The 2008 United States Senate election in Oklahoma was held on November 4, 2008. The statewide primary election was held July 29, with the run-off on August 26. Incumbent
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 ...
U.S. Senator
Jim Inhofe
James Mountain Inhofe ( ; born November 17, 1934) is an American politician serving as the senior United States senator from Oklahoma, a seat he was first elected to in 1994. A member of the Republican Party, he chaired the U.S. Senate Committ ...
won re-election to a third term over
Democrat
Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to:
Politics
*A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people.
*A member of a Democratic Party:
**Democratic Party (United States) (D)
**Democratic ...
Andrew Rice.
This was the last time a Democrat carried any counties in an Oklahoma U.S. Senate election until
2022
File:2022 collage V1.png, Clockwise, from top left: Road junction at Yamato-Saidaiji Station several hours after the assassination of Shinzo Abe; Anti-government protest in Sri Lanka in front of the Presidential Secretariat; The global monkeypo ...
and the last time any Democrat did so in a regular Senate election.
Democratic primary
Background
Rice officially filed as a candidate for the United States Senate from Oklahoma on Monday, June 2, 2008. He won the Democratic primary against Jim Rogers, a retired schoolteacher who stressed
campaign finance reform. As in earlier campaigns, Rogers refused to accept money to avoid any question of his allegiances. State Senator
Kenneth Corn had earlier expressed interest in the race.
Candidates
*
Andrew Rice, State Senator
* Jim Rogers
Results
Republican primary
Candidates
*
Jim Inhofe
James Mountain Inhofe ( ; born November 17, 1934) is an American politician serving as the senior United States senator from Oklahoma, a seat he was first elected to in 1994. A member of the Republican Party, he chaired the U.S. Senate Committ ...
, incumbent U.S. Senator
* Dennis Lopez
* Evelyn Rogers
* Ted Ryals
Results
General election
Candidates
*
Jim Inhofe
James Mountain Inhofe ( ; born November 17, 1934) is an American politician serving as the senior United States senator from Oklahoma, a seat he was first elected to in 1994. A member of the Republican Party, he chaired the U.S. Senate Committ ...
(R), incumbent U.S. Senator
*
Andrew Rice (D), State Senator
* Stephen Wallace (I), businessman
Campaign
Inhofe, who in August 2008 had a 61% approval rating, emphasized his conservative record and tried to label Rice as a "committed
liberal
Liberal or liberalism may refer to:
Politics
* a supporter of liberalism
** Liberalism by country
* an adherent of a Liberal Party
* Liberalism (international relations)
* Sexually liberal feminism
* Social liberalism
Arts, entertainment and m ...
." In the debates, Rice tried to connect Inhofe 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 ...
saying "An era allowed this to happen. George Bush came into office eight years ago with a Republican majority and … an agenda of radical
deregulation." Rice also believed in
global warming
In common usage, climate change describes global warming—the ongoing increase in global average temperature—and its effects on Earth's climate system. Climate change in a broader sense also includes previous long-term changes to E ...
, something Inhofe is famous for denying. In the election, Inhofe had over $5 million in the bank. Rice had $3.8 million.
Endorsements
Predictions
Polling
Results
See also
*
2008 United States Senate elections
References
External links
U.S. Congress candidates for Oklahomaat
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 ...
Oklahoma, U.S. Senatefrom
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 ...
Oklahoma U.S. Senatefrom ''OurCampaigns.com''
Oklahoma U.S. Senate racefrom ''2008 Race Tracker''
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) ...
Inhofe (R-i) vs Rice (D)graph of multiple polls from Pollster.com
* ''Official campaign websites (Archived)''
*
James Inhofe (R)
*
Andrew Rice(D)
{{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; ...
Oklahoma
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 ...