United States gubernatorial elections, 2008

The United States gubernatorial elections of 2008 were the elections of state and territorial governors and were held on Tuesday, November 4, 2008 in 11 states and 2 territories. Prior to the election, eight of the total seats were held by Democrats

Democratic Party (United States)

The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...

and five by Republicans

Republican Party (United States)

The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...

. Two governors were prohibited by term limit

Term limit

A term limit is a legal restriction that limits the number of terms a person may serve in a particular elected office. When term limits are found in presidential and semi-presidential systems they act as a method to curb the potential for monopoly, where a leader effectively becomes "president for...

s from seeking re-election in 2008.

These elections coincided with the presidential election

United States presidential election, 2008

The United States presidential election of 2008 was the 56th quadrennial presidential election. It was held on November 4, 2008. Democrat Barack Obama, then the junior United States Senator from Illinois, defeated Republican John McCain, the senior U.S. Senator from Arizona. Obama received 365...

, as well as the elections of the United States Senate

United States Senate elections, 2008

Elections for the United States Senate were held on November 4, 2008, with 35 of the 100 seats in the Senate being contested. Thirty-three seats were regular elections; the winners were eligible to serve six-year terms from January 3, 2009, to January 3, 2015, as members of Senate Class II...

and the United States House of Representatives

United States House elections, 2008

Infobox Election| election_name = United States House of Representatives elections, 2008| country = United States| type = legislative| ongoing = no...

and countless local elections, state elections and ballot propositions.

Results by state

State	Incumbent	Party	Status	Opposing Candidates
American Samoa American Samoa gubernatorial election, 2008 The 2008 American Samoa gubernatorial election took place on November 4, 2008, coinciding with the 2008 United States general elections and the American Samoa general election. Because no candidate received more than 50% of the vote, a runoff election between the top two candidates was held on...	Togiola Tulafono Togiola Tulafono Togiola Talalelei A. Tulafono is the Governor of American Samoa. He is a member of the Democratic Party. He had previously served as Lieutenant Governor, taking this position on January 3, 1997....	Democratic	General: Advanced to runoff, 41.2% Runoff: Re-elected, 56.5%	Utu Abe Malae (I) General: 31.3%; Runoff: 43.5% Afoa Moega Lutu (I) General: 27.0% (eliminated) Tuika Tuika General: 0.5% (eliminated)
Delaware Delaware gubernatorial election, 2008 The election for Governor of Delaware took place on November 4, 2008, coinciding with the United States presidential election. Democrat Jack Markell was elected governor, succeeding incumbent Ruth Ann Minner, also a Democrat, who was prevented from running for a third term.As of 2008, Democrats had...	Ruth Ann Minner Ruth Ann Minner Ruth Ann Minner is an American politician and businesswoman from Milford, in Kent County, Delaware. She is a member of the Democratic Party who served in the Delaware General Assembly, as the 23rd Lieutenant Governor of Delaware and two terms as the first female Governor of Delaware.-Early life...	Democratic	Term-limited, Democratic hold	Jack Markell (D) 67.5% William Swain Lee William Swain Lee William Swain Lee is an American lawyer and politician from Georgetown, in Sussex County, Delaware. He is a member of the Republican Party, who served as a judge of the Delaware Superior Court. He was the 2004 and 2008 Republican candidate for Governor of Delaware.-Early life and family:Lee was... (R) 32.0% Jeffrey Brown (BE) 0.5%
Indiana Indiana gubernatorial election, 2008 The Indiana gubernatorial election of 2008 was held on November 4, 2008. Incumbent Republican nominee Mitch Daniels was challenged by Democratic nominee Jill Long Thompson and Libertarian nominee Andy Horning...	Mitch Daniels Mitch Daniels Mitchell Elias "Mitch" Daniels, Jr. is the 49th and current Governor of the U.S. state of Indiana. A Republican, he began his first four-year term as governor on January 10, 2005, and was elected to his second term by an 18-point margin on November 4, 2008. Previously, he was the Director of the...	Republican	Re-elected, 57.8%	Jill Long Thompson (D) 40.1% Andy Horning (L) 2.1%
Missouri Missouri gubernatorial election, 2008 -Polling:-Results:-See also:* U.S. gubernatorial elections, 2008* Missouri gubernatorial election, 2004* Missouri Lieutenant gubernatorial election, 2008-External links:* from the Missouri Secretary of State* at Project Vote Smart...	Matt Blunt Matt Blunt Matthew Roy Blunt served as the 54th Governor of Missouri from 2005 to 2009. Before his election as governor, Blunt served ten years in the United States Navy, was elected to serve in the Missouri General Assembly in 1998 and as Missouri's Secretary of State in 2000.A Republican, Blunt was elected...	Republican	Retired, Democratic victory	Jay Nixon Jay Nixon Jeremiah Wilson "Jay" Nixon, Sr. is the 55th and current Governor of the U.S. state of Missouri. A member of the Democratic Party, he previously served as Missouri's Attorney General before his election in 2008.-Political career:... (D) 58.4% Kenny Hulshof Kenny Hulshof Kenneth C. "Kenny" Hulshof is a politician from the U.S. state of Missouri, and represented in the United States House of Representatives. He was the unsuccessful nominee of the Republican Party for Governor of Missouri in the 2008 election.- Biography :... (R) 39.5% Andrew Finkenstadt (L) 1.1% Gregory Thompson (C) 1.0%
Montana Montana gubernatorial election, 2008 The 2008 Montana gubernatorial election was held on November 4, 2008 to elect the governor and lieutenant governor of the U.S. state of Montana. Incumbent governor Brian Schweitzer, a Democrat who was elected to his first four-year term in 2004, was elected to a second term with 65.5 per cent of...	Brian Schweitzer Brian Schweitzer Brian David Schweitzer is an American politician from the U.S. state of Montana. Schweitzer is its 23rd and current governor, serving since January 2005. Schweitzer currently has one of the highest approval ratings among governors in the nation, with polls regularly showing a rating of above 60...	Democratic	Re-elected, 65.5%	Roy Brown Roy Brown Roy Brown may refer to:Roy Brown , English professional footballer who was the first black player to play for Stoke City.Roy Brown , English footballer... (R) 32.5% Stan Jones (L) 2.0%
New Hampshire New Hampshire gubernatorial election, 2008 The New Hampshire gubernatorial election of 2008, took place on November 4, 2008. Incumbent governor John Lynch won his third term with a landslide victory over Republican opponent Joseph Kenney.-Candidates:*John Lynch, incumbent Governor of New Hampshire...	John Lynch	Democratic	Re-elected, 70.2%	Joe Kenney Joe Kenney -External links:... (R) 27.6% Susan Newell (L) 2.2%
North Carolina North Carolina gubernatorial election, 2008 The North Carolina gubernatorial election of 2008 was held on November 4, 2008, coinciding with the presidential, U.S. Senate, U.S. House elections, Council of State, and statewide judicial elections...	Mike Easley Mike Easley Michael Francis "Mike" Easley is an American politician who served as the 72nd Governor of the U.S. state of North Carolina, from 2001 to 2009. He is member of the North Carolina Democratic Party and became the first North Carolina governor to admit to a felony in a deal that halted a lengthy...	Democratic	Term-limited, Democratic hold	Beverly Perdue (D) 50.3% Pat McCrory (R) 46.9% Michael Munger Michael Munger Michael Curtis Munger is an economist, chair of the political science department at Duke University, and was the Libertarian candidate for Governor of North Carolina in 2008.... (L) 2.8%
North Dakota North Dakota gubernatorial election, 2008 The 2008 North Dakota gubernatorial election took place on 4 November 2008 for the post of Governor of North Dakota. Incumbent Republican Governor John Hoeven was easily re-elected again, defeating Democrat Tim Mathern.-Republican:...	John Hoeven John Hoeven John Henry Hoeven III is the junior United States Senator from North Dakota. He is a member of the North Dakota Republican Party. He is expected to become the state's senior senator when Kent Conrad retires from the Senate in January 2013.Hoeven served as the 31st Governor of North Dakota,...	Republican	Re-elected, 74.4%	Tim Mathern Tim Mathern Tim Mathern is a state senator in North Dakota. He also unsuccessfully ran for Governor of North Dakota in 2008.Mathern grew up on a dairy and grain farm near Edgeley, ND with 12 brothers and sisters. He attended public school in Edgeley before attending Cardinal Muench Seminary in Fargo... (D) 23.5% DuWayne Hendrickson (I) 2.1%
Puerto Rico Puerto Rico gubernatorial election, 2008 The 2008 Puerto Rico gubernatorial election, took place on November 4, 2008 coinciding with the 2008 United States general elections and the Puerto Rico general election. Then-incumbent governor Aníbal Acevedo Vilá, Democratic, PPD was eligible for reelection, and ran for a second four-year term...	Aníbal Acevedo Vilá Aníbal Acevedo Vilá Aníbal Salvador Acevedo Vilá is a Puerto Rican politician and lawyer. He served as the eighth Governor of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, a Commonwealth of the United States, from 2005 to 2009. He is a Harvard University alumnus and a graduate of the University of Puerto Rico School of Law,...	PDP/Democratic	Defeated, 41.3%	Luis Fortuño Luis Fortuño Luis Guillermo Fortuño Burset is the governor of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, a territory of the United States of America. Fortuño is also the president of the New Progressive Party of Puerto Rico , a member of the Republican National Committee, and will be president of the Council of State... (NPP/R) 52.8% Rogelio Figueroa (PPR) 2.8% Edwin Irizarry Mora (PIP) 2.0%
Utah Utah gubernatorial election, 2008 The Utah gubernatorial election was held on November 4, 2008. Incumbent Republican Governor Jon Huntsman, Jr. was challenged by Democratic nominee Bob Springmeyer and Libertarian nominee Dell Schanze.- Polling :-Election Results:- External links :*...	Jon Huntsman, Jr. Jon Huntsman, Jr. Jon Meade Huntsman, Jr. is an American politician and diplomat who served as the 16th Governor of Utah. He also served in the administrations of four United States presidents and is a candidate for the 2012 Republican presidential nomination.Huntsman worked as a White House staff assistant for...	Republican	Re-elected, 77.7%	Bob Springmeyer (D) 19.7% Dell Schanze (L) 2.6%
Vermont Vermont gubernatorial election, 2008 The 2008 Vermont gubernatorial election took place on November 4, 2008. Incumbent governor Jim Douglas won reelection. The gubernatorial primary took place on September 9, 2008.-Polling:-Dates and deadlines:*July 21, 2008—Filing...	Jim Douglas Jim Douglas James H. Douglas is an American politician from the U.S. state of Vermont. A Republican, he was elected the 80th Governor of Vermont in 2002 and was reelected three times with a majority of the vote...	Republican	Re-elected, 53.4%	Anthony Pollina Anthony Pollina Anthony Pollina is a Progressive American politician, who has run several times for elected office in the state of Vermont.-1984 US Congressional Election:... (I) 21.8% Gaye Symington Gaye Symington Gaye R. Symington is the former Speaker of the Vermont House of Representatives, the lower house of the Vermont General Assembly... (D) 21.7% Tony O'Connor (I) 0.9% Sam Young (I) 0.7% Pete Diamondstone (LU) 0.5% Cris Ericson (I) 0.5%
Washington Washington gubernatorial election, 2008 The gubernatorial election in Washington, 2008 elected the Governor of Washington on November 4, 2008. With the emergence from the August 19 primary of Republican Dino Rossi and incumbent Democratic Governor Christine Gregoire, the 2008 election was a rematch between the candidates from the 2004...	Christine Gregoire Christine Gregoire Christine O'Grady "Chris" Gregoire is the 22nd and current Governor of the state of Washington, and a member of the Democratic Party. Gregoire defeated Republican candidate Dino Rossi in 2004, and again in 2008. She is the second female governor of Washington...	Democratic	Re-elected, 53.3%	Dino Rossi Dino Rossi Dino Rossi is an American commercial real estate executive, former Washington State Senator, two-time Republican candidate for Governor of Washington, and former Republican candidate for United States Senate. His first run for the Governor's mansion in the 2004 election became the closest... (R) 46.7%
West Virginia West Virginia gubernatorial election, 2008 The West Virginia gubernatorial election of 2008 took place on November 4, 2008. Incumbent governor Joe Manchin III was the Democratic nominee, challenged by Republican nominee Russ Weeks and Mountain Party candidate Jesse Johnson...	Joe Manchin Joe Manchin Joseph "Joe" Manchin III is the junior United States Senator representing West Virginia. Manchin, a Democrat, was Governor of West Virginia from 2005 to 2010...	Democratic	Re-elected, 69.8%	Russ Weeks Russ Weeks Russ Weeks is a former Republican State Senator from West Virginia the 9th Senatorial District. Weeks was elected in 2002, defeating Senate Judiciary Chairman Bill Wooton. Weeks had not served in public office prior to being elected. He was defeated in 2006... (R) 25.7% Jesse Johnson (M Mountain Party The Mountain Party is a political party in the state of West Virginia that on July 8, 2007, at its state convention, voted to become the West Virginia affiliate of the Green Party. At the 2007 Green Party National Meeting the party was admitted to the Green Party as a state affiliate. It is a... ) 4.5%

Ruth Ann Minner (Delaware)

Ruth Ann Minner

Ruth Ann Minner is an American politician and businesswoman from Milford, in Kent County, Delaware. She is a member of the Democratic Party who served in the Delaware General Assembly, as the 23rd Lieutenant Governor of Delaware and two terms as the first female Governor of Delaware.-Early life...

was term limited in 2008. As of 2008, Democrats have controlled the Delaware

Delaware

Delaware is a U.S. state located on the Atlantic Coast in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It is bordered to the south and west by Maryland, and to the north by Pennsylvania...

governorship for 16 years. In an upset, state Treasurer Jack Markell

Jack A. Markell

Jack A. Markell is an American businessman and politician who has been Governor of Delaware since 2009. Markell, a member of the Democratic Party from Centreville, in New Castle County, Delaware, served as State Treasurer of Delaware from 1999 to 2009 and was elected as the 73rd Governor of...

defeated Lieutenant Governor John Carney

John C. Carney, Jr.

John Charles Carney, Jr. is the U.S. Representative for . He is a member of the Democratic Party. He was the 24th Lieutenant Governor of Delaware from 2001 to 2009...

by 51 to 49% for the Democratic nomination on September 9. The Republican nominee was former state Superior Court Judge William Swain "Bill" Lee

William Swain Lee

William Swain Lee is an American lawyer and politician from Georgetown, in Sussex County, Delaware. He is a member of the Republican Party, who served as a judge of the Delaware Superior Court. He was the 2004 and 2008 Republican candidate for Governor of Delaware.-Early life and family:Lee was...

, defeating airline pilot Michael Protrack. Lee was the Republican nominee for Governor in 2004, and lost to Minner by a narrow margin.

The race got more attention due to the Vice Presidential candidacy of U.S. Senator Joe Biden

Joe Biden

Joseph Robinette "Joe" Biden, Jr. is the 47th and current Vice President of the United States, serving under President Barack Obama...

. Since Biden, a senator, was elected to be Vice President

Vice president

A vice president is an officer in government or business who is below a president in rank. The name comes from the Latin vice meaning 'in place of'. In some countries, the vice president is called the deputy president...

, he needed to resign his Senate seat. The new Governor was then called upon to appoint someone to replace Biden in the Senate. Since Lee would naturally have been more inclined to select a Republican, his election could have caused a Republican pickup in the Senate by proxy. However, he was defeated by a wide margin on election day by Markell. Senator Biden resigned his seat in the United States Senate on January 15, 2009, and Governor Minner appointed Ted Kaufman

Ted Kaufman

Edward E. "Ted" Kaufman is an American politician who served as a United States Senator from Delaware from 2009 to 2010. Since 2010, he has chaired the Congressional Oversight Panel in the United States federal government; he is the second person to hold that post, succeeding inaugural holder...

to Biden's seat. Kaufman had previously served as Senator Biden's Chief of Staff during his tenure in the United States Senate

United States Senate

The United States Senate is the upper house of the bicameral legislature of the United States, and together with the United States House of Representatives comprises the United States Congress. The composition and powers of the Senate are established in Article One of the U.S. Constitution. Each...

Mike Easley (North Carolina)

Mike Easley

Michael Francis "Mike" Easley is an American politician who served as the 72nd Governor of the U.S. state of North Carolina, from 2001 to 2009. He is member of the North Carolina Democratic Party and became the first North Carolina governor to admit to a felony in a deal that halted a lengthy...

was term limited in 2008, in another state whose Governorship has been held by Democrats for 16 years. Democratic Lieutenant Governor Beverly Perdue was the Democratic nominee, defeating Charlotte

CHARLOTTE

- CHARLOTTE :CHARLOTTE is an American blues-based hard rock band that formed in Los Angeles, California in 1986. Currently, they are signed to indie label, Eonian Records, under which they released their debut cd, Medusa Groove, in 2010. Notable Charlotte songs include 'Siren', 'Little Devils',...

Mayor Pat McCrory, the Republican nominee.

Matt Blunt (Missouri)

Matt Blunt

Matthew Roy Blunt served as the 54th Governor of Missouri from 2005 to 2009. Before his election as governor, Blunt served ten years in the United States Navy, was elected to serve in the Missouri General Assembly in 1998 and as Missouri's Secretary of State in 2000.A Republican, Blunt was elected...

was considered to be the most vulnerable incumbent in the 2008 election cycle, but decided on January 22, 2008 not to seek re-election. Blunt's approval rating was the nation's second-lowest after Governor Ernie Fletcher of Kentucky for much of 2007, though his approval rating improved and approached 50% in a May poll conducted by SurveyUSA.

The Republican nominee was Congressman Kenny Hulshof

Kenny Hulshof

Kenneth C. "Kenny" Hulshof is a politician from the U.S. state of Missouri, and represented in the United States House of Representatives. He was the unsuccessful nominee of the Republican Party for Governor of Missouri in the 2008 election.- Biography :...

. The Democratic nominee was four-term Missouri

Missouri

Missouri is a US state located in the Midwestern United States, bordered by Iowa, Illinois, Kentucky, Tennessee, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Kansas and Nebraska. With a 2010 population of 5,988,927, Missouri is the 18th most populous state in the nation and the fifth most populous in the Midwest. It...

Attorney General Jay Nixon

Jay Nixon

Jeremiah Wilson "Jay" Nixon, Sr. is the 55th and current Governor of the U.S. state of Missouri. A member of the Democratic Party, he previously served as Missouri's Attorney General before his election in 2008.-Political career:...

, who ran unsuccessfully for the U.S. Senate in 1998. Nixon defeated Hulshof comfortably, despite the fact that Missouri ultimately voted for John McCain

John McCain

John Sidney McCain III is the senior United States Senator from Arizona. He was the Republican nominee for president in the 2008 United States election....

, a Republican, for President. Missouri was the only state not to re-elect the incumbent party for Governor in 2008.

Togiola Tulafono (American Samoa)

American Samoa

American Samoa is an unincorporated territory of the United States located in the South Pacific Ocean, southeast of the sovereign state of Samoa...

's Togiola Tulafono

Togiola Tulafono

Togiola Talalelei A. Tulafono is the Governor of American Samoa. He is a member of the Democratic Party. He had previously served as Lieutenant Governor, taking this position on January 3, 1997....

sought re-election in 2008 with Lieutenant Governor

Lieutenant Governor of American Samoa

The government of American Samoa consists of a locally elected governor, lieutenant governor and the American Samoa Fono, which consists of an 18-member Senate and a 21-member House of Representatives. The first popular election for Governor and Lieutenant Governor took place in 1977...

Ipulasi Aitofele Sunia

Ipulasi Aitofele Toese Fiti Sunia is an American Samoan lawyer and politician. Sunia has served as the Lieutenant Governor of American Samoa since April 11, 2003.-Early life :...

. He won his first term 55.7% to 44.3% in the 2004 run-off against Afoa Moega Lutu

Afoa Moega Lutu

Afoafouvale Leulumoegafou Su’esu’e Lutu is an American Samoan politician and lawyer. Lutu has served as the former American Samoan Attorney General.Lutu was defeated in the 2004 gubernatorial election by Togiola Tulafono...

. Tulafono was again challenged by Afoa Moega Lutu

Afoa Moega Lutu

and Velega Savali

Velega Savali

Velega Savali Savali Jr. is an American Samoan politician. Savali is currently a candidate for Lieutenant Governor of American Samoa in the American Samoan gubernatorial election in 2008. He served as the American Samoa Treasurer from 2005 until 2008.-Personal life:Savali is married to Leleiga...

, who ran as a nonpartisan

Nonpartisan

In political science, nonpartisan denotes an election, event, organization or person in which there is no formally declared association with a political party affiliation....

team for governor and lieutenant governor respectively. Utu Abe Malae

Utu Abe Malae

Utu Abe Malae is an American Samoan politician, banker and businessman. Malae was a candidate for Governor of American Samoa in the 2008 gubernatorial elections, finishing second in the runoff to incumbent Governor Togiola Tulafono....

and Tuika Tuika

Tuika Tuika

Tuika Tuika Jr. is an American Samoan accountant and politician. He has worked for various American Samoan government offices for many years....

also ran to become the next Governor on separate, nonpartisan tickets. Tulafono won in a close vote that split three ways.

Brian Schweitzer (Montana)

Democrat Brian Schweitzer

Brian Schweitzer

Brian David Schweitzer is an American politician from the U.S. state of Montana. Schweitzer is its 23rd and current governor, serving since January 2005. Schweitzer currently has one of the highest approval ratings among governors in the nation, with polls regularly showing a rating of above 60...

of Montana

Montana

Montana is a state in the Western United States. The western third of Montana contains numerous mountain ranges. Smaller, "island ranges" are found in the central third of the state, for a total of 77 named ranges of the Rocky Mountains. This geographical fact is reflected in the state's name,...

(running with Lt. Governor John Bohlinger

John Bohlinger

John Bohlinger, Jr. is the current Lieutenant Governor of Montana. Bohlinger for lieutenant governor ran as a Republican on a bipartisan ticket headed by Democrat Brian Schweitzer...

) was heavily favored to win re-election as he had better funding and high approval ratings as current Governor. The Republican nominee was State Senator Roy Brown

Roy Brown (Montana politician)

Roy Brown is a former Montana State Senator from Billings, Montana Senate District 25. He served four terms in the Montana House of Representatives and was elected to the State Senate in 2007. He was the Republican nominee for the Governor seat in Montana with Steve Daines in 2008...

(running with Steve Gaines

Steve Gaines

Steven Earl Gaines was an American musician. He is most well known as a guitarist and songwriter for southern rock band Lynyrd Skynyrd, and is the younger brother of Cassie Gaines, who was also a member of the band...

), and the Libertarian nominee was Stan Jones (running with Michael Baker).[1] Schweitzer won some press coverage with his well-received speech to the 2008 Democratic National Convention http://blogs.forbes.com/trailwatch/2008/08/schweitzer-spee.html. He was criticized, however, for a speech in July in which he jested that he helped defeat U.S. Senator Conrad Burns

Conrad Burns

Conrad Ray Burns is a former United States Senator from Montana. He is only the second Republican to represent Montana in the Senate since the passage in 1913 of the Seventeenth Amendment to the United States Constitution and is the longest-serving Republican senator in Montana history.While in...

in 2006 by tampering with the vote totals http://www.helenair.com/articles/2008/09/11/top/55st_080911_tampering.txt, which he insisted was purely a joke. Schweitzer won re-election by a comfortable margin despite the criticism.

John Lynch (New Hampshire)

In New Hampshire

New Hampshire

New Hampshire is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. The state was named after the southern English county of Hampshire. It is bordered by Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Atlantic Ocean to the east, and the Canadian...

, Democrat John Lynch easily won re-election against State Senator Joseph D. Kenney, the Republican nominee.http://www.kenney08.com/

NOTE: New Hampshire's gubernatorial elections are held every in alternate (even-numbered) years, instead of every fourth year.

Aníbal Acevedo Vilá (Puerto Rico)

Aníbal Acevedo Vilá

Aníbal Salvador Acevedo Vilá is a Puerto Rican politician and lawyer. He served as the eighth Governor of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, a Commonwealth of the United States, from 2005 to 2009. He is a Harvard University alumnus and a graduate of the University of Puerto Rico School of Law,...

of Puerto Rico

Puerto Rico

Puerto Rico , officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico , is an unincorporated territory of the United States, located in the northeastern Caribbean, east of the Dominican Republic and west of both the United States Virgin Islands and the British Virgin Islands.Puerto Rico comprises an...

ran for a second term in 2008. In 2004, Acevedo narrowly beat former Governor and Senator Pedro Rosselló

Pedro Rosselló

Pedro Juan Rosselló González, M.D., , is a Puerto Rican physician and politician who served as the sixth Governor of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico from 1993 to 2001...

, also a Democrat, by a mere 3,566 votes.

Republican at-large Resident Commissioner

Resident Commissioner of Puerto Rico

The Resident Commissioner of Puerto Rico is a non-voting member of the United States House of Representatives elected by the voters of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico every four years...

Luis Fortuño

Luis Guillermo Fortuño Burset is the governor of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, a territory of the United States of America. Fortuño is also the president of the New Progressive Party of Puerto Rico , a member of the Republican National Committee, and will be president of the Council of State...

, who announced in December 2006 that he would not again seek re-election to his current post, ran against him. There was also a movement to elect Senator Rosselló as a write-in choice for governor.

The Puerto Rican Independence Party

Puerto Rican Independence Party

The Puerto Rican Independence Party is a Puerto Rican political party that campaigns for the independence of Puerto Rico from United States suzerainty....

's candidate was Edwin Irizarry Mora

Edwin Irizarry Mora

Edwin Irizarry Mora is an economist, professor and pro-independence leader in Puerto Rico.He was the Puerto Rican Independence Party candidate for governor of the U.S. Commonwealth of Puerto Rico in the 2008 election. In 2004, he ran for Resident Commissioner of Puerto Rico in Washington, D.C....

, while a fourth candidate, Rogelio Figueroa

Rogelio Figueroa

Rogelio Figueroa was the 2008 gubernatorial candidate for the Puerto Ricans for Puerto Rico party, a registered political party in the U.S. Commonwealth of Puerto Rico....

(Puerto Ricans for Puerto Rico Party

Puerto Ricans for Puerto Rico Party

The Puerto Ricans for Puerto Rico Party is a Puerto Rican political party which tenets are citizen participation, sustainable development, effective administration, and quality of life...

), ran on an environmentalist platform.

Acevedo was defeated by Fortuño on election day. The federal indictment against Acevedo for alleged corruption schemes when he was in Congress, and generally low approval, may have been a drag on his candidacy and chances of winning re-election.

Christine Gregoire (Washington)

Democrat Christine Gregoire

Christine Gregoire

Christine O'Grady "Chris" Gregoire is the 22nd and current Governor of the state of Washington, and a member of the Democratic Party. Gregoire defeated Republican candidate Dino Rossi in 2004, and again in 2008. She is the second female governor of Washington...

(campaign website) is perhaps best known for having won in 2004

Washington gubernatorial election, 2004

The election for governor of Washington on November 2, 2004 gained national attention for its legal twists and extremely close finish. Notable for being among the closest political races in United States election history, Republican Dino Rossi was declared the winner in the initial automated count...

by 133 votes in the third official count, after having lost the initial count by 261 votes and the first recount by 24 votes. Her 2004 opponent, Republican former State Senator Dino Rossi

Dino Rossi

Dino Rossi is an American commercial real estate executive, former Washington State Senator, two-time Republican candidate for Governor of Washington, and former Republican candidate for United States Senate. His first run for the Governor's mansion in the 2004 election became the closest...

(campaign website), officially announced his candidacy on October 25, 2007. Pre-election SurveyUSA polls showed Gregoire leading Rossi by a statistically insignificant 50% to 47% margin. A September 10 poll by Rasmussen Reports showed Rossi pulling ahead by a 52% to 46% margin http://www.rasmussenreports.com/public_content/politics/election_20082/2008_governor_elections/washington/election_2008_washington_governor. The race was expected to be extremely close, but Gregoire was reelected by a wider than expected margin of 7.44%.

Joe Manchin (West Virginia)

Democrat Joe Manchin

Joe Manchin

Joseph "Joe" Manchin III is the junior United States Senator representing West Virginia. Manchin, a Democrat, was Governor of West Virginia from 2005 to 2010...

ran for re-election in West Virginia

West Virginia

West Virginia is a state in the Appalachian and Southeastern regions of the United States, bordered by Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, Ohio to the northwest, Pennsylvania to the northeast and Maryland to the east...

and was heavily favored according to pre-election polls. On November 4, he faced former State Senator Russ Weeks

Russ Weeks

Russ Weeks is a former Republican State Senator from West Virginia the 9th Senatorial District. Weeks was elected in 2002, defeating Senate Judiciary Chairman Bill Wooton. Weeks had not served in public office prior to being elected. He was defeated in 2006...

, a Republican, and Mountain Party

Mountain Party

The Mountain Party is a political party in the state of West Virginia that on July 8, 2007, at its state convention, voted to become the West Virginia affiliate of the Green Party. At the 2007 Green Party National Meeting the party was admitted to the Green Party as a state affiliate. It is a...

candidate Jesse Johnson, who ran in 2004. Butch Paugh of the Constitution Party also attempted a run but failed to qualify for the ballot. Manchin won re-election by a landslide.

Mitch Daniels (Indiana)

Incumbent Republican Mitch Daniels

Mitch Daniels

Mitchell Elias "Mitch" Daniels, Jr. is the 49th and current Governor of the U.S. state of Indiana. A Republican, he began his first four-year term as governor on January 10, 2005, and was elected to his second term by an 18-point margin on November 4, 2008. Previously, he was the Director of the...

(campaign website) faced Democratic nominee former Congresswoman and Undersecretary of Agriculture Jill Long Thompson (campaign website), and Libertarian nominee engineer Andy Horning (campaign website) who also ran for Governor in 2000.

Some pundits thought Mitch Daniels was vulnerable in 2008, but polling taken by SurveyUSA on October 21 and 22, 2008 showed Daniels with a significant 54-35 lead. Daniels won re-election easily, confirming these predictions.

While Indiana had not voted Democratic for President since 1964, Daniels was the first Republican elected governor in 16 years there. Daniels was also endorsed by the state's largest newspapers, the Indianapolis Star, the Evansville Courier & Press

Evansville Courier & Press

The Evansville Courier & Press is a local newspaper in Evansville, Indiana. The Evansville Courier & Press serves 58,098 daily and 86,201 Sunday readers in 30 counties in Indiana, Illinois, and Kentucky. In 2002 and 2004, the newspaper was named the state's "Blue Ribbon Daily" by the Hoosier State...

, the Fort Wayne Journal Gazette, The Times of Northwest Indiana, the Gary Post-Tribune and the Louisville Courier-Journal.

John Hoeven (North Dakota)

Republican John Hoeven

John Hoeven

John Henry Hoeven III is the junior United States Senator from North Dakota. He is a member of the North Dakota Republican Party. He is expected to become the state's senior senator when Kent Conrad retires from the Senate in January 2013.Hoeven served as the 31st Governor of North Dakota,...

announced he would seek re-election for a third term in 2008. Governor Hoeven won re-election with 74% of the vote. Soundly defeating the Democratic gubernatorial nominee, State Senator

North Dakota Senate

The North Dakota Senate is the upper house of the North Dakota Legislative Assembly, smaller than the North Dakota House of Representatives.North Dakota is divided into between 40 and 54 legislative districts apportioned by population as determined by the decennial census...

Tim Mathern

Tim Mathern is a state senator in North Dakota. He also unsuccessfully ran for Governor of North Dakota in 2008.Mathern grew up on a dairy and grain farm near Edgeley, ND with 12 brothers and sisters. He attended public school in Edgeley before attending Cardinal Muench Seminary in Fargo...

, (24%) and independent candidate DuWayne Hendrickson (2%).

Jon Huntsman, Jr. (Utah)

Jon Huntsman, Jr.

Jon Meade Huntsman, Jr. is an American politician and diplomat who served as the 16th Governor of Utah. He also served in the administrations of four United States presidents and is a candidate for the 2012 Republican presidential nomination.Huntsman worked as a White House staff assistant for...

was heavily favored to win re-election in Utah

Utah

Utah is a state in the Western United States. It was the 45th state to join the Union, on January 4, 1896. Approximately 80% of Utah's 2,763,885 people live along the Wasatch Front, centering on Salt Lake City. This leaves vast expanses of the state nearly uninhabited, making the population the...

. As of 2008, Republicans have controlled the Utah governorship for 24 years. Democrat Bob Springmeyer challenged Huntsman, but was decisively defeated.

Jim Douglas (Vermont)

Three-term incumbent Jim Douglas

Jim Douglas

James H. Douglas is an American politician from the U.S. state of Vermont. A Republican, he was elected the 80th Governor of Vermont in 2002 and was reelected three times with a majority of the vote...

ran as a Republican, and House Speaker Gaye Symington

Gaye Symington

Gaye R. Symington is the former Speaker of the Vermont House of Representatives, the lower house of the Vermont General Assembly...

ran as a Democrat. Other candidates included Anthony Pollina

Anthony Pollina

Anthony Pollina is a Progressive American politician, who has run several times for elected office in the state of Vermont.-1984 US Congressional Election:...

of the Vermont Progressive Party

Vermont Progressive Party

The Vermont Progressive Party is an American political party. It was founded in 1999 and is active only in the U.S. state of Vermont. In terms of the dominant two parties in the United States, it enjoys support from "traditional liberal" Democrats and working class Republicans. The party is...

and Cris Ericson of the Marijuana Party. Douglas was re-elected.

Total Results

At the 2008 Elections

United States elections, 2008

The 2008 United States general elections were held on November 4. The result was a significant victory for the Democratic Party on the national level, as they increased majorities in both houses of Congress and won the Presidency. Democrat Barack Obama defeated Republican John McCain in the...

, all 55 governorships of the states and territories were occupied. However, in the 2008 election cycle, only thirteen seats were up for election- eleven were statewide, and two were territorial. Eight seats were held by Democrats

Democratic Party (United States)

, and the remaining five were held by Republicans

Republican Party (United States)

. Each state/territory elects its own governor separately, so the number of seats won are not based on proportional share of the vote. Here is the summary of results.

Summary of the November 4–18, 2008 United States Governors election results
|-
!style="background-color:#E9E9E9" colspan="2" rowspan="2" | Party
!style="background-color:#E9E9E9" align=center colspan="2" | Popular Vote
!style="background-color:#E9E9E9" colspan="2" rowspan="2" | Seats Won
|-
!style="background-color:#E9E9E9" align=right| Vote
!style="background-color:#E9E9E9" align=right| %
|-

| style="text-align: left" | Democratic Party

Democratic Party (United States)

/ Popular Democratic Party (PR)

Popular Democratic Party of Puerto Rico

The Popular Democratic Party of Puerto Rico is a political party that supports Puerto Rico's right to self-determination and sovereignty, through the enhancement of Puerto Rico's current status as a commonwealth....

| align=right | 9,208,259
| 49.34%
| 8
|-

| style="text-align: left" | Republican Party

Republican Party (United States)

/ New Progressive Party (PR)

New Progressive Party of Puerto Rico

The New Progressive Party of Puerto Rico is a political party that advocates for Puerto Rico's admission to the United States of America as the 51st state...

| align=right | 8,940,314
| 47.91%
| 5
|-

| style="text-align: left" | 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...

| align=right | 269,379
| 1.4%
| 0
|-

| style="text-align: left" | Independents

Independent (politician)

In politics, an independent or non-party politician is an individual not affiliated to any political party. Independents may hold a centrist viewpoint between those of major political parties, a viewpoint more extreme than any major party, or they may have a viewpoint based on issues that they do...

| align=right | 83,945
| 0.45%
| 0
|-
|bgcolor=orange|
| style="text-align: left" | Puerto Ricans for Puerto Rico Party

Puerto Ricans for Puerto Rico Party

The Puerto Ricans for Puerto Rico Party is a Puerto Rican political party which tenets are citizen participation, sustainable development, effective administration, and quality of life...

| align=right | 53,693
| 0.29%
| 0
|-
|bgcolor=green|
| style="text-align: left" | Puerto Rican Independence Party

Puerto Rican Independence Party

The Puerto Rican Independence Party is a Puerto Rican political party that campaigns for the independence of Puerto Rico from United States suzerainty....

| align=right | 39,590
| 0.21%
| 0
|-
|bgcolor=brown|
| style="text-align: left" | Mountain Party

Mountain Party

| align=right | 31,317
| 0.17%
| 0
|-

| style="text-align: left" | Constitution Party

Constitution Party (United States)

The Constitution Party is a paleoconservative political party in the United States. It was founded as the U.S. Taxpayers' Party by Howard Philips in 1991. Phillips was the party's candidate in the 1992, 1996 and 2000 presidential elections...

| align=right | 28,941
| 0.16%
| 0
|-
|bgcolor=black|
| style="text-align: left" | Samoa Reunification Party
| align=right | 3,347
| 0.01%
| 0
|-
| style="background-color: #aa0000; width: 5px" |
| style="text-align: left" | Socialist Workers Party

Socialist Workers Party (United States)

The Socialist Workers Party is a far-left political organization in the United States. The group places a priority on "solidarity work" to aid strikes and is strongly supportive of Cuba...

| align=right | 63
| 0.0%
| 0
|-
|bgcolor=black|
| style="text-align: left" | Others
| align=right | 3,391
| 0.01%
| 0
|-
! colspan=2 align=left | Total
| align=right | 18,662,239
| 100%
| 13
|}

Results by state

Ruth Ann Minner (Delaware)

Mike Easley (North Carolina)

Matt Blunt (Missouri)

Togiola Tulafono (American Samoa)

Brian Schweitzer (Montana)

John Lynch (New Hampshire)

Aníbal Acevedo Vilá (Puerto Rico)

Christine Gregoire (Washington)

Joe Manchin (West Virginia)

Mitch Daniels (Indiana)

John Hoeven (North Dakota)

Jon Huntsman, Jr. (Utah)

Jim Douglas (Vermont)

Total Results

See also