| Elections in Michigan |
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The 2008 United States Senate election in Michigan was held on November 4, 2008[1] Incumbent Democratic U.S. Senator Carl Levin won reelection to a sixth and final term.
General election
Candidates
- Scott Boman (Libertarian)
- Doug Dern (Natural Law)
- Carl Levin, incumbent U.S. Senator (Democratic)
- Jack Hoogendyk, State Representative from Kalamazoo (Republican)
- Harley Mikkelson (Green)
- Michael Nikitin (U.S. Taxpayers)
Campaign
Levin's 2002 opponent Andrew Raczkowski considered running again, but military commitments forced him to drop out. State representative Jack Hoogendyk declared his candidacy to challenge Levin.[2] Troy engineer Bart Baron was also running.[3] Baron apparently failed to qualify for the August 5, 2008 party primary ballot in the Michigan Secretary of State's office. So only Hoogendyk was listed on the Republican side in the Michigan primary election.[4] Levin was unopposed on the Democratic side. The filing deadline for candidates to run was May 13.[5]
Minor party candidates who ran included Harley Mikkelson of the Green Party, Scotty Boman of the Libertarian Party,[6] Michael Nikitin of the U.S. Taxpayers Party[7] and Doug Dern of the Natural Law Party. Levin, who maintained a huge fundraising advantage over his opponents,[8] easily won re-election.
Predictions
| Source | Ranking | As of |
|---|---|---|
| The Cook Political Report[9] | Safe D | October 23, 2008 |
| CQ Politics[10] | Safe D | October 31, 2008 |
| Rothenberg Political Report[11] | Safe D | November 2, 2008 |
| Real Clear Politics[12] | Safe D | November 4, 2008 |
Polling
| Poll Source | Dates administered | Carl Levin (D) |
Jack Hoogendyk (R) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rasmussen Reports | October 8, 2008 | 61% | 36% |
| Public Policy Polling | September 29 – October 1, 2008 | 50% | 32% |
| Strategic Vision | September 22–24, 2008 | 57% | 29% |
| Detroit News | September 14–17, 2008 | 56% | 28% |
| Rasmussen Reports Archived July 24, 2008, at the Wayback Machine | September 18, 2008 | 57% | 38% |
| Strategic Vision | September 5–7, 2008 | 58% | 28% |
| Public Policy Polling | September 6–7, 2008 | 51% | 36% |
| EPIC-MRA/Detroit News | August 18–21, 2008 | 59% | 27% |
| Public Policy Polling(PPP) | July 23–27, 2008 | 54% | 35% |
| Rasmussen Reports | July 10, 2008 | 59% | 36% |
| Public Policy Polling | June 21–22, 2008 | 54% | 32% |
| Rasmussen Reports | June 11, 2008 | 55% | 35% |
| Rasmussen Reports | May 7, 2008 | 54% | 37% |
Debates
On October 19 WGVU Public television hosted a Senatorial debate to which only Democratic Senator Carl Levin and Republican State Representative Jack Hoogendyk were invited.[13] They debated topics such as the economy, immigration,[14] and foreign policy.[15] [16]
Levin blamed job loss in Michigan on President Bush, while Hoogendyk blamed Levin.[16] Levin supported a Federal bailout of the auto industry, while Hoogendyk opposed the idea.[13]
The event, which was moderated by WZZM TV 13's News anchor Peter Ross, was met with protest by supporters of excluded candidates.[14][17] One of the protesters was Libertarian candidate Scotty Boman, who asserted that he met the stations qualifications. WGVU required the candidates to show at least 5% support in a statewide scientific poll, but Boman said no statewide poll had been done that included him.[17][18] An exclusive WXYZ poll included all of the candidates, but only contacted respondents in the 7th and 9th Congressional district.[19] Boman also claimed that public broadcasters should have invited the other candidates since it is supported with tax dollars.[17]
Senator Carl Levin and State Representative Jack Hoogendyk met again, the following day (October 20), for a forum hosted by the Detroit Economic Club.[14]
Results
Levin was declared the winner right when the polls closed in Michigan. Levin won all but six of Michigan's 83 counties. Levin unsurprisingly won major metropolitan areas, such as Wayne County home of Detroit or Ingham County home of Lansing. He also became the first Democratic Senator since Donald Riegle in 1982 to carry Kent County home of Grand Rapids. When combining the suburban and rural counties, it was too much for Hoogendyk to overcome. Levin's 3,038,386 votes is the most received by any political candidate in the state's history.
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Carl Levin (incumbent) | 3,038,386 | 62.66% | +2.05% | |
| Republican | Jack Hoogendyk | 1,641,070 | 33.85% | -4.04% | |
| Libertarian | Scotty Boman | 76,347 | 1.57% | n/a | |
| Green | Harley Mikkelson | 43,440 | 0.90% | +0.14% | |
| U.S. Taxpayers | Michael Nikitin | 30,827 | 0.64% | n/a | |
| Natural Law | Doug Dern | 18,550 | 0.38% | +0.05% | |
| Majority | 1,397,316 | 28.82% | +6.10% | ||
| Turnout | 4,848,620 | ||||
| Democratic hold | Swing | ||||
Counties that flipped from Republican to Democratic
- Kent (largest city: Grand Rapids)
- Cass (Largest city: Dowagiac)
- Berrien (largest city: Niles)
- St. Joseph (largest city: Sturgis)
See also
References
- ^ Terri Lynn Land, Secretary of State."2008 Official Michigan General Candidate Listing". Michigan.gov (website).
- ^ "Detnews.com". Detroit News. February 15, 2008. [dead link]
- ^ "Levin raises $840,000 for re-election campaign". Michigan Elections News. Associated Press. January 29, 2008. Archived from the original on July 5, 2008. Retrieved February 10, 2008.
- ^ Terri Lynn Land, Secretary of State."2008 Official Michigan Primary Candidate Listing". Michigan.gov (website).
- ^ Terri Lynn Land, Secretary of State."August 5, 2008 Primary and November 4, 2008 General Election: Important Dates and Filing Deadlines". Michigan.gov (website).
- ^ Cassidy, Austin (June 7, 2008). "Michigan Libertarian convention features pair of contested races; full slate of congressional and statewide candidates". Independent Political Report.
- ^ Berg-Andersson, Richard; Tony Roza (August 2008). "The Green Papers: Michigan 2008 General Election". The Green Papers.
- ^ "Carl Levin continues to dominate Senate fundraising against challenger Jack Hoogendyk". Michigan Elections News. Associated Press. July 16, 2008.
- ^ "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.
- ^ a b McNeill, John (October 20, 2008). "Debate night for Levin and Hoogendyk". WKZO News.
- ^ a b c Geraghty, Tim (October 20, 2008). "Senate Candidates Debate: Carl Levin and Jack Hoogendyk Offer Differing Views". Associated Press and WZZM TV-13 News.
- ^ Tagliavia, Tony (October 19, 2008). "Senate debate preview". WOOD TV News.[permanent dead link]
- ^ a b "US Senate candidates debate at GVSU". MSNBC. Associated Press. October 19, 2008.[dead link]
- ^ a b c Tagliavia, Tony (October 19, 2008). "Libertarian candidate protests Senate debate". MSNBC. Archived from the original on November 11, 2008.
- ^ Tagliavia, Tony (October 20, 2008). "Senate candidates clash on economy, war, health care". WOOD TV News. Archived from the original on June 18, 2009.
- ^ WXYZ; Detroit News (August 25, 2008). "EXCLUSIVE POLL: 7th & 9th Districts". WXYZ TV News. Archived from the original on September 8, 2008.
- ^ Staff (November 5, 2008). "Election 2008: U.S. Senate, Michigan". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on November 5, 2008.
External links
- Elections from the Michigan Secretary of State
- U.S. Congress candidates for Michigan at Project Vote Smart
- Michigan, U.S. Senate from CQ Politics
- Michigan U.S. Senate from OurCampaigns.com
- Michigan U.S. Senate race from 2008 Race Tracker
- Campaign contributions from OpenSecrets
- Hoogendyk (R) vs Levin (D-i) graph of multiple polls from Pollster.com
- Official campaign websites (Archived)