2008 United States Senate election in Idaho

2008 United States Senate election in Idaho
	County results; Risch: 50–60% 60–70% 70–80%; LaRocco: 40–50% 50–60%
U.S. senator before election; Larry Craig; Republican	Elected U.S. Senator ; Jim Risch; Republican

The 2008 United States Senate election in Idaho was held on November 4, 2008. The primary elections were held on May 27.^[1] Incumbent Republican U.S. Senator Larry Craig decided to retire instead of seeking a fourth term. Republican Jim Risch won the open seat.

Background

Incumbent Larry Craig announced his intent to resign following an incident where he allegedly solicited another man for gay sex in a public restroom.^[2] Craig later decided not to resign; however, he announced that he would not seek re-election. The filing deadline for the election was March 21, 2008. A total of 13 candidates filed for the seat.^[3] Republican and Democratic candidates ran for their respective nominations in the May 27 primary.

Lieutenant Governor Jim Risch defeated a crowded field for the Republican nomination, while former Congressman Larry LaRocco won the Democratic nomination in similar fashion. Conservative independents Rex Rammell and Pro-Life (formerly Marvin Richardson) also qualified for the general election ballot. Former Caldwell city council member Kent Marmon secured the Libertarian nomination. In the general election, Risch defeated LaRocco and the other candidates to keep the seat in Republican hands.

Democratic primary

Candidates

Larry LaRocco, former U.S. Representative^[4]
David J. Archuleta

Results

Democratic Primary results^[5]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Larry LaRocco	29,023	72.35%
	Democratic	David J. Archuleta	11,074	27.60%
	Democratic	Write-ins	20	0.05%
Total votes			40,117	100.00%

Republican primary

Candidates

Jim Risch, Lieutenant Governor
Fred Adams
Brian Hefner
Bill Hunter
Richard Phenneger, Businessman
Hal James Styles
Scott Syme, Iraq War veteran^[6]
Neal Thompson

Results

Republican primary results^[5]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Jim Risch	80,743	65.34%
	Republican	Scott Syme	16,660	13.48%
	Republican	Richard Phenneger	6,532	5.29%
	Republican	Neal Thompson	5,375	4.35%
	Republican	Fred M. Adams	4,987	4.04%
	Republican	Bill Hunter	4,280	3.46%
	Republican	Brian E. Hefner	2,915	2.36%
	Republican	Hal James Styles, Jr.	2,082	1.68%
Total votes			123,574	100.00%

General election

Candidates

Major

Larry LaRocco (D), former U.S. Congressman
Jim Risch (R), Lieutenant Governor and former Governor

Minor

Kent A. Marmon (L), former member of the Caldwell City Council.
Pro-life (I)
Rex Rammel (I)

Polling

Poll Source	Dates administered	Larry LaRocco (D)	Jim Risch (R)	Rex Rammel (I)
Survey USA	September 6–8, 2007	36%	52%	-
Myers Research	November 13–19, 2007	34%	48%	-
Robinson Research	November 26 – December 12, 2007	27%	46%	-
Celinda Lake	May 20–25, 2008	28%	43%	6%
Research 2000	July 28–30, 2008	32%	42%	5%
Greg Smith	August 18–22, 2008	30%	41%	3%
Rasmussen Reports	September 9, 2008	30%	58%	-

Results

General election results^[7]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Republican	Jim Risch	371,744	57.65%	−7.51%
	Democratic	Larry LaRocco	219,903	34.11%	+1.56%
	Independent	Rex Rammell	34,510	5.35%
	Libertarian	Kent Marmon	9,958	1.54%	−0.75%
	Independent	Pro-Life	8,662	1.35%
	Write-ins		3	0.00%
Majority			151,841	23.55%	−9.06%
Turnout			644,780
	Republican hold		Swing

References

^ Elections, Campaign Disclosure and Lobbyists Archived August 6, 2008, at the Wayback Machine Idaho Secretary of State
^ "Craig to Announce Resignation Saturday". Archived from the original on September 3, 2007.
^ "LIST OF FEDERAL, STATEWIDE, AND JUDICIAL CANDIDATES" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on March 19, 2008.
^ "LaRocco to run for Senate; Craig mum on future]". Retrieved May 8, 2007.^{[dead link‍]}
^ ^a ^b "Archived copy". Archived from the original on April 16, 2009. Retrieved March 7, 2009.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
^ "Iraq vet announces bid in GOP Senate primary".
^ http://clerk.house.gov/member_info/electionInfo/2008/2008Stat.htm#stateID

External links

U.S. Congress candidates for Idaho at Project Vote Smart
Robinson Research
Idaho, U.S. Senate from CQ Politics
Idaho U.S. Senate from OurCampaigns.com
Idaho U.S. Senate race from 2008 Race Tracker
Campaign contributions for Idaho congressional races from OpenSecrets.org
Official campaign websites (Archived)
- Jim Risch, Republican nominee
- Larry LaRocco, Democratic nominee
- Kent Marmon, Libertarian nominee
- Rex Rammell, Independent candidate

[1] Elections, Campaign Disclosure and Lobbyists Archived August 6, 2008, at the Wayback Machine Idaho Secretary of State

[2] "Craig to Announce Resignation Saturday". Archived from the original on September 3, 2007.

[3] "LIST OF FEDERAL, STATEWIDE, AND JUDICIAL CANDIDATES" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on March 19, 2008.

[larocco-4] "LaRocco to run for Senate; Craig mum on future]". Retrieved May 8, 2007.^{[dead link‍]}

[sos.idaho.gov-5] "Archived copy". Archived from the original on April 16, 2009. Retrieved March 7, 2009.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)

[6] "Iraq vet announces bid in GOP Senate primary".

[7] ttp://clerk.house.gov/member_info/electionInfo/2008/2008Stat.htm#stateID

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