2008 United States House of Representatives elections in Georgia
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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.
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November 4, 2008
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All 13 Georgia seats to the United States House of Representatives | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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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, 12, and 13 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 | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Votes | Percentage | Seats before | Seats after | +/– | |
| Republican | 1,883,633 | 50.34% | 7 | 7 | 0 | |
| Democratic | 1,858,090 | 49.66% | 6 | 6 | 0 | |
| Others | 309 | 0.0% | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Valid votes | - | -% | ||||
| Invalid or blank votes | - | -% | ||||
| Totals | 3,742,032 | 100.00% | 13 | 13 | — | |
| Voter turnout | 72.01% | |||||
All information came from the Secretary of State of Georgia website.
Match-up summary
| District | Incumbent | 2008 status | Democratic | Republican | Write-in(s) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jack Kingston | Re-election | Bill Gillespie | Jack Kingston | |
| 2 | Sanford Bishop | Re-election | Sanford Bishop | Lee Ferrell | |
| 3 | Lynn Westmoreland | Re-election | Stephen Camp | Lynn Westmoreland | Loretta VanPelt |
| 4 | Hank Johnson | Re-election | Hank Johnson | Loren Christopher Collins Faye Coffield Jacob Perasso | |
| 5 | John Lewis | Re-election | John Lewis | Shira Kash Jeanne Fitzmaurice | |
| 6 | Tom Price | Re-election | Bill Jones | Tom Price | |
| 7 | John Linder | Re-election | Doug Heckman | John Linder | |
| 8 | Jim Marshall | Re-election | Jim Marshall | Rick Goddard | |
| 9 | Nathan Deal | Re-election | Jeff Scott | Nathan Deal | |
| 10 | Paul Broun | Re-election | Bobby Saxon | Paul Broun | |
| 11 | Phil Gingrey | Re-election | Bud Gammon | Phil Gingrey | |
| 12 | John Barrow | Re-election | John Barrow | John Stone | |
| 13 | David Scott | Re-election | David Scott | Deborah Honeycutt |
District 1
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 County results Carter: 50–60% 60–70% 70–80% 80–90% Hewitt: 50–60% | |||||||||||||||||
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Incumbent Republican Jack Kingston (campaign website) won against Democratic nominee Bill Gillespie (campaign website). CQ Politics forecasted the race as 'Safe Republican'.
Predictions
| Source | Ranking | As of |
|---|---|---|
| The Cook Political Report[2] | Safe R | November 6, 2008 |
| Rothenberg[3] | Safe R | November 2, 2008 |
| Sabato's Crystal Ball[4] | Safe R | November 6, 2008 |
| Real Clear Politics[5] | Safe R | November 7, 2008 |
| CQ Politics[6] | Safe R | November 6, 2008 |
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Jack Kingston (incumbent) | 165,890 | 66.5 | |
| Democratic | Bill Gillespie | 83,444 | 33.5 | |
| Total votes | 249,334 | 100.00 | ||
| Republican hold | ||||
District 2
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 County results Bishop: 50–60% 60–70% 70–80% 80–90% Ferrell: 50–60% | |||||||||||||||||
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Democratic incumbent Sanford Bishop (campaign website) won against Republican nominee Lee Ferrell (campaign website). CQ Politics forecasted the race as 'Safe Democrat'.
Predictions
| Source | Ranking | As of |
|---|---|---|
| The Cook Political Report[2] | Safe D | November 6, 2008 |
| Rothenberg[3] | Safe D | November 2, 2008 |
| Sabato's Crystal Ball[4] | Safe D | November 6, 2008 |
| Real Clear Politics[5] | Safe D | November 7, 2008 |
| CQ Politics[6] | Safe D | November 6, 2008 |
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Sanford Bishop (incumbent) | 158,435 | 68.9 | |
| Republican | Lee Ferrell | 71,351 | 31.1 | |
| Total votes | 229,786 | 100.00 | ||
| Democratic hold | ||||
District 3
Republican incumbent Lynn Westmoreland (campaign website) won against Democratic nominee Stephen Camp (campaign website). CQ Politics forecasted the race as 'Safe Republican'.
Predictions
| Source | Ranking | As of |
|---|---|---|
| The Cook Political Report[2] | Safe R | November 6, 2008 |
| Rothenberg[3] | Safe R | November 2, 2008 |
| Sabato's Crystal Ball[4] | Safe R | November 6, 2008 |
| Real Clear Politics[5] | Safe R | November 7, 2008 |
| CQ Politics[6] | Safe R | November 6, 2008 |
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Lynn Westmoreland (incumbent) | 225,055 | 65.7 | |
| Democratic | Stephen Camp | 117,522 | 34.3 | |
| Independent | Loretta VanPelt (write-in) | 3 | 0.0 | |
| Total votes | 342,580 | 100.00 | ||
| Republican hold | ||||
District 4
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'.
Predictions
| Source | Ranking | As of |
|---|---|---|
| The Cook Political Report[2] | Safe D | November 6, 2008 |
| Rothenberg[3] | Safe D | November 2, 2008 |
| Sabato's Crystal Ball[4] | Safe D | November 6, 2008 |
| Real Clear Politics[5] | Safe D | November 7, 2008 |
| CQ Politics[6] | Safe D | November 6, 2008 |
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Hank Johnson (incumbent) | 224,494 | 99.9 | |
| Independent | Loren Christopher Collins (write-in) | 159 | 0.1 | |
| Independent | Faye Coffield (write-in) | 35 | 0.0 | |
| Independent | Jacob Perasso (write-in) | 6 | 0.0 | |
| Total votes | 224,694 | 100.00 | ||
| Democratic hold | ||||
District 5
Democratic primary
Candidates
Nominee
- John Lewis, incumbent U.S. representative[9]
Eliminated in primary
- Markel Hutchins, reverend[9]
- Mable Thomas, state representative[9]
Results
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | John Lewis (incumbent) | 36,713 | 69.0 | |
| Democratic | Markel Hutchins | 8,287 | 15.6 | |
| Democratic | Mable Thomas | 8,185 | 15.4 | |
| Total votes | 53,185 | |||
General election
Predictions
| Source | Ranking | As of |
|---|---|---|
| The Cook Political Report[2] | Safe D | November 6, 2008 |
| Rothenberg[3] | Safe D | November 2, 2008 |
| Sabato's Crystal Ball[4] | Safe D | November 6, 2008 |
| Real Clear Politics[5] | Safe D | November 7, 2008 |
| CQ Politics[6] | Safe D | November 6, 2008 |
Results
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | John Lewis (incumbent) | 231,368 | 100.0 | |
| Independent | Shira Kash | 81 | 0.0 | |
| Independent | Jeanne Fitzmaurice | 25 | 0.0 | |
| Total votes | 231,474 | |||
| Democratic hold | ||||
District 6
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'.
Predictions
| Source | Ranking | As of |
|---|---|---|
| The Cook Political Report[2] | Safe R | November 6, 2008 |
| Rothenberg[3] | Safe R | November 2, 2008 |
| Sabato's Crystal Ball[4] | Safe R | November 6, 2008 |
| Real Clear Politics[5] | Safe R | November 7, 2008 |
| CQ Politics[6] | Safe R | November 6, 2008 |
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Tom Price (incumbent) | 231,520 | 68.5 | |
| Democratic | Bill Jones | 106,551 | 31.5 | |
| Total votes | 338,071 | 100.00 | ||
| Republican hold | ||||
District 7
Republican incumbent John Linder (campaign website) won against Democratic nominee Doug Heckman (campaign website Archived August 28, 2008, at the Wayback Machine), a veteran of the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. CQ Politics forecasted the race as 'Safe Republican'.
Predictions
| Source | Ranking | As of |
|---|---|---|
| The Cook Political Report[2] | Safe R | November 6, 2008 |
| Rothenberg[3] | Safe R | November 2, 2008 |
| Sabato's Crystal Ball[4] | Safe R | November 6, 2008 |
| Real Clear Politics[5] | Safe R | November 7, 2008 |
| CQ Politics[6] | Safe R | November 6, 2008 |
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | John Linder (incumbent) | 209,354 | 62.0 | |
| Democratic | Doug Heckman | 128,159 | 38.0 | |
| Total votes | 337,513 | 100.00 | ||
| Republican hold | ||||
District 8
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 County results Marshall: 50–60% 60–70% 70–80% Goddard: 50–60% 60–70% | |||||||||||||||||
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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.[10] 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.[citation needed] 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).
Predictions
| Source | Ranking | As of |
|---|---|---|
| The Cook Political Report[2] | Lean D | November 6, 2008 |
| Rothenberg[3] | Tilt D | November 2, 2008 |
| Sabato's Crystal Ball[4] | Lean D | November 6, 2008 |
| Real Clear Politics[5] | Lean D | November 7, 2008 |
| CQ Politics[6] | Lean D | November 6, 2008 |
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Jim Marshall (incumbent) | 157,241 | 57.2 | |
| Republican | Rick Goddard | 117,446 | 42.8 | |
| Total votes | 274,687 | 100.00 | ||
| Democratic hold | ||||
District 9
Republican incumbent Nathan Deal won against Democratic nominee Jeff Scott (campaign website). CQ Politics forecasted the race as 'Safe Republican'.
Predictions
| Source | Ranking | As of |
|---|---|---|
| The Cook Political Report[2] | Safe R | November 6, 2008 |
| Rothenberg[3] | Safe R | November 2, 2008 |
| Sabato's Crystal Ball[4] | Safe R | November 6, 2008 |
| Real Clear Politics[5] | Safe R | November 7, 2008 |
| CQ Politics[6] | Safe R | November 6, 2008 |
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Nathan Deal (incumbent) | 217,493 | 75.5 | |
| Democratic | Jeff Scott | 70,537 | 24.5 | |
| Total votes | 288,030 | 100.00 | ||
| Republican hold | ||||
District 10
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%.
Predictions
| Source | Ranking | As of |
|---|---|---|
| The Cook Political Report[2] | Safe R | November 6, 2008 |
| Rothenberg[3] | Safe R | November 2, 2008 |
| Sabato's Crystal Ball[4] | Safe R | November 6, 2008 |
| Real Clear Politics[5] | Safe R | November 7, 2008 |
| CQ Politics[6] | Safe R | November 6, 2008 |
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Paul Broun (incumbent) | 177,265 | 60.7 | |
| Democratic | Bobby Saxon | 114,638 | 39.3 | |
| Total votes | 291,903 | 100.00 | ||
| Republican hold | ||||
District 11
Republican incumbent Phil Gingrey (campaign website) won against Democratic nominee Bud Gammon (campaign website). CQ Politics forecasted the race as 'Safe Republican'.
Predictions
| Source | Ranking | As of |
|---|---|---|
| The Cook Political Report[2] | Safe R | November 6, 2008 |
| Rothenberg[3] | Safe R | November 2, 2008 |
| Sabato's Crystal Ball[4] | Safe R | November 6, 2008 |
| Real Clear Politics[5] | Safe R | November 7, 2008 |
| CQ Politics[6] | Safe R | November 6, 2008 |
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Phil Gingrey (incumbent) | 204,082 | 68.2 | |
| Democratic | Bud Gammon | 95,220 | 31.8 | |
| Total votes | 299,302 | 100.00 | ||
| Republican hold | ||||
District 12
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 County results Barrow: 50–60% 60–70% 70–80% 80–90% Stone: 50–60% | |||||||||||||||||
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Democratic primary
Candidates
Nominee
- John Barrow, incumbent U.S. representative[11]
Eliminated in primary
- Regina Thomas, state senator[11]
Endorsements
Results
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | John Barrow (incumbent) | 45,235 | 76.4 | |
| Democratic | Regina Thomas | 13,955 | 23.6 | |
| Total votes | 59,190 | |||
General election
Endorsements
Organizations
Predictions
| Source | Ranking | As of |
|---|---|---|
| The Cook Political Report[2] | Safe D | November 6, 2008 |
| Rothenberg[3] | Safe D | November 2, 2008 |
| Sabato's Crystal Ball[4] | Lean D | November 6, 2008 |
| Real Clear Politics[5] | Safe D | November 7, 2008 |
| CQ Politics[6] | Likely D | November 6, 2008 |
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | John Barrow (incumbent) | 164,562 | 66.0 | |
| Republican | John Stone | 84,773 | 34.0 | |
| Total votes | 249,335 | 100.00 | ||
| Democratic hold | ||||
District 13
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Democratic primary
Candidates
Nominee
- David Scott, incumbent U.S. representative[16]
Eliminated in primary
- Donzella James, former state senator[16]
Results
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | David Scott (incumbent) | 30,719 | 63.7 | |
| Democratic | Donzella James | 17,526 | 36.3 | |
| Total votes | 48,245 | |||
Republican primary
Nominee
- Deborah Honeycutt, physician[17]
Results
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Deborah Honeycutt | 11,478 | 100.0 | |
| Total votes | 11,478 | |||
General election
Predictions
| Source | Ranking | As of |
|---|---|---|
| The Cook Political Report[2] | Safe D | November 6, 2008 |
| Rothenberg[3] | Safe D | November 2, 2008 |
| Sabato's Crystal Ball[4] | Safe D | November 6, 2008 |
| Real Clear Politics[5] | Safe D | November 7, 2008 |
| CQ Politics[6] | Likely D | November 6, 2008 |
Results
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | David Scott (incumbent) | 205,919 | 69.0 | |
| Republican | Deborah Honeycutt | 92,320 | 31.0 | |
| Total votes | 298,239 | |||
| Democratic hold | ||||
