2008 United States Senate election in Maine
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The 2008 United States Senate election in Maine was held on November 4, 2008, to elect a member of the United States Senate to represent the state of Maine. Republican incumbent Susan Collins won re-election to a third term, defeating Democratic congressman Tom Allen.
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November 4, 2008
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Collins: 50–60% 60–70% 70–80% 80–90% >90% Allen: 50–60% 60–70% | |||||||||||||||||
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Republican primary
Candidates
Nominee
- Susan Collins, incumbent U.S. senator (1997–present)
Endorsements
Susan Collins
- U.S. senators
- Joe Lieberman, Connecticut (1989–2013) (Independent)[1]
Democratic primary
Candidates
Nominee
Eliminated in primary
- Thomas Ledue, educator
Results
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Tom Allen | 69,932 | 85.6 | |
| Democratic | Tom Ledue | 11,795 | 14.4 | |
| Total votes | 81,727 | 100.0 | ||
General election
Campaign
Allen tried to tie Collins to George W. Bush, the tactics of which failed, as Collins maintained her image as a popular, moderate, independent Republican.
When Collins was first elected in 1996, she pledged to serve only two terms (twelve years) in office, which would have ended in January 2009.[2] She decided to seek a third term and defeated Allen with over 60% of the vote. She was the only Republican Senate candidate to win in 2008 in a state that Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama simultaneously won.
Predictions
| Source | Ranking | As of |
|---|---|---|
| The Cook Political Report[3] | Likely R | October 23, 2008 |
| CQ Politics[4] | Lean R | October 31, 2008 |
| Rothenberg Political Report[5] | Likely R | November 2, 2008 |
| Real Clear Politics[6] | Likely R | November 1, 2008 |
Post-primary endorsements
Susan Collins (R)
- Organizations
Polling
| Poll source | Dates administered | Tom Allen (D) |
Susan Collins (R) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rasmussen Reports[8] | November 1, 2008 | 41% | 57% |
| Survey USA[9] | October 20, 2008 | 43% | 54% |
| Rasmussen Reports[10] | October 2, 2008 | 43% | 53% |
| Survey USA[11] | September 22–23, 2008 | 39% | 55% |
| Rasmussen Reports[12] | September 17, 2008 | 42% | 55% |
| Rasmussen Reports[13] | August 12, 2008 | 40% | 55% |
| Rasmussen Reports[14] | July 17, 2008 | 42% | 49% |
| Pan Atlantic SMS Group[15] | June 18, 2008 | 31% | 56% |
| Rasmussen Reports[16] | June 16, 2008 | 42% | 49% |
| Rasmussen Reports[17] | May 14, 2008 | 42% | 52% |
| Rasmussen Reports[18] | April 1, 2008 | 38% | 54% |
| McLaughlin & Associates/ Coalition for a Democratic Workforce[19] |
March 6–9, 2008 | 31% | 54% |
| Critical Insights[20] | October 12–30, 2007 | 34% | 54% |
| Survey USA[21] | October 26–29, 2007 | 38% | 55% |
| Research 2000/Daily Kos[22] | October 15–17, 2007 | 33% | 56% |
Results
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Susan Collins (incumbent) | 444,300 | 61.33% | +2.89% | |
| Democratic | Tom Allen | 279,510 | 38.58% | −2.98% | |
| Write-in | 620 | 0.09% | N/A | ||
| Total votes | 724,430 | 100.00% | |||
| Republican hold | |||||
Results by county
| County | Susan Collins Republican |
Thomas Allen Democratic |
All others | Margin | Total votes cast | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| # | % | # | % | # | % | # | % | ||
| Androscoggin | 33,714 | 61.7% | 20,941 | 38.3% | 3 | 0.01% | 12,773 | 23.4% | 54,658 |
| Aroostook | 25,324 | 72.0% | 9,812 | 27.9% | 14 | 0.1% | 15,512 | 44.1% | 35,150 |
| Cumberland | 88,050 | 54.3% | 73,658 | 45.5% | 348 | 0.2% | 14,392 | 8.8% | 162,056 |
| Franklin | 10,471 | 61.6% | 6,534 | 38.4% | 0 | 0.0% | 3,937 | 23.2% | 17,005 |
| Hancock | 19,152 | 60.0% | 12,771 | 40.0% | 14 | 0.01% | 6,381 | 20.0% | 31,937 |
| Kennebec | 41,794 | 63.5% | 23,977 | 36.4% | 22 | 0.1% | 17,817 | 27.1% | 65,793 |
| Knox | 13,139 | 57.8% | 9,578 | 42.1% | 21 | 0.1% | 3,561 | 15.7% | 22,738 |
| Lincoln | 13,691 | 63.5% | 7,847 | 36.4% | 27 | 0.1% | 5,844 | 27.1% | 21,565 |
| Oxford | 19,621 | 62.2% | 11,903 | 37.7% | 11 | 0.1% | 7,718 | 24.5% | 31,535 |
| Penobscot | 53,619 | 66.9% | 26,543 | 33.1% | 34 | 0.01% | 27,076 | 33.8% | 80,196 |
| Piscataquis | 6,494 | 69.1% | 2,896 | 30.8% | 4 | 0.1% | 3,598 | 38.3% | 9,394 |
| Sagadahoc | 13,166 | 62.2% | 7,993 | 37.7% | 16 | 0.1% | 5,173 | 24.5% | 21,175 |
| Somerset | 16,635 | 64.6% | 9,095 | 35.3% | 3 | 0.1% | 7,540 | 29.3% | 25,733 |
| Waldo | 13,347 | 61.6% | 8,288 | 38.3% | 26 | 0.1% | 5,059 | 23.3% | 21,661 |
| Washington | 11,215 | 67.0% | 5,507 | 32.9% | 6 | 0.1% | 5,708 | 34.1% | 16,728 |
| York | 64,868 | 60.6% | 42,167 | 39.4% | 71 | 0.01% | 22,701 | 21.2% | 107,106 |
| Totals | 444,300 | 61.3% | 279,510 | 38.6% | 620 | 0.1% | 164,790 | 22.7% | 724,430 |
