2008 United States House of Representatives elections in Oregon

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

2008 United States House of Representatives elections in Oregon

November 4, 2008
All 5 Oregon seats to the United States House of Representatives
Party Democratic Republican Last election 4 1 Seats won 4 1 Seat change Popular vote 1,036,171 435,920 Percentage 61.58% 25.91%

Oregon's United States congressional districts

Oregon has five seats in the House, apportioned according to the 2000 United States Census. Its 2007–2008 congressional delegation consisted of four Democrats and one Republican. This remains unchanged although CQ Politics had forecasted district 5 to be at some risk for the incumbent party earlier in the year.

A primary election for Democrats and Republicans was held on May 20. To be eligible for the primaries, candidates had to file for election by March 11.[1] Other parties had other procedures for nominating candidates.

Overview

United States House of Representatives elections in Oregon, 2008[2]
Party		Votes	Percentage	Seats	+/–
	Democratic	1,036,171	61.58%	4	—
	Republican	435,920	25.91%	1	—
	Constitution	69,680	4.14%		—
	Independent	65,109	3.87%		—
	Pacific Green	50,293	2.99%		—
	Libertarian	15,806	0.94%		—
	write-ins	9,530	0.57%		—
Totals		1,682,509	100	5	—

District 1

Democratic incumbent David Wu has represented Oregon's 1st congressional district since 1998 and is the Democratic nominee in 2008, defeating Will Hobbs and Mark Welyczko in the primary.[3] Hobbs, a political novice, earned some attention late in the race, by winning the endorsements of major newspapers The Oregonian and Willamette Week.[4] He won 16.7% of the vote to Wu's 78.0%.[5]

In the Republican primary, Joel Haugen defeated pathologist Claude W. Chappell IV,[6] but later withdrew his acceptance of the Republican nomination after his endorsement of Democrat Barack Obama for President drew objections from Republican party leaders.[7]

Results

Democratic Primary results[8]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	David Wu (incumbent)	91,466	77.92
	Democratic	Will Hobbs	19,659	16.75
	Democratic	Mark Welyczko	5,982	5.10
		write-ins	285	0.24
Total votes			117,392	100

Results

Republican Primary results[8]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Joel Haugen	29,658	68.95
	Republican	Claude William Chappell IV	12,524	29.12
		write-ins	829	1.93
Total votes			43,011	100

Results

Oregon's 1st congressional district election, 2008[9]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	David Wu (incumbent)	237,567	71.50
	Independent	Joel Haugen	58,279	17.54
	Constitution	Scott Semrau	14,172	4.27
	Libertarian	H. Joe Tabor	10,992	3.31
	Pacific Green	Chris Henry	7,128	2.15
		write-ins	4,110	1.24
Total votes			332,248	100
	Democratic hold

District 2

Incumbent Republican Greg Walden has represented Oregon's 2nd congressional district since 1998 and was unopposed for the Republican nomination in 2008. In the general election, he faced Democrat Noah Lemas, a small business owner,[10] Richard Hake of the Constitution Party of Oregon and Pacific Green Party candidate Tristin Mock.[11]

Results

Democratic Primary results[8]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Noah Lemas	56,980	97.86
		write-ins	1,247	2.14
Total votes			58,227	100

Results

Republican Primary results[8]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Greg Walden (incumbent)	83,087	99.14
		write-ins	721	0.86
Total votes			83,808	100

Results

Oregon's 2nd congressional district election, 2008[9]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Greg Walden (incumbent)	236,560	69.50
	Democratic	Noah Lemas	87,649	25.75
	Pacific Green	Tristin Mock	9,668	2.84
	Constitution	Richard D. Hake	5,817	1.71
		write-ins	685	0.20
Total votes			340,379	100
	Republican hold

District 3

Incumbent Democrat Earl Blumenauer has represented Oregon's 3rd congressional district since 1996 and was the Democratic nominee in 2008, defeating TV co-host John Sweeney and retired utility worker and peace activist Joseph "Lone Vet" Walsh in the primary.[3] In the general election, he faced Republican Delia Lopez, a real estate investor,[12] and Pacific Green Party candidate Michael Meo.[13]

Results

Democratic Primary results[8]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Earl Blumenauer (incumbent)	121,176	86.79
	Democratic	John Sweeney	9,389	6.72
	Democratic	Joseph Walsh	8,783	6.29
		write-ins	343	0.25
Total votes			139,691	100

Results

Republican Primary results[8]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Delia Lopez	22,114	96.88
		write-ins	712	3.12
Total votes			22,826	100

Results

Oregon's 3rd congressional district election, 2008[9]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Earl Blumenauer (incumbent)	254,235	74.54
	Republican	Delia Lopez	71,063	20.84
	Pacific Green	Michael Meo	15,063	4.42
		write-ins	701	0.21
Total votes			341,062	100
	Democratic hold

District 4

Incumbent Democrat Peter DeFazio has represented Oregon's 4th congressional district since 1986 and was unopposed for the Democratic nomination in 2008.[3] He was being challenged in the general election by Constitution Party member Jaynee Germond and Pacific Green Mike Beilstein, a research chemist.[14] CQ Politics forecasted the race as 'Safe Democrat'.

Results

Democratic Primary results[8]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Peter A. DeFazio (incumbent)	119,366	99.21
		write-ins	955	0.79
Total votes			120,321	100

Results

Republican Primary results[8]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Peter A. DeFazio (write-in)	906	27.87
		write-ins	2,345	72.13
Total votes			3,251	100

Results

Oregon's 4th congressional district election, 2008[9]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Peter DeFazio (incumbent)	275,143	82.34
	Constitution	Jaynee Germond	43,133	12.91
	Pacific Green	Mike Beilstein	13,162	3.94
		write-ins	2,708	0.81
Total votes			334,146	100
	Democratic hold

District 5

In February 2008, Democrat Darlene Hooley, who had represented Oregon's 5th congressional district since 1996, announced that she would not seek re-election in 2008.[15] The race to replace her was expected to be one of the most competitive in the nation, since the district contained about 2,000 more Republicans than Democrats at that time.[16][17]

There were two major factors for the competitiveness of the race: first, the demographics of the district had changed dramatically. In June, there were 20,000 more registered Democrats than Republicans in the district, a net swing of 22,000 voters since February.[18] Secondly, Republican nominee Erickson won a contentious primary in which an opponent, Kevin Mannix, raised an allegation that Erickson paid for a former girlfriend's abortion. The girlfriend subsequently went public with the information, but Erickson denied knowledge of the event.[19] Mannix refused to endorse Erickson in the general election.[20]

Democratic nominee Kurt Schrader won against Republican nominee Mike Erickson, 166,070 (54.5%) to 116,418 (38.2%). Also competing were Libertarian nominee Steve Milligan, Constitution nominee Douglas Patterson, Pacific Green nominee Alex Polikoff, and Independent Sean Bates.

Results

Democratic Primary results[8]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Kurt Schrader	51,980	53.84
	Democratic	Nancy Moran	18,597	19.26
	Democratic	Steve Marks	17,643	18.27
	Democratic	Andrew Foster	6,104	6.32
	Democratic	Richard Nathe	1,748	1.81
		write-ins	482	0.50
Total votes			96,554	100

Results

Republican Primary results[8]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Mike Erickson	37,217	47.94
	Republican	Kevin Mannix	36,005	46.38
	Republican	Richard "RJ" Wilson	4,110	5.29
		write-ins	302	0.39
Total votes			77,634	100

Results

Oregon's 5th congressional district election, 2008[9]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Kurt Schrader	181,577	54.25
	Republican	Mike Erickson	128,297	38.33
	Independent	Sean Bates	6,830	2.04
	Constitution	Douglas Patterson	6,558	1.96
	Pacific Green	Alex Polikoff	5,272	1.58
	Libertarian	Steve Milligan	4,814	1.44
		write-ins	1,326	0.40
Total votes			334,674	100
	Democratic hold

See also

• United States House of Representatives elections, 2008
• United States presidential election in Oregon, 2008
• United States Senate election in Oregon, 2008
• Oregon state elections, 2008

References

1. "Voting and Voter Registration". Oregon Blue Book. Retrieved 2008-02-08.
2. Lorraine C. Miller (July 10, 2009). "Statistics of the Presidential and Congressional Election of November 4, 2008" (PDF). Clerk of the United States House of Representatives. Retrieved November 21, 2016.
3. Mayes, Steve (2008-05-21). "Erickson beats Mannix in contest turned nasty". The Oregonian. p. A06.
4. Holgate, Steve (May 9, 2008). "Oregon Congressional Incumbent Faces Challenge Within His Party". News Blaze. Retrieved 2008-05-23.
5. Oregon Secretary of State unofficial election results. Retrieved May 23, 2008.
6. "Haugen for Congress". Retrieved 2008-05-21.
7. Cole, Michelle (2008-08-30). "Republican nominee withdraws acceptance". The Oregonian. p. D01.
8. "Official Results - May 20, 2008 Primary Election". Oregon Secretary of State. Retrieved November 21, 2016.
9. "Official Results - November 4, 2008 General Election". Oregon Secretary of State. Retrieved November 21, 2016.
10. "Noah Lemas for Congress". Archived from the original on 2008-06-07. Retrieved 2008-05-21.
11. "Tristin Mock for U.S. House of Representatives". Archived from the original on 2008-05-16. Retrieved 2008-05-21.
12. "Delia Lopez for Congress". Retrieved 2008-05-21.
13. "Michael Meo US House of Representatives". Archived from the original on 2008-08-28. Retrieved 2008-06-12.
14. "Mike Beilstein US House of Representatives". Archived from the original on 2008-05-07. Retrieved 2008-05-21.
15. Kosseff, Jeff; Charles Pope (February 7, 2008). "Rep. Hooley will not run for re-election". The Oregonian.
16. "Voter Registration by Congressional District: February 2008" (PDF). Oregon Secretary of State. February 2008: 8. Retrieved 2008-07-31. Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
17. Kapochunas, Rachel (February 7, 2008). "Tossup House Race Emerges as Oregon Democrat Hooley Retires". CQPolitics.com. Archived from the original on November 29, 2008. Retrieved February 8, 2008.
18. "Voter Registration by Congressional District: June 2008" (PDF). Oregon Secretary of State. June 2008: 8. Retrieved 2008-07-31. Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
19. Har, Janie; Mayes, Steve (2008-06-23). "Erickson relationship detailed by woman". The Oregonian. p. A01.
20. Kraushaar, Josh (2008-05-21). "Mannix refuses to endorse Erickson". CBSNews.com. Retrieved 2008-06-10.

External links

• U.S. Congress candidates for Oregon at Project Vote Smart
• Oregon U.S. House Races from 2008 Race Tracker
• Campaign contributions for Oregon congressional races from OpenSecrets.org