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2008 United States House of Representatives elections in Wisconsin

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2008 United States House of Representatives elections in Wisconsin

← 2006 November 4, 2008 2010 →

All 8 Wisconsin seats to the United States House of Representatives
  Majority party Minority party
 
Party Democratic Republican
Last election 5 3
Seats won 5 3
Seat change Steady Steady
Popular vote 1,383,536 1,274,987
Percentage 49.85% 45.94%
Swing Increase 1.23% Decrease 4.47%

The 2008 congressional elections in Wisconsin were held on November 4, 2008, to determine who would represent the state of Wisconsin in the United States House of Representatives. Representatives were elected for two-year terms; those elected served in the 111th Congress from January 3, 2009, until January 3, 2011. The election coincided with the 2008 U.S. presidential election and other Wisconsin elections.

Wisconsin has eight seats in the House, apportioned according to the 2000 United States census. Its 2007-2008 congressional delegation consisted of five Democrats and three Republicans. That remained unchanged after the 2008 congressional elections in Wisconsin as all incumbent candidates won re-election, although CQ Politics had forecasted Wisconsin's 8 district to be at some risk for the incumbent party.[1]

As of 2024, this is the last time the Democrats won a majority of congressional districts from Wisconsin. However, they would still go on to win the popular vote in several subsequent House elections.

Results summary

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Party Candi-

dates

Votes Seats
No. % No. +/– %
Democratic Party 7 1,383,536 49.85% 5 Steady 62.50%
Republican Party 7 1,274,987 45.94% 3 Steady 37.50%
Independent 2 103,809 3.74% 0 Steady 0%
Libertarian Party 2 12,842 0.46% 0 Steady 0%
Total 18 2,775,174 100% 8 Steady 100%
Popular vote
Democratic
49.85%
Republican
45.94%
Independent
3.74%
Libertarian
0.46%
House seats
Democratic
62.50%
Republican
37.50%

District 1

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In this relatively moderate district in southeast Wisconsin, incumbent Republican Congressman Paul Ryan has enjoyed popularity and faced no serious challenge from Democratic nominee, Marge Krupp, a chemist. Despite Barack Obama's strong performance in Wisconsin that year in the presidential election, Ryan was re-elected overwhelmingly.

Wisconsin's 1st congressional district election, 2008
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Paul Ryan (inc.) 231,009 63.97
Democratic Marge Krupp 125,268 34.69
Libertarian Joseph Kexel 4,606 1.28
Write-ins 224 0.06
Total votes 361,107 100.00
Republican hold

District 2

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In this very liberal district based in the Madison metropolitan area, incumbent Democratic Congresswoman Tammy Baldwin, the first openly lesbian member of the House, easily turned away a challenge from Republican candidate Peter Theron and won her sixth term with nearly seventy percent of the vote.

Wisconsin's 2nd congressional district election, 2008
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Tammy Baldwin (inc.) 277,914 69.33
Republican Peter Theron 122,513 30.56
Write-ins 414 0.10
Total votes 400,841 100.00
Democratic hold

District 3

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In this relatively liberal district based in western Wisconsin, incumbent Democratic Congressman Ron Kind easily won a seventh term over Republican challenger Paul Stark.

Wisconsin's 3rd congressional district election, 2008
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Ron Kind (inc.) 225,208 63.19
Republican Paul Stark 122,760 34.44
Libertarian Kevin Barrett 8,236 2.31
Write-ins 196 0.05
Total votes 356,400 100.00
Democratic hold

District 4

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Incumbent Democratic Congresswoman Gwen Moore, running for her third term, faced easy re-election prospects in this very liberal district based in Milwaukee; no Republican candidate even filed to run against her. Moore crushed independent candidate Michael LaForest in a landslide.

Wisconsin's 4th congressional district election, 2008
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Gwen Moore (inc.) 222,728 87.63
Independent Michael D. LaForest 29,282 11.52
Write-ins 2,169 0.85
Total votes 254,179 100.00
Democratic hold

District 5

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In the wealthiest and most conservative district in Wisconsin, based in the northern suburbs of Milwaukee, long-serving incumbent Republican Congressman Jim Sensenbrenner easily defeated his only challenger, independent candidate Robert R. Raymond, to win a sixteenth term in Congress.

Wisconsin's 5th congressional district election, 2008
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Jim Sensenbrenner (inc.) 275,271 79.58
Independent Robert R. Raymond 69,715 20.15
Write-ins 913 0.26
Total votes 345,899 100.00
Republican hold

District 6

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This traditionally conservative district based in the Oshkosh-Neenah, Metropolitan Statistical Area was narrowly won by Democratic nominee Barack Obama in the 2008 election, but long-serving Republican incumbent Congressman Tom Petri held a tight grip on his seat. Petri sought and won a sixteenth term against Democratic candidate Roger Kittelson, winning handily.

Wisconsin's 6th congressional district election, 2008
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Tom Petri (inc.) 221,875 63.71
Democratic Roger A. Kittelson 126,090 36.21
Write-ins 299 0.09
Total votes 348,264 100.00
Republican hold

District 7

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Long-serving incumbent Democratic Congressman Dave Obey held an iron grip on this district based in northwestern Wisconsin for forty years. Seeking a twenty-first term in Congress, Obey was overwhelmingly re-elected again over Republican challenger Dan Mielke despite the centrist nature of the district.

Wisconsin's 7th congressional district election, 2008
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Dave Obey (inc.) 212,666 60.79
Republican Dan Mielke 136,938 39.14
Write-ins 233 0.07
Total votes 349,837 100.00
Democratic hold

District 8

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Incumbent Congressman Steve Kagen faced off against former Wisconsin State Assembly Speaker John Gard for a second time in this Republican-leaning district that is based in northeastern Wisconsin and that includes the cities of Green Bay and Appleton. Seeking a second term, Kagen defeated Gard by a larger margin than he did in 2006, allowing him to keep this swing district under Democratic control.

Wisconsin's 8th congressional district election, 2008
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Steve Kagen (inc.) 193,662 54.00
Republican John Gard 164,621 45.90
Write-ins 364 0.10
Total votes 358,647 100.00
Democratic hold

References

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  1. ^ House: Races to Watch Archived 2007-12-13 at the Wayback Machine CQ Politics
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Preceded by
2006 elections
United States House elections in Wisconsin
2008
Succeeded by
2010 elections