2008 Arkansas Senate election

2008 Arkansas Senate election
← 2006 2010 →
18 of 35 seats in the Arkansas Senate; 18 seats needed for a majority
	Democratic hold Republican hold; No election Democrats: Unopposed; Republicans: 50–60% Unopposed ; No election
President Pro Tempore before election; Jack Critcher; Democratic	Elected President Pro Tempore ; Bob Johnson; Democratic

Elections to the Arkansas Senate were held on November 4, 2008, to elect 18 candidates to the chamber. Members of the Arkansas Senate serve staggered four-year terms, with these seat's last elections taking place in 2004. Despite a twenty-point loss in the concurrent presidential election for Democratic nominee Barack Obama in the state, Democrats maintained their control of the state government, retaining their supermajority status in the Senate. Of the 18 seats up for election, Democrats won twelve and the Republicans six.

The vast majority of state senate seats were uncompetitive: only three had primary elections, and only the 30th district had a general election.

This election took place alongside races for U.S. President, U.S. Senate, U.S. House, state house, and numerous other state and local elections.

[a]

District	Incumbent^[1]			Results^[2]
District	Senator	Party	Outcome	Results^[2]
1st	Johnny Key	Republican	Incumbent re-elected.	▌Y Johnny Key (Republican) Unopposed
2nd	Randy Laverty	Democratic	Incumbent re-elected.	▌Y Randy Laverty (Democratic) Unopposed
3rd	Ruth Whitaker	Republican	Incumbent re-elected.	▌Y Ruth Whitaker (Republican) Unopposed
4th	Sharon Trusty	Republican	Incumbent re-elected.	▌Y Sharon Trusty (Republican) Unopposed
7th	Sue Madison	Democratic	Incumbent re-elected.	▌Y Sue Madison (Democratic) Unopposed
8th	Dave Bisbee	Republican	Incumbent retired. Republican hold.	▌Y Cecile Bledsoe (Republican) Unopposed
9th	Kim Hendren	Republican	Incumbent re-elected.	▌Y Kim Hendren (Republican) Unopposed
12th	Jack Critcher	Democratic	Incumbent retired. Democratic hold.	▌Y David Wyatt (Democratic) Unopposed
17th	James Luker	Democratic	Incumbent re-elected.	Democratic primary: ▌Y James Luker: 7,075 votes, 62.95% ▌Denny Sumpter: 4,164 votes, 37.05%
20th	Jim Hill	Democratic	Incumbent retired. Democratic hold.	Democratic primary: ▌Y Larry Teague: 5,496 votes, 56.75% ▌Scott Sullivan: 4,189 votes, 43.25%
23rd	Jerry Taylor	Democratic	Incumbent re-elected.	▌Y Jerry Taylor (Democratic) Unopposed
24th	Jimmy Jeffress	Democratic	Incumbent re-elected.	▌Y Jimmy Jeffress (Democratic) Unopposed
25th	Gene Jeffress	Democratic	Incumbent re-elected.	▌Y Gene Jeffress (Democratic) Unopposed
26th	Percy Malone	Democratic	Incumbent re-elected.	▌Y Percy Malone (Democratic) Unopposed
30th	Gilbert Baker	Republican	Incumbent re-elected.	▌Y Gilbert Baker (Republican) 20,253 votes, 55.01% ▌Joe White (Democratic) 16,561 votes, 44.99%
31st	Mary Anne Salmon	Democratic	Incumbent re-elected.	▌Y Mary Anne Salmon (Democratic) Unopposed
32nd	Jim Argue	Democratic	Incumbent retired. Democratic hold.	▌Y David Johnson (Democratic) Unopposed
33rd	Irma Hunter Brown	Democratic	Incumbent lost renomination. Democratic hold.	Democratic primary: ▌Y Joyce Elliott: 3,084 votes, 58.51% ▌Irma Hunter Brown: 2,187 votes, 41.49%

v t e Elections in Arkansas
General	1844 1846 1847 1848 1849 1850 1851 1852 1853 1854 1855 1856 1857 1858 1859 1860 1861 1862 1863 1864 1865 1866 1867 1868 1869 1870 1871 1872 1873 1874 1875 1876 1877 1878 1879 1880 1881 1882 1883 1884 1885 1886 1887 1888 1889 1890 1891 1892 1893 1894 1895 1896 1897 1898 1900 1902 1903 1904 1906 1907 1908 1910 1912 1913 1914 1916 1917 1918 1920 1921 1922 1923 1924 1926 1927 1928 1930 1932 1933 1934 1936 1937 1938 1939 1940 1942 1943 1944 1946 1949 1950 1952 1953 1954 1956 1958 1959 1960 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1972 1973 1974 1976 1980 1984 1988 1992 2000 2002 2004 2006 2008 2010 2012 2014 2016 2018 2020 2022 2024
Governor	1836 1840 1844 1848 1849 S 1852 1856 1860 1862 1864 U 1868 1872 1874 1876 1878 1880 1882 1884 1886 1888 1890 1892 1894 1896 1898 1900 1902 1904 1906 1908 1910 1912 1913 S 1914 1916 1918 1920 1922 1924 1926 1928 1930 1932 1934 1936 1938 1940 1942 1944 1946 1948 1950 1952 1954 1956 1958 1960 1962 1964 1966 1968 1970 1972 1974 1976 1978 1980 1982 1984 1986 1990 1994 1998 2002 2006 2010 2014 2018 2022
U.S. President	1836 1840 1844 1848 1852 1856 1860 1864 1868 1872 1876 1880 1884 1888 1892 1896 1900 1904 1908 1912 1916 1920 1924 1928 1932 1936 1940 1944 1948 1952 1956 1960 1964 1968 1972 1976 1980 1984 1988 1992 1996 2000 2004 2008 2012 2016 2020 2024
U.S. Senate	Class 2: 1833 1839–40 1848 S 1853 1859 1868 S 1870 1876 1883 1885 S 1889 1895 1901 1907 1913 S 1913 1918 1924 1930 1936 1937 S 1942 1948 1954 1960 1966 1972 1978 1984 1990 1996 2002 2008 2014 2020 Class 3: 1837 1843 1845 S 1849 1855 1861 1867 1873 1879 1881 S 1885 1891 1897 1903 1909 1914 1916 S 1920 1926 1932 S 1932 1938 1944 1950 1956 1962 1968 1974 1980 1986 1992 1998 2004 2010 2016 2022
U.S. House	1837 1838 1840 1842 1844 1846 1848 1851 1853 1854 1856 1858 1860 1868 1870 1872 1874 1876 1878 1880 1882 1884 1886 1888 1890 1892 1894 1896 1898 1900 1902 1904 1906 1908 1910 1912 1914 1916 1918 1920 1922 1924 1926 1928 1930 1932 1934 1936 1938 1940 (4th S) 1942 1944 1946 1948 1950 1952 1954 1956 1958 1960 (6th S) 1962 1964 1966 (4th S) 1968 1970 1972 1974 1976 1978 1980 1982 1984 1986 1988 1990 1992 1994 1996 1998 2000 2002 2004 2006 2008 2010 2012 2014 2016 2018 2020 2022 2024
'S,' denotes special election; 'U,' denotes election under Federal (Union) military occupation See also: Political party strength in Arkansas

v t e (2007 ←) 2008 United States elections (→ 2009)
U.S. President	Alabama Alaska Arizona Arkansas California Colorado Connecticut Delaware District of Columbia Florida Georgia Hawaii Idaho Illinois Indiana Iowa Kansas Kentucky Louisiana Maine Maryland Massachusetts Michigan Minnesota Mississippi Missouri Montana Nebraska Nevada New Hampshire New Jersey New Mexico New York North Carolina North Dakota Ohio Oklahoma Oregon Pennsylvania Rhode Island South Carolina South Dakota Tennessee Texas Utah Vermont Virginia Washington West Virginia Wisconsin Wyoming Guam (straw poll)
U.S. Senate	Alabama Alaska Arkansas Colorado Delaware District of Columbia (shadow) Georgia Idaho Illinois Iowa Kansas Kentucky Louisiana Maine Massachusetts Michigan Minnesota Mississippi Mississippi (special) Montana Nebraska New Hampshire New Jersey New Mexico North Carolina Oklahoma Oregon Rhode Island South Carolina South Dakota Tennessee Texas Virginia West Virginia Wyoming Wyoming (special)
U.S. House (election ratings)	Alabama Alaska American Samoa Arizona Arkansas California 12th sp Colorado Connecticut Delaware District of Columbia delegate shadow Florida Georgia Guam Hawaii Idaho Illinois 14th sp Indiana 7th sp Iowa Kansas Kentucky Louisiana 1st sp 6th sp Maine Maryland 4th sp Massachusetts Michigan Minnesota Mississippi 1st sp Missouri Montana Nebraska Nevada New Hampshire New Jersey New Mexico New York North Carolina North Dakota Northern Mariana Islands Ohio 11th sp Oklahoma Oregon Pennsylvania Puerto Rico Rhode Island South Carolina South Dakota Tennessee Texas U.S. Virgin Islands Utah Vermont Virginia Washington West Virginia Wisconsin Wyoming
Governors	American Samoa Delaware Lt. Gov Indiana Missouri Lt. Gov Montana New Hampshire North Carolina Lt. Gov North Dakota Puerto Rico Utah Vermont Washington West Virginia
Attorneys General	North Carolina Pennsylvania Washington Ohio (special)
Other statewide elections	Pennsylvania Auditor General Treasurer Washington Secretary of State Wisconsin Supreme Court
State legislatures	Arziona Arizona House Arizona Senate California Assembly Senate Connecticut Senate Delaware House Senate Georgia House Senate Iowa House Senate Kentucky Senate Massachusetts House Senate Michigan House Minnesota House Montana House New Mexico House Senate New York Assembly North Carolina House Senate Pennsylvania House Senate Senate Tennessee House Senate Texas House Senate Washington (state) House Senate West Virginia Senate Wisconsin Assembly Senate Wyoming Senate
Mayors	Augusta, GA Bakersfield, CA Baton Rouge, LA Fresno, CA Honolulu, HI Irvine, CA Mesa, AZ Milwaukee, WI Orlando, FL Portland, OR Sacramento, CA San Diego, CA San Juan, PR Santa Ana, CA Stockton, CA Virginia Beach, VA
Local	Bay County, MI Executive DeKalb County, GA Chief Executive Officer Miami Dade County, FL Mayor New Castle County, DE Executive Oakland County, MI Executive Summit County, OH Executive Will County, IL Executive
States and territories	Alabama Alaska American Samoa Arizona Arkansas California Colorado Connecticut Delaware Florida Georgia Guam Hawaii Idaho Illinois Indiana Iowa Kansas Kentucky Louisiana Maine Maryland Massachusetts Michigan Minnesota Mississippi Missouri Montana Nebraska Nevada New Hampshire New Jersey New Mexico New York North Carolina North Dakota Ohio Oklahoma Oregon Pennsylvania Puerto Rico Rhode Island South Carolina South Dakota Tennessee Texas U.S. Virgin Islands Utah Vermont Virginia Washington West Virginia Wisconsin Wyoming
Ballot measures	California Proposition 1A Proposition 2 Proposition 3 Proposition 4 Proposition 5 Proposition 6 Proposition 7 Proposition 8 Proposition 9 or Marcy's Law Proposition 10 Proposition 11 Colorado Amendment 46 Amendment 47 Amendment 48 Amendment 49 Amendment 50 Amendment 51 Amendment 52 Amendment 54 Massachusetts Question 1 Question 2 Michigan Proposal 1 Proposal 2

2008 Arkansas Senate election

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