2008 United States Senate special election in Wyoming

2008 United States Senate special election in Wyoming
	November 4, 2008
	Barrasso: 50–60% 60–70% 70–80% 80–90% >90%; Carter: 50–60% 60–70%; Tie: 50% No votes
U.S. senator before election; John Barrasso; Republican	Elected U.S. Senator ; John Barrasso; Republican

The 2008 United States Senate special election in Wyoming took place on November 4, 2008, at the same time as the regular election to the United States Senate in Wyoming. The special election occurred to complete the third term of Republican incumbent Craig L. Thomas, who won reelection in 2006, but died in June 2007. Despite being a Democrat, Governor Dave Freudenthal was obliged by state law to appoint a Republican, and selected state senator John Barrasso, who was unopposed in the Republican primary and won the general election to fill the remainder of the term ending January 3, 2013.^[1] This is the last time that both of Wyoming's U.S. Senate seats were concurrently up for election.

Background

Wyoming law dictates that when a U.S. Senate seat becomes vacant, the departing senator's state party at the time of the most recent election must create a list of three finalists, with the governor to select one of those candidates to fill the seat.^[2] Speculation about potential Republican challengers had included the other finalists to succeed Thomas, Cynthia Lummis and Tom Sansonetti; as well as former state House Speaker Randall Luthi, and former U.S. Attorney Matt Mead.^[3]

Democratic primary

Candidates

Nick Carter, attorney
Keith Goodenough, Casper city councilman and former Wyoming State Senator

Results

Democratic primary results^[4]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Nick Carter	12,316	50.67
	Democratic	Keith Goodenough	11,984	49.31
Total votes			22,799	100.00

Republican primary

Nominee

John Barrasso, incumbent U.S. Senator

Privately considered but declined

Lynne Cheney, Second Lady of the United States (2001–2009)^[5]^[6]

Results

Republican primary results^[7]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	John Barrasso (incumbent)	68,194	100.00
Total votes			68,194	100.00

General election

Candidates

John Barrasso (R), incumbent U.S. Senator
Nick Carter (D), attorney

Predictions

Source	Ranking	As of
The Cook Political Report^[8]	Safe R	October 23, 2008
CQ Politics^[9]	Safe R	October 31, 2008
Rothenberg Political Report^[10]	Safe R	November 2, 2008
Real Clear Politics^[11]	Safe R	November 4, 2008

Polling

Poll Source	Dates administered	John Barrasso (R)	Nick Carter (D)
Research 2000/Daily Kos^[12]	September 22–24, 2008	58%	34%

Results

United States Senate special election in Wyoming, 2008^[13]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Republican	John Barrasso (incumbent)	183,063	73.35%	+3.37%
	Democratic	Nick Carter	66,202	26.53%	−3.33%
		Write-ins	293	0.12%
Majority			116,861	46.83%	+6.70%
Turnout			249,558
	Republican hold		Swing

References

^ Gruver, Mead (May 16, 2008). "Barrasso plans Monday kickoff". trib.com. Associated Press. Retrieved May 17, 2008.
^ "Gov. outlines process for interviews | News | trib.com". Archived from the original on February 1, 2020. Retrieved February 1, 2020.
^ Jared Miller and Barbara Nordby (June 23, 2007). "Barrasso ready to pick up where Thomas left off". Casper Star-Tribune. Retrieved June 23, 2007.
^ "Results" (PDF). soswy.state.wy.us. Retrieved May 8, 2021.
^ Slen, Peter (September 6, 2015). "In Depth with Lynne Cheney". C-SPAN. 1:09:20. Retrieved November 29, 2018.
^ Bresnahan, John (June 7, 2007). "Lynne Cheney, Susan Thomas floated as possible replacements for late Sen. Craig Thomas". Politico Now Blog. Politico. Retrieved November 29, 2018.
^ "Results" (PDF). soswy.state.wy.us. Retrieved May 8, 2021.
^ "2008 Senate Race ratings for October 23, 2008". The Cook Political Report. Retrieved April 1, 2021.
^ Race Ratings Chart: Senate Archived October 28, 2010, at the Wayback Machine CQ Politics
^ "2008 Senate ratings". Inside Elections. Retrieved April 1, 2021.
^ "2008 RCP Averages & Senate Results". Real Clear Politics. Retrieved August 31, 2021.
^ Research 2000/Daily Kos
^ "Office of the Clerk, U.S. House of Representatives". Clerk.house.gov. Retrieved May 8, 2021.

External links

Elections from the Wyoming Secretary of State
U.S. Congress candidates for Wyoming at Project Vote Smart
2008 Wyoming Senate race from CQ Politics
Wyoming U.S. Senate - Class I Class II from OurCampaigns.com
Campaign contributions for Wyoming congressional races from OpenSecrets
Official campaign websites
- John Barrasso, Republican incumbent candidate (Class I)
- Nick Carter Democratic candidate (Class I)

[trib0516-1] Gruver, Mead (May 16, 2008). "Barrasso plans Monday kickoff". trib.com. Associated Press. Retrieved May 17, 2008.

[2] "Gov. outlines process for interviews | News | trib.com". Archived from the original on February 1, 2020. Retrieved February 1, 2020.

[3] Jared Miller and Barbara Nordby (June 23, 2007). "Barrasso ready to pick up where Thomas left off". Casper Star-Tribune. Retrieved June 23, 2007.

[4] "Results" (PDF). soswy.state.wy.us. Retrieved May 8, 2021.

[5] Slen, Peter (September 6, 2015). "In Depth with Lynne Cheney". C-SPAN. 1:09:20. Retrieved November 29, 2018.

[6] Bresnahan, John (June 7, 2007). "Lynne Cheney, Susan Thomas floated as possible replacements for late Sen. Craig Thomas". Politico Now Blog. Politico. Retrieved November 29, 2018.

[7] "Results" (PDF). soswy.state.wy.us. Retrieved May 8, 2021.

[Cook_PR-8] "2008 Senate Race ratings for October 23, 2008". The Cook Political Report. Retrieved April 1, 2021.

[9] Race Ratings Chart: Senate Archived October 28, 2010, at the Wayback Machine CQ Politics

[Inside_Elections-10] "2008 Senate ratings". Inside Elections. Retrieved April 1, 2021.

[11] "2008 RCP Averages & Senate Results". Real Clear Politics. Retrieved August 31, 2021.

[12] Research 2000/Daily Kos

[13] "Office of the Clerk, U.S. House of Representatives". Clerk.house.gov. Retrieved May 8, 2021.

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Background

Democratic primary

Candidates

Results

Republican primary

Nominee

Privately considered but declined

Results

General election

Candidates

Predictions

Polling

Results

See also

References

External links