United States Senate election in Oklahoma, 2008
Encyclopedia
The 2008 United States Senate election in Oklahoma was a was held on November 4, 2008. The statewide primary election was held July 29, with the run-off on August 26. Incumbent Republican U.S. Senator James Inhofe won re-election to a third term.
had earlier expressed interest in the race.
.” In the debates, Rice tried to connect Inhofe to George W. Bush
saying “An era allowed this to happen. George Bush came into office eight years ago with a Republican majority and … an agenda of radical deregulation
.” Rice also believed in Global warming
, something Inhofe is famous for being against. In the election, Inhofe had over $5 million in the bank. Rice had $3.8 million.
Background
Rice officially filed as a candidate for the United States Senate from Oklahoma on Monday, June 2, 2008. He won the Democratic primary against Jim Rogers, a retired schoolteacher who stressed campaign finance reform. As in earlier campaigns, Rogers refused to accept money to avoid any question of his allegiances. State Senator Kenneth CornKenneth Corn
Kenneth Corn was an Oklahoma Senator from District 4, which includes Sequoyah and Le Flore counties. He was selected as Caucus Chair for the Senate Democrats in November 2006. He previously served in the House from 1998 to 2002 wher he served as Democratic Caucus Secretary...
had earlier expressed interest in the race.
Results
Results
Candidates
- Jim InhofeJim InhofeJames Mountain "Jim" Inhofe is the senior Senator from Oklahoma and a member of the Republican Party. First elected to the Senate in 1994, he is the ranking member of the United States Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works and was its chairman from 2003 to 2007. Inhofe served eight...
(R), incumbent U.S. Senator - Andrew Rice (D), State Senator
- Stephen Wallace (I), businessman
Campaign
Inhofe, who in August 2008 had a 61% approval rating, emphasized his conservative record and tried to label Rice as a “committed liberalLiberalism
Liberalism is the belief in the importance of liberty and equal rights. Liberals espouse a wide array of views depending on their understanding of these principles, but generally, liberals support ideas such as constitutionalism, liberal democracy, free and fair elections, human rights,...
.” In the debates, Rice tried to connect Inhofe to George W. Bush
George W. Bush
George Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 43rd President of the United States, from 2001 to 2009. Before that, he was the 46th Governor of Texas, having served from 1995 to 2000....
saying “An era allowed this to happen. George Bush came into office eight years ago with a Republican majority and … an agenda of radical deregulation
Deregulation
Deregulation is the removal or simplification of government rules and regulations that constrain the operation of market forces.Deregulation is the removal or simplification of government rules and regulations that constrain the operation of market forces.Deregulation is the removal or...
.” Rice also believed in Global warming
Global warming
Global warming refers to the rising average temperature of Earth's atmosphere and oceans and its projected continuation. In the last 100 years, Earth's average surface temperature increased by about with about two thirds of the increase occurring over just the last three decades...
, something Inhofe is famous for being against. In the election, Inhofe had over $5 million in the bank. Rice had $3.8 million.
Predictions
CQ Politics rated this race as 'Republican Favored'. The Cook Political Report considered it 'Likely Republican'. The Rothenberg Political Report considered it a 'Safe Republican'.Polling
| Poll Source | Dates administered | Rice | Inhofe |
|---|---|---|---|
| Survey USA | October 29, 2008 | 36% | 56% |
| Survey USA | October 19, 2008 | 39% | 51% |
| Survey USA | September 29, 2008 | 37% | 53% |
| Rasmussen Reports | September 11, 2008 | 39% | 55% |
| Survey USA | September 5-September 7, 2008 | 34% | 56% |
| KSWO | August 12-August 14, 2008 | 41% | 50% |
| Research 2000/Daily Kos | June 9-June 11, 2008 | 31% | 53% |
| Tulsa World/KOTV/SoonerPoll | December 16-December 19, 2007 | 19% | 60% |
| Benenson Strategy Group | December 8-December 12, 2007 | 35% | 49% |
Results
External links
- U.S. Congress candidates for Oklahoma 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...
- Oklahoma, 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...
- Oklahoma U.S. Senate from OurCampaigns.com
- Oklahoma 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...
- Inhofe (R-i) vs Rice (D) graph of multiple polls from Pollster.com
- Official campaign websites
- James Inhofe, Republican nominee
- Andrew Rice, Democratic nominee