United States Senate election in Michigan, 2008
Encyclopedia
The 2008 United States Senate election in Michigan was held on November 4, 2008 Incumbent Democrat U.S. Senator Carl Levin
won re-election to a sixth term.
considered running again, but military commitments forced him to drop out. State representative Jack Hoogendyk
declared his candidancy to challenge Levin. Troy
engineer Bart Baron was also running.
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. Levin was unopposed on the Democratic side. The filing deadline for candidates to run was May 13.
Minor party candidates who ran included Harley Mikkelson of the Green Party
, Scotty Boman of the Libertarian Party
, Michael Nikitin of the U.S. Taxpayers Party. and Doug Dern of the Natural Law Party. Levin, who maintained a huge fundraising advantage over his opponents, easily won re-election.
and Republican State Representative Jack Hoogendyk
were invited. They debated topics such as the economy, immigration, and foreign policy.
Levin blamed job loss in Michigan on President Bush, while Hoogendyk blamed Levin. Levin supported a Federal bailout of the auto industry, while Hoogendyk opposed the idea.
The event, which was moderated by WZZM TV 13's News anchor Peter Ross, was met with protest by supporters of excluded candidates. 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.
An exclusive WXYZ poll included all of the candidates, but only contacted respondents in the 7th and 9th Congressional district. Boman also claimed that public broadcasters should have invited the other candidates since it is supported with tax dollars.
Senator Carl Levin
and State Representative Jack Hoogendyk
met again, the following day (October 20), for a forum hosted by the Detroit Economic Club.
Carl Levin
Carl Milton Levin is a Jewish-American United States Senator from Michigan, serving since 1979. He is the Chairman of the Senate Committee on Armed Services. He is a member of the Democratic Party....
won re-election to a sixth term.
Campaign
Levin's 2002 opponent Andrew RaczkowskiAndrew Raczkowski
Andrew "Rocky" Raczkowski is an American politician from Michigan, the 2010 Republican nominee for .- Early life, education and career :A resident of Farmington Hills, he is a major with the U.S. Army Reserves...
considered running again, but military commitments forced him to drop out. State representative Jack Hoogendyk
Jack Hoogendyk
Jacob "Jack" Hoogendyk is a Republican politician, a former member of the Michigan House of Representatives and 2008 Republican candidate for the U.S...
declared his candidancy to challenge Levin. Troy
Troy, Michigan
Troy is a city in Oakland County in the U.S. state of Michigan, and is a suburb of Detroit. The population was 80,980 at the 2010 census, making it the 11th-largest city in Michigan by population, and the largest city in Oakland County...
engineer Bart Baron was also running.
Baron apparently failed to qualify for the August 5, 2008 party primary ballot in the Michigan Secretary of State
Michigan Secretary of State
The Secretary of State is the third-ranking official in the U.S. state of Michigan and one of four great offices of state. As the name implies, the officeholder was originally responsible for much of state government, but now the duties are similar to those of the other 47 secretaries of states...
's office. So only Hoogendyk was listed on the Republican side in the Michigan primary election. Levin was unopposed on the Democratic side. The filing deadline for candidates to run was May 13.
Minor party candidates who ran included Harley Mikkelson of the Green Party
Green Party (United States)
The Green Party of the United States is a nationally recognized political party which officially formed in 1991. It is a voluntary association of state green parties. Prior to national formation, many state affiliates had already formed and were recognized by other state parties...
, Scotty Boman of the Libertarian Party
Libertarian Party (United States)
The Libertarian Party is the third largest and fastest growing political party in the United States. The political platform of the Libertarian Party reflects its brand of libertarianism, favoring minimally regulated, laissez-faire markets, strong civil liberties, minimally regulated migration...
, Michael Nikitin of the U.S. Taxpayers Party. and Doug Dern of the Natural Law Party. Levin, who maintained a huge fundraising advantage over his opponents, easily won re-election.
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 - September 24, 2008 | 57% | 29% |
| Detroit News | September 14 - September 17, 2008 | 56% | 28% |
| Rasmussen Reports | 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 November 19 WGVU Public television hosted a Senatorial debate to which only Democratic Senator Carl LevinCarl Levin
Carl Milton Levin is a Jewish-American United States Senator from Michigan, serving since 1979. He is the Chairman of the Senate Committee on Armed Services. He is a member of the Democratic Party....
and Republican State Representative Jack Hoogendyk
Jack Hoogendyk
Jacob "Jack" Hoogendyk is a Republican politician, a former member of the Michigan House of Representatives and 2008 Republican candidate for the U.S...
were invited. They debated topics such as the economy, immigration, and foreign policy.
Levin blamed job loss in Michigan on President Bush, while Hoogendyk blamed Levin. Levin supported a Federal bailout of the auto industry, while Hoogendyk opposed the idea.
The event, which was moderated by WZZM TV 13's News anchor Peter Ross, was met with protest by supporters of excluded candidates. 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.
An exclusive WXYZ poll included all of the candidates, but only contacted respondents in the 7th and 9th Congressional district. Boman also claimed that public broadcasters should have invited the other candidates since it is supported with tax dollars.
Senator Carl Levin
Carl Levin
Carl Milton Levin is a Jewish-American United States Senator from Michigan, serving since 1979. He is the Chairman of the Senate Committee on Armed Services. He is a member of the Democratic Party....
and State Representative Jack Hoogendyk
Jack Hoogendyk
Jacob "Jack" Hoogendyk is a Republican politician, a former member of the Michigan House of Representatives and 2008 Republican candidate for the U.S...
met again, the following day (October 20), for a forum hosted by the Detroit Economic Club.
Results
External links
- Elections from the Michigan Secretary of State
- U.S. Congress candidates for Michigan at Project Vote SmartProject Vote SmartProject Vote Smart is a non-profit, non-partisan research organization that collects and distributes information on candidates for public office in the United States...
- Michigan, U.S. Senate from CQ PoliticsCongressional QuarterlyCongressional Quarterly, Inc., or CQ, is a privately owned publishing company that produces a number of publications reporting primarily on the United States Congress...
- Michigan U.S. Senate from OurCampaigns.com
- Michigan U.S. Senate race from 2008 Race Tracker
- Campaign contributions from OpenSecrets.orgCenter for Responsive PoliticsThe Center for Responsive Politics is a non-profit, nonpartisan research group based in Washington, D.C. that tracks money in politics and the effect of money and lobbying activity on elections and public policy and maintains a public online database of its information.Their database...
- Hoogendyk (R) vs Levin (D-i) graph of multiple polls from Pollster.com
- Official campaign websites