2008 United States Senate election in Illinois

2008 United States Senate election in Illinois

November 4, 2008
Turnout	68.42%
Nominee Dick Durbin Steve Sauerberg Party Democratic Republican Popular vote 3,615,844 1,520,621 Percentage 67.84% 28.53%
County results Durbin:      40–50%      50–60%      60–70%      70–80% Sauerberg:      40–50%      50–60%
U.S. senator before election Dick Durbin Democratic Elected U.S. Senator Dick Durbin Democratic

The 2008 United States Senate election in Illinois was held on November 4, 2008. Incumbent Democratic U.S. Senator Dick Durbin sought a third term in office and faced minimal opposition from Republican Steve Sauerberg. As expected, Durbin overwhelmingly won re-election. On the same night, fellow Democratic Senator Barack Obama was elected President of the United States, defeating Republican Senator John McCain of Arizona.

This is the last senate election in Illinois in which a candidate received above 60% of the vote.

Background

The primaries and general elections coincided with those for other federal elections (United States President and House), as well as those for state offices.

See also: 2008 Illinois elections § Turnout

For the primary elections, turnout was 32.37%, with 2,364,409 votes cast.^[1][2] For the general election, turnout was 68.42%, with 5,329,884 votes cast.^[1][2]

Democratic primary

Candidates

• Dick Durbin, incumbent U.S. Senator

Results

Democratic primary results^[3]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Dick Durbin (incumbent)	1,653,833	100.00%
Total votes			1,653,833	100.00%

Republican primary

Candidates

• Steve Sauerberg, physician
• Andy Martin, perennial candidate
• Mike Psak, trucker and perennial candidate

Results

Republican primary results^[3]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Steve Sauerberg	395,199	55.62%
	Republican	Andy Martin	240,548	33.85%
	Republican	Mike Psak	74,829	10.53%
Total votes			710,576	100.00%

General election

Predictions

Source	Ranking	As of
The Cook Political Report[4]	Safe D	October 23, 2008
CQ Politics[5]	Safe D	October 31, 2008
Rothenberg Political Report[6]	Safe D	November 2, 2008
Real Clear Politics[7]	Safe D	November 4, 2008

Results

Durbin's 3,615,844 votes is the highest vote total in a statewide election in Illinois. No one has broken his record since, however then Vice President Joe Biden received the most votes in the presidential election in Illinois in 2020. Durbin comfortably won re-election with the best margin of his career, winning all but four of the state's 102 counties.

2008 United States Senate election in Illinois^[1]^[8]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Democratic	Dick Durbin (incumbent)	3,615,844	67.84%	+7.51%
	Republican	Steve Sauerberg	1,520,621	28.53%	−9.49%
	Green	Kathy Cummings	119,135	2.24%	0.00%
	Libertarian	Larry A. Stafford	50,224	0.94%	−0.70%
	Constitution	Chad N. Koppie	24,059	0.45%	0.00%
Total votes			5,329,884	100.00%	N/A
	Democratic hold

Counties that flipped from Republican to Democratic

• Ogle (largest city: Rochelle)
• Jo Daviess (Largest city: Galena)
• Carroll (largest city: Savanna)
• Stephenson (largest city: Freeport)
• Boone (largest city: Belvidere)
• DuPage (largest city: Aurora)
• Kane (largest city: Aurora)
• Kendall (largest village: Oswego)
• McHenry (largest city: Crystal Lake)
• Putnam (largest city: Hennpin)
• Ford (largest city: Paxton)
• Iroqouis (largest city: Watseka)
• Livingston (largest city: Pontiac)
• Washington (largest city: Nashville)
• Monroe (largest city: Waterloo)
• Effingham (largest city: Effingham)
• Wabash (largest city: Mount Carmel)
• Richland (largest city: Olney)
• Lawrence (Largest city: Lawrenceville)
• Crawford (largest city: Robinson)
• Clark (largest city: Marshall)

See also

• 2008 United States Senate elections

References

1. "Voter Turnout". www.elections.il.gov. Illinois State Board of Elections. Archived from the original on May 30, 2021. Retrieved March 22, 2020.
2. "Election Results". www.elections.il.gov. Illinois State Board of Elections. Archived from the original on February 22, 2020. Retrieved March 23, 2020.
3. "Ballots Cast". Elections.il.gov. February 5, 2008. Archived from the original on March 3, 2016. Retrieved April 4, 2015.
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
6. "2008 Senate ratings". Inside Elections. Retrieved April 1, 2021.
7. "2008 RCP Averages & Senate Results". Real Clear Politics. Retrieved August 31, 2021.
8. "Statistics of the Presidential and Congressional Election of November 4, 2008" (PDF). Clerk.house.gov. Retrieved April 4, 2015.

External links

• Illinois State Board of Elections
• U.S. Congress candidates for Illinois at Project Vote Smart
• Illinois, U.S. Senate from CQ Politics
• Illinois U.S. Senate from OurCampaigns.com
• Illinois U.S. Senate race from 2008 Race Tracker
• Campaign contributions for Illinois congressional races from OpenSecrets
• Official campaign websites (Archived)
  • Dick Durbin, Democratic incumbent nominee
  • Steve Sauerberg, Republican nominee
  • Larry Stafford, Libertarian nominee
  • Kathy Cummings, Green Party nominee
  • Chad Koppie, Constitution nominee