2008 United States House of Representatives elections in Georgia explained

Election Name:2008 United States House of Representatives elections in Georgia
Country:Georgia (U.S. state)
Type:legislative
Ongoing:no
Previous Election:2006 United States House of Representatives elections in Georgia
Previous Year:2006
Next Election:2010 United States House of Representatives elections in Georgia
Next Year:2010
Seats For Election:All 13 Georgia seats to the United States House of Representatives
Party1:Republican Party (United States)
Last Election1:7
Seats1:7
Popular Vote1:1,883,633
Percentage1:50.34%
Swing1: 4.63%
Party2:Democratic Party (United States)
Last Election2:6
Seats2:6
Popular Vote2:1,858,090
Percentage2:49.66%
Swing2: 4.63%
Map Size:250px

The 2008 congressional elections in Georgia were held on November 4, 2008, to determine who would represent the state of Georgia in the United States House of Representatives, coinciding with the presidential and senatorial elections. Representatives are elected for two-year terms; those elected will serve in the 111th Congress from January 3, 2009, until January 3, 2011.

Georgia has thirteen seats in the House, apportioned according to the 2000 United States census. Its 2007–2008 congressional delegation consisted of seven Republicans and six Democrats. No districts changed party, although CQ Politics had forecasted districts 8 and 12 to be at some risk for the incumbent party.

The general primary was held July 15, 2008.[1]

Overview

United States House of Representatives elections in Georgia, 2008
PartyVotesPercentageSeats beforeSeats after+/–
Republican1,883,63350.34%770
Democratic1,858,09049.66%660
Others3090.0%000
Valid votes--%
Invalid or blank votes--%
Totals3,742,032100.00%1313
Voter turnout72.01%

All information came from the Secretary of State of Georgia website.

Match-up summary

District Incumbent2008 statusDemocraticRepublicanWrite-in(s)
1Jack KingstonRe-electionBill GillespieJack Kingston
2Sanford BishopRe-electionSanford BishopLee Ferrell
3Lynn WestmorelandRe-electionStephen CampLynn WestmorelandLoretta VanPelt
4Hank JohnsonRe-electionHank JohnsonLoren Christopher Collins
Faye Coffield
Jacob Perasso
5John LewisRe-electionJohn LewisShira Kash
Jeanne Fitzmaurice
6Tom PriceRe-electionBill JonesTom Price
7John LinderRe-electionDoug HeckmanJohn Linder
8Jim MarshallRe-electionJim MarshallRick Goddard
9Nathan DealRe-electionJeff ScottNathan Deal
10Paul BrounRe-electionBobby SaxonPaul Broun
11Phil GingreyRe-electionBud GammonPhil Gingrey
12John BarrowRe-electionJohn BarrowJohn Stone
13David ScottRe-electionDavid ScottDeborah Honeycutt

District breakdown

District 1

See also: Georgia's 1st congressional district. Incumbent Republican Jack Kingston (campaign website) won against Democratic nominee Bill Gillespie (campaign website). CQ Politics forecasted the race as 'Safe Republican'.

District 2

Election Name:2008 Georgia's 2nd congressional district election
Country:Georgia (U.S. state)
Type:presidential
Ongoing:no
Previous Election:2006 United States House of Representatives elections in Georgia#District 2
Previous Year:2006
Next Election:2010 United States House of Representatives elections in Georgia#District 2
Next Year:2010
Image1:File:Sanfordbishop.jpeg
Nominee1:Sanford Bishop
Party1:Democratic Party (United States)
Popular Vote1:158,435
Percentage1:68.9%
Nominee2:Lee Ferrell
Party2:Republican Party (United States)
Popular Vote2:71,351
Percentage2:31.1%
Map Size:200px
U.S. Representative
Before Election:Sanford Bishop
Before Party:Democratic Party (United States)
After Election:Sanford Bishop
After Party:Democratic Party (United States)

See also: Georgia's 2nd congressional district. Democratic incumbent Sanford Bishop (campaign website) won against Republican nominee Lee Ferrell (campaign website). CQ Politics forecasted the race as 'Safe Democrat'.

District 3

Election Name:2008 Georgia's 8th congressional district election
Country:Georgia (U.S. state)
Type:presidential
Ongoing:no
Previous Election:2006 United States House of Representatives elections in Georgia#District 8
Previous Year:2006
Next Election:2010 United States House of Representatives elections in Georgia#District 8
Next Year:2010
Image1:File:Jim Marshall, official portrait, 111th Congress.jpg
Nominee1:Jim Marshall
Party1:Democratic Party (United States)
Popular Vote1:157,241
Percentage1:57.2%
Nominee2:Rick Goddard
Party2:Republican Party (United States)
Popular Vote2:117,446
Percentage2:42.8%
U.S. Representative
Before Election:Jim Marshall
Before Party:Democratic Party (United States)
After Election:Jim Marshall
After Party:Democratic Party (United States)

See also: Georgia's 3rd congressional district. Republican incumbent Lynn Westmoreland (campaign website) won against Democratic nominee Stephen Camp (campaign website). CQ Politics forecasted the race as 'Safe Republican'.

District 4

See also: Georgia's 4th congressional district. Freshman Democratic incumbent Hank Johnson (campaign website) was unopposed on the ballot and easily defeated three write-in challengers. CQ Politics forecasted the race as 'Safe Democrat'.

District 5

See also: Georgia's 5th congressional district. Democratic incumbent John Lewis (campaign website) ran unopposed. CQ Politics forecasted the race as 'Safe Democrat'.

District 6

See also: Georgia's 6th congressional district. Republican incumbent Tom Price (campaign website) won against Democratic nominee Bill Jones (campaign website), an Air Force veteran and high-tech businessman. CQ Politics forecasted the race as 'Safe Republican'.

District 7

See also: Georgia's 7th congressional district. Republican incumbent John Linder (campaign website) won against Democratic nominee Doug Heckman (campaign website), a veteran of the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. CQ Politics forecasted the race as 'Safe Republican'.

District 8

See also: Georgia's 8th congressional district. Democratic incumbent Jim Marshall (campaign website) won against Republican nominee and retired Major General Rick Goddard (campaign website).

Marshall survived a challenge from former Republican congressman Mac Collins in 2006 by 1,752 votes and was expected to face a tough re-election bid in 2008. Some thought this might prompt him to challenge U.S. Senator Saxby Chambliss in Georgia's Senate race, but he decided to stay in the House. Marshall won easily in the primary against music teacher Robert Nowak (campaign website).

On the Republican side, retired Air Force Major General Rick Goddard announced that he would run.[2] His background may have great appeal in a district with a large number of veterans, though Marshall's own military background and well-established credibility on military issues may cancel this out. Other potential Republican candidates were state Senator Ross Tolleson, state Senator Cecil Staton and former congressman Mac Collins, but Goddard ran unopposed.

The present district, which was implemented starting with the 2006 election, would have given George W. Bush 61% of the vote in 2004 (CPVI=R+8).

District 9

See also: Georgia's 9th congressional district. Republican incumbent Nathan Deal won against Democratic nominee Jeff Scott (campaign website). CQ Politics forecasted the race as 'Safe Republican'.

District 10

See also: Georgia's 10th congressional district. Republican incumbent Paul Broun (campaign website) won against Democratic nominee and Iraq War veteran Bobby Saxon (campaign website). CQ Politics forecasted the race as 'Safe Republican'.

In a 2007 special election, physician Paul Broun, a Republican with libertarian views, won a stunning upset in a non-partisan runoff. On July 15, Broun fended off his Republican primary challenger and state Representative Barry Fleming 71.0% to 29.0%.

District 11

See also: Georgia's 11th congressional district. Republican incumbent Phil Gingrey (campaign website) won against Democratic nominee Bud Gammon (campaign website). CQ Politics forecasted the race as 'Safe Republican'.

District 12

See also: Georgia's 12th congressional district. Democratic incumbent John Barrow (campaign website) won against Republican John Stone (campaign website). CQ Politics forecasted the race as 'Democrat Favored'.

Barrow won against State Senator Regina D. Thomas in the Democratic primary. In 2006, John Barrow won by only 864 votes against the Republican nominee, former Representative Max Burns. Barrow had defeated then-incumbent Burns in 2004 with 52% of the vote, but in 2007 Burns accepted a job with North Georgia College and State University.

On the Republican side, radio announcer and former congressional aide John Stone won against mechanical engineer and former presidential candidate Ray McKinney and Ben Crystal.

The present district, which was implemented starting with the 2006 election, would have given John Kerry 51% in 2004 (CPVI=D+2).

District 13

See also: Georgia's 13th congressional district. Democratic incumbent David Scott (campaign website) won against Republican nominee Deborah Honeycutt (campaign website), who also ran unsuccessfully in 2006. CQ Politics forecasted the race as 'Democrat Favored'.Scott won against Donzella James in the Democratic primary election.

See also

External links

Notes and References

  1. http://sos.georgia.gov/elections/election_results/2008_0715/ Unofficial And Incomplete Results of the Tuesday, July 15, 2008 General Primary Election
  2. Web site: macon.com . July 20, 2008 . https://web.archive.org/web/20070613050949/http://www.macon.com/206/story/47737.html . June 13, 2007 . dead .