2008 Missouri gubernatorial election
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| County results Nixon: 40–50% 50–60% 60–70% 80–90% Hulshof: 40–50% 50–60% 60–70% | |||||||||||||||||||||||
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Template:ElectionsMO The 2008 Missouri gubernatorial election was held on November 4, 2008. Incumbent Republican Governor Matt Blunt decided to retire instead of seeking reelection to a second term in office. Democratic nominee Jay Nixon won the open seat, defeating Republican nominee Kenny Hulshof.
Background[edit | edit source]
On January 22, 2008, Governor Blunt unexpectedly announced that he would not seek re-election [2] because he had already "achieved virtually everything I set out to accomplish, and more ... Because I feel we have changed what I wanted to change in the first term, there is not the same sense of mission for a second."
A November 2007 poll conducted by SurveyUSA showed Blunt with a 44% approval rating.[1] His approval among Republicans polled was 68%, but his rating among Democrats was only 23%.[1]
On November 10, 2005, Democrat Jay Nixon filed the necessary paperwork with the Missouri Ethics Commission to launch a 2008 campaign for governor.[2]
The gubernatorial and other statewide office primaries were held August 5, 2008.[3] CQ Politics rated the race as 'Leans Democratic'.[4]
Timeline[edit | edit source]
- March 25, 2008 – Filing deadline for Democrats, Republicans and Libertarians[5]
- August 5, 2008 – Primary (gubernatorial and other statewide office) elections[5]
- August 19, 2008 – Filing deadline for other third parties and Independents[5]
- November 4, 2008 – General election.
Republican primary[edit | edit source]
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Kenny Hulshof | 194,556 | 49.2 | |
| Republican | Sarah Steelman | 176,750 | 44.7 | |
| Republican | Scott Long | 18,745 | 4.7 | |
| Republican | Jen Sievers | 5,664 | 1.4 | |
| Total votes | 395,715 | 100.0 | ||
Democratic primary[edit | edit source]
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Jay Nixon | 303,796 | 85.0 | |
| Democratic | Daniel Carroll | 53,768 | 15.0 | |
| Total votes | 357,564 | 100.0 | ||
General election[edit | edit source]
Polling[edit | edit source]
| Source | Date | Kenny Hulshof (R) |
Jay Nixon (D) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Public Policy Polling | November 2, 2008 | 38.4% | 57.9% |
| Survey USA | November 2, 2008 | 39% | 54% |
| Survey USA | October 26, 2008 | 38% | 55% |
| Rasmussen Reports | October 14, 2008 | 38% | 57% |
| Survey USA | September 24, 2008 | 37% | 54% |
| Rasmussen Reports | September 11, 2008 | 39% | 54% |
| Public Policy Polling | August 17, 2008 | 42% | 48% |
| Survey USA | July 31, 2008 | 42% | 48% |
| Rasmussen Reports | July 7, 2008 | 38% | 49% |
| Rasmussen | June 9, 2008 | 34% | 54% |
| Survey USA | May 20, 2008 | 33% | 57% |
| Rasmussen | May 8, 2008 | 35% | 51% |
| Rasmussen | March 24, 2008 | 37% | 48% |
| Rasmussen | February 13, 2008 | 30% | 48% |
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Hypothetical polling | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Results[edit | edit source]
On election night, Nixon won easily, even though fellow Democrat, then-senator Barack Obama came within only 4,000 some votes of winning the state. Nixon was able to perform well in rural parts of the state. When combined with heavily populated, strong Democratic areas like St. Louis and Kansas City, Hulshof didn't have a chance to come back. Nixon was declared the winner right when the polls closed in Missouri. Hulshof conceded defeat at 9:02 P.M. Central Time.
Template:Election box write-in with party linkTemplate:Election box gain with party link no swing| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ± | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Jay Nixon | 1,680,611 | 58.4 | +10.6 | |
| Republican | Kenny Hulshof | 1,136,364 | 39.5 | -11.3 | |
| style="background-color: Template:Libertarian Party (US)/meta/color; width: 5px;" | | [[Libertarian Party (US)|Template:Libertarian Party (US)/meta/shortname]] | Andrew Finkenstadt | 31,850 | 1.1 | +0.2 |
| style="background-color: Template:Constitution Party (US)/meta/color; width: 5px;" | | [[Constitution Party (US)|Template:Constitution Party (US)/meta/shortname]] | Gregory Thompson | 28,941 | 1.0 | +0.6 |
| Total votes | 2,877,778 | 100.0 | n/a | ||
See also[edit | edit source]
- 2008 United States gubernatorial elections
- 2004 Missouri gubernatorial election
- 2008 Missouri lieutenant gubernatorial election
- 2008 United States presidential election in Missouri
References[edit | edit source]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 [1] Survey USA
- ↑ Article[permanent dead link] by Columbia Daily Tribune: Document points to Nixon run
- ↑ August 5, 2008 State Primary Election Information Missouri Secretary of State
- ↑ Dems Gain in Five of Six New CQ Politics Rating Changes Archived 2008-10-12 at the Wayback Machine. CQ Politics, October 8, 2008
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 2008 Missouri Election Calendar from the Missouri Secretary of State
External links[edit | edit source]
- Elections from the Missouri Secretary of State
- Missouri Governor candidates at Project Vote Smart
- Missouri Governor race from OurCampaigns.com
- Missouri Governor race from 2008 Race Tracker
- Campaign contributions from Follow the Money
- Hulshof (R) vs Nixon (D) graph of collected polls from Pollster.com
- Official campaign websites (Archived)
- Jay Nixon, Democratic candidate
- Kenny Hulshof, Republican candidate
- Sarah Steelman, Republican candidate
- Andy Finkenstadt, Libertarian candidate
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