave Obey David Ross Obey ( ; born October 3, 1938) is an American lobbyist and former politician who served as a member of the United States House of Representatives for from 1969 to 2011. The district includes much of the northwestern portion of the st ...

held an iron grip on this district based in northwestern

for forty years. Seeking a twenty-first term in Congress, Obey was overwhelmingly re-elected again over Republican challenger Dan Mielke despite the centrist nature of the district.

District 8

Incumbent Congressman Steve Kagen faced off against former

Wisconsin State Assembly The Wisconsin State Assembly is the lower house of the Wisconsin Legislature. Together with the smaller Wisconsin Senate, the two constitute the legislative branch of the U.S. state of Wisconsin. Representatives are elected for two-year terms, ...

Speaker

John Gard John G. Gard (born August 3, 1963) is an American lobbyist and former politician. A Republican, he was the 75th Speaker of the Wisconsin State Assembly (2003–2007) and was a member of the Assembly for 19 years. Gard also ran unsuccessful ...

for a second time in this Republican-leaning district that is based in northeastern

and that includes the cities of Green Bay and Appleton. Seeking a second term, Kagen defeated Gard by a larger margin than he did in 2006, allowing him to keep this swing district under Democratic control.

References

External links

State of Wisconsin Congressional DistrictsElections Division
from the

Wisconsin Government Accountability Board The Wisconsin Government Accountability Board (G.A.B.) was a regulatory agency for the State of Wisconsin which administered and enforced Wisconsin law pertaining to campaign finance, elections, ethics and lobbying. The agency was re-organized, ov ...

Wisconsin U.S. House Races
from ''2008 Race Tracker''
Campaign contributions for Wisconsin 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) ...

Politics Plus State and Local Elections
from the '' Milwaukee Journal Sentinel'' newspaper {{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; ...