2008 United States Senate election in Delaware

The 2008 United States Senate election in Delaware was held on November 4, 2008. Incumbent Democratic U.S. Senator Joe Biden won re-election to a seventh term and won the Vice Presidency of the United States on the same day. Biden took his oath of office in the Senate chamber with the rest of his colleagues on January 6, 2009,[1] but resigned his seat on January 15, 2009, and assumed the Vice Presidency five days later.

2008 United States Senate election in Delaware

November 4, 2008

Nominee Joe Biden Christine O'Donnell Party Democratic Republican Popular vote 257,539 140,595 Percentage 64.7% 35.3%

County results Biden:      50–60%      70–80%

U.S. senator before election Joe Biden Democratic Elected U.S. Senator Joe Biden Democratic

Major candidates

The candidates were:[2]

Democratic

• Joe Biden, incumbent U.S. Senator

Republican

• Christine O'Donnell, media consultant and political analyst

Campaign

After ending his 2008 presidential bid in January 2008, Biden focused instead on running for a seventh Senate term. He was unopposed within his party.[3]

O'Donnell faced businessman Tim Smith at the Republican state party convention and won with more than 60 percent of the delegate vote.[4]

On August 23, 2008, Democratic Party presidential nominee Barack Obama announced that he had selected Joe Biden to serve as his vice presidential candidate.[5] Under Delaware law, Biden could run simultaneously for both his Senate seat and for Vice President, which Biden decided to do.[6][7]

The statewide party primary elections were held September 9, 2008.[8] O'Donnell was uncontested in the Republican primary, as was Biden in the Democratic primary.[3]

O'Donnell tried to make an issue of Biden's dual campaigns, claiming that serving his constituents was not important to him, and criticized his unwillingness to participate in debates and candidate forums.[9] Nevertheless, she was heavily outspent by Biden and her campaign failed to gain traction. Her campaign ended with $23,000 in debt.[10]

Minutes after the polls closed on November 4, NBC called the race for Biden, with other news organizations soon following.[11]

Polling

Poll Source	Date	Joe Biden (D)	Christine O'Donnell (R)
Survey USA	September 22–23, 2008	64%	32%
West Chester University/WHYY	October 6–8, 2008	65%	29%
Survey USA	October 27–28, 2008	66%	32%

Results

United States Senate election in Delaware, 2008[12]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Democratic	Joe Biden (incumbent)	257,539	64.69%	+6.47%
	Republican	Christine O'Donnell	140,595	35.31%	-5.49%
Majority			116,944	29.37%	+11.96%
Turnout			398,134
	Democratic hold		Swing

See also

• 2008 United States Senate elections

External links

• Delaware Commissioner of Elections
• Delaware U.S. Senate from OurCampaigns.com
• Campaign contributions for Delaware congressional races from OpenSecrets.org

References

1. Levi, Michelle (January 6, 2009). "Biden Sworn In (As a Senator)". CBS News. Retrieved December 3, 2020.
2. elections.delaware.gov
3. Giroux, Greg (September 10, 2008). "Franken Primary Win One of Many Key Results From Tuesday's Primaries". CQ Today Online News. Archived from the original on September 12, 2008. Retrieved September 26, 2008.
4. NPR and NewHour staff (September 18, 2008). "Joseph Biden (D) is seeking a seventh term". NPR and NewsHour 2008 Election Map US Senate:Delaware. PBS. Retrieved September 18, 2010.
5. Silverstein, Stuart and Johanna Neuman (August 23, 2008). "Joe Biden is Obama's running mate". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved August 23, 2008.
6. "Sen. Joseph R. Biden Jr." Archived October 31, 2008, at the Wayback Machine, CQ Politics
7. Chase, Randall (August 24, 2008). "Biden Wages 2 Campaigns At Once". Associated Press. Retrieved August 29, 2008.
8. Calendar of Election Events Archived August 6, 2008, at the Wayback Machine Delaware Commissioner of Elections
9. Libit, Daniel (October 4, 2008). "Joe Biden's other female foe". The Politico. Retrieved November 1, 2008.
10. Gibson, Ginger (March 20, 2010). "Delaware politics: O'Donnell faces campaign debt, back-tax issues". The News Journal. Wilmington, Delaware. Retrieved September 16, 2010.
11. Nuckols, Ben (November 4, 2008). "Biden wins 7th Senate term but may not serve". Associated Press. Retrieved November 4, 2008.
12. http://clerk.house.gov/member_info/electionInfo/2008/2008Stat.htm#stateDE