2008 United States Senate election in Colorado

2008 United States Senate election in Colorado
	November 4, 2008
	Udall: 40–50% 50–60% 60–70% 70–80% 80–90% >90%; Schaffer: 40–50% 50–60% 60–70% 70–80% 80–90%; Tie: 40–50% No votes
U.S. senator before election; Wayne Allard; Republican	Elected U.S. Senator ; Mark Udall; Democratic

The 2008 United States Senate election in Colorado was held November 4, 2008. The primary elections were held August 12, 2008.^[1] Incumbent Republican U.S. Senator Wayne Allard decided to retire instead of seeking a third term. Democratic nominee Mark Udall won the open seat, making this the first time a Democrat won this seat since 1972, and that Democrats held both Senate seats since 1979.

Democratic primary

Candidates

Mark Udall, U.S. Representative

Results

Democratic primary results^[2]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Mark Udall	194,227	100.00%
Total votes			194,227	100.00%

Republican primary

Candidates

Bob Schaffer, Colorado State Board of Education member, former U.S. Representative and candidate for the U.S. Senate in 2004

Results

Republican primary results^[2]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Bob Schaffer	239,212	100.00%
Total votes			239,212	100.00%

General election

Campaign

The election featured an open contest because incumbent U.S. Senator Wayne Allard declined to seek re-election. He honored his 1996 pledge to serve no more than two terms in the U.S. Senate and announced that he would retire from his service to the US Senate and not seek a 3rd term, leaving Colorado's Class II Senate seat open. Both parties believed this senate contest would be one of the most competitive senate races during the 2008 election.^[3]

Predictions

Source	Ranking	As of
The Cook Political Report^[4]	Lean D (flip)	October 23, 2008
CQ Politics^[5]	Likely D (flip)	October 31, 2008
Rothenberg Political Report^[6]	Likely D (flip)	November 2, 2008
Real Clear Politics^[7]	Likely D (flip)	October 28, 2008

Polling

Poll source	Dates administered	Mark Udall (D)	Bob Schaffer (R)
Hill Research Consultants^[8]	August 26–28, 2007	45%	40%
Ciruli Associates^[9]	September 12–15, 2007	36%	35%
SurveyUSA^[10]	October 27–30, 2007	48%	41%
Rasmussen Reports^[11]	November 28, 2007	41%	42%
Research for Change^[12]	December 3–5, 2007	39%	37%
Rasmussen Reports^[13]	February 11, 2008	43%	44%
McLaughlin & Associates/ Coalition for a Democratic Workplace^[14]	March 6–9, 2008	44%	32%
Rasmussen Reports^[13]	March 17, 2008	46%	43%
New Leadership USA/TargetPoint^[15]	March 31 – April 7, 2008	45%	45%
Rasmussen Reports^[16]	April 16, 2008	45%	42%
Rasmussen Reports^[16]	May 19, 2008	47%	41%
Rasmussen Reports^[17]	June 17, 2008	49%	40%
Garin-Hart-Yang/DSCC^[18]	June 15–17, 2008	46%	37%
Quinnipiac^[19]	June 26, 2008	48%	38%
Public Policy Polling (PPP)^[20]	July 10, 2008	47%	38%
Keith Frederick^[21]	July 22, 2008	48%	39%
Rasmussen Reports^[16]	July 22, 2008	49%	46%
Quinnipiac^[22]	July 24, 2008	44%	44%
Rasmussen Reports^[16]	August 13, 2008	50%	42%
Hill Research Consultants^[23]	August 24, 2008	41%	38%
Tarrance Group^[24]	September 3, 2008	41%	40%
Public Policy Polling^[25]	September 21, 2008	48%	40%
Quinnipiac^[26]	September 14–21, 2008	48%	40%
Rasmussen Reports^[16]	September 23, 2008	46%	44%
Denver Post^[27]	September 29 – October 1, 2008	43%	38%
Ciruli Associates^[28]	October 1, 2008	45%	38%
Rasmussen Reports^[16]	October 16, 2008	51%	44%

Results

2008 United States Senate election in Colorado^[2]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Democratic	Mark Udall	1,231,049	52.80%	+7.03%
	Republican	Bob Schaffer	990,784	42.49%	−8.20%
	Constitution	Douglas Campbell	59,736	2.56%	+1.04%
	Green	Bob Kinsey	50,008	2.14%	N/A
	Write-in		135	0.01%	N/A
Total votes			2,331,712	100.00%	N/A
	Democratic gain from Republican

Counties that flipped from Republican to Democratic

Larimer (largest city: Fort Collins)
Grand (Largest city: Granby)
Garfield (largest municipality: Glenwood Springs)
Eagle (largest municipality: Edwards)
Jefferson (largest city: Lakewood)
Arapahoe (largest city: Aurora)
Chaffee (largest city: Salida)
Ouray (largest city: Ouray)
San Juan (largest municipality: Silverton)
Mineral (Largest city: Creede)
Conejos (largest municipality: Manassa)
Alamosa (largest municipality: Alamosa)

References

^ "Candidate List for the August 12, 2008 Primary Election" (PDF). Colorado State Government. Archived from the original (PDF) on July 16, 2008. Retrieved June 26, 2008.
^ ^a ^b ^c "Official Publication of the Abstract of Votes Cast for the 2008 Primary, 2008 General" (PDF). State of Colorado.
^ Phillips, Kate (June 13, 2008). "G.O.P. Leader Maps Senate Elections". The New York Times.
^ "2008 Senate Race ratings for October 23, 2008". The Cook Political Report. Retrieved April 1, 2021.
^ Race Ratings Chart: Senate Archived October 28, 2010, at the Wayback Machine CQ Politics
^ "2008 Senate ratings". Inside Elections. Retrieved April 1, 2021.
^ "2008 RCP Averages & Senate Results". Real Clear Politics. Retrieved August 31, 2021.
^ Hill Research Consultants Archived November 27, 2007, at the Wayback Machine
^ Ciruli Associates
^ SurveyUSA
^ Rasmussen Reports
^ Research for Change
^ ^a ^b Rasmussen Reports
^ McLaughlin & Associates/
Coalition for a Democratic Workplace
^ New Leadership USA/TargetPoint
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f Rasmussen Reports
^ Rasmussen Reports
^ Garin-Hart-Yang/DSCC
^ Quinnipiac
^ Public Policy Polling(PPP)
^ Keith Frederick
^ Quinnipiac
^ Hill Research Consultants
^ Tarrance Group
^ Public Policy Polling
^ Quinnipiac
^ Denver Post
^ Ciruli Associates

External links

Elections Center from the Colorado Secretary of State
U.S. Congress candidates for Colorado at Project Vote Smart
Colorado, U.S. Senate from CQ Politics
Colorado U.S. Senate from OurCampaigns.com
"Colorado U.S. Senate race, from 2008 Race Tracker". Archived from the original on June 24, 2008. Retrieved June 22, 2008.
Campaign contributions from OpenSecrets
Schaffer (R) vs Udall (D) graph of multiple polls from Pollster.com
Official campaign websites (Archived)
- Bob Kinsey, Green Party candidate
- Bob Schaffer, Republican candidate
- Mark Udall, Democratic candidate

[1] "Candidate List for the August 12, 2008 Primary Election" (PDF). Colorado State Government. Archived from the original (PDF) on July 16, 2008. Retrieved June 26, 2008.

[AbstractCO-2] "Official Publication of the Abstract of Votes Cast for the 2008 Primary, 2008 General" (PDF). State of Colorado.

[3] Phillips, Kate (June 13, 2008). "G.O.P. Leader Maps Senate Elections". The New York Times.

[Cook_PR-4] "2008 Senate Race ratings for October 23, 2008". The Cook Political Report. Retrieved April 1, 2021.

[5] Race Ratings Chart: Senate Archived October 28, 2010, at the Wayback Machine CQ Politics

[Inside_Elections-6] "2008 Senate ratings". Inside Elections. Retrieved April 1, 2021.

[7] "2008 RCP Averages & Senate Results". Real Clear Politics. Retrieved August 31, 2021.

[8] Hill Research Consultants Archived November 27, 2007, at the Wayback Machine

[9] Ciruli Associates

[10] SurveyUSA

[11] Rasmussen Reports

[12] Research for Change

[Rasmussen_Reports-13] Rasmussen Reports

[14] McLaughlin & Associates/
Coalition for a Democratic Workplace

[15] New Leadership USA/TargetPoint

[web.archive.org-16] ^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f Rasmussen Reports

[17] Rasmussen Reports

[18] Garin-Hart-Yang/DSCC

[19] Quinnipiac

[20] Public Policy Polling(PPP)

[21] Keith Frederick

[22] Quinnipiac

[23] Hill Research Consultants

[24] Tarrance Group

[25] Public Policy Polling

[26] Quinnipiac

[27] Denver Post

[28] Ciruli Associates

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Democratic primary

Candidates

Results

Republican primary

Candidates

Results

General election

Campaign

Predictions

Polling

Results

Counties that flipped from Republican to Democratic

See also

References

External links