Missouri gubernatorial election, 2008

Missouri gubernatorial election, 2008

2004 ← November 4, 2008 → 2012

Nominee Jay Nixon Kenny Hulshof Party Democratic Republican Popular vote 1,680,661 1,136,364 Percentage 58.4% 39.5%

County Results

Governor before election Matt Blunt Republican Elected Governor Jay Nixon Democratic

The Missouri gubernatorial election, 2008 was an election for the Governor of Missouri, held on November 4, 2008. The current governor, Matt Blunt, who had decided to retire^[1], narrowly won the 2004 election by beating state auditor Claire McCaskill 50.8%-48%, and would likely have faced a strong challenger in 2008. McCaskill is now a U.S. senator.

Background

On January 22, 2008, Governor Blunt unexpectedly announced that he would not seek re-election [3] because he had already "achieved virtually everything I set out to accomplish, and more ... Because I feel we have changed what I wanted to change in the first term, there is not the same sense of mission for a second."

A November 2007 poll conducted by SurveyUSA showed Blunt with a 44% approval rating.^[2] His approval among Republicans polled was 68%, but his rating among Democrats was only 23%.^[2]

On November 10, 2005, Democrat Jay Nixon filed the necessary paperwork with the Missouri Ethics Commission to launch a 2008 campaign for governor.^[3]

The gubernatorial and other statewide office primaries were held August 5, 2008.^[4] CQ Politics rates the race as 'Leans Democratic'.^[5]

Timeline

• March 25, 2008 - Filing deadline for Democrats, Republicans and Libertarians^[6]
• August 5, 2008 - Primary (gubernatorial and other statewide office) elections^[6]
• August 19, 2008 - Filing deadline for other third parties and Independents^[6]
• November 4, 2008 - General election.

Republican primary

2008 Missouri Governor Republican primary election
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Republican	Kenny Hulshof	194,556	49.2
	Republican	Sarah Steelman	176,750	44.7
	Republican	Scott Long	18,745	4.7
	Republican	Jen Sievers	5,664	1.4
Turnout			395,715

Democratic primary

2008 Missouri Governor Democratic primary election
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Democratic	Jay Nixon	303,796	85.0
	Democratic	Daniel Carroll	53,768	15.0
Turnout			357,564

General election

Polling

Source	Date	Republican	Democratic
Public Policy Polling	November 2, 2008	Kenny Hulshof - 38.4%	Jay Nixon - 57.9%
Survey USA	November 2, 2008	Kenny Hulshof - 39%	Jay Nixon - 54%
Survey USA	October 26, 2008	Kenny Hulshof - 38%	Jay Nixon - 55%
Rasmussen Reports	October 14, 2008	Kenny Hulshof - 38%	Jay Nixon - 57%
Survey USA	September 24, 2008	Kenny Hulshof - 37%	Jay Nixon - 54%
Rasmussen Reports	September 11, 2008	Kenny Hulshof - 39%	Jay Nixon - 54%
Public Policy Polling	August 17, 2008	Kenny Hulshof - 42%	Jay Nixon - 48%
Survey USA	July 31, 2008	Kenny Hulshof - 42%	Jay Nixon - 48%
Survey USA	July 31, 2008	Sarah Steelman - 41%	Jay Nixon - 50%
Rasmussen Reports	July 7, 2008	Kenny Hulshof - 38%	Jay Nixon - 49%
Rasmussen Reports	July 7, 2008	Sarah Steelman - 37%	Jay Nixon - 46%
Rasmussen	June 9, 2008	Kenny Hulshof - 34%	Jay Nixon - 54%
Rasmussen	June 9, 2008	Sarah Steelman - 34%	Jay Nixon - 56%
Survey USA	May 20, 2008	Kenny Hulshof - 33%	Jay Nixon - 57%
Survey USA	May 20, 2008	Sarah Steelman - 33%	Jay Nixon - 58%
Rasmussen	May 8, 2008	Kenny Hulshof - 35%	Jay Nixon - 51%
Rasmussen	May 8, 2008	Sarah Steelman - 35%	Jay Nixon - 51%
Rasmussen	March 24, 2008	Kenny Hulshof - 37%	Jay Nixon - 48%
Rasmussen	March 24, 2008	Sarah Steelman - 39%	Jay Nixon - 46%
Rasmussen	February 13, 2008	Kenny Hulshof - 30%	Jay Nixon - 48%
Rasmussen	February 13, 2008	Sarah Steelman - 35%	Jay Nixon - 46%
Rasmussen Reports	December 12, 2007	Matt Blunt - 42%	Jay Nixon - 47%
Research2000	November 24, 2007	Matt Blunt - 42%	Jay Nixon - 51%
Rasmussen	October 10, 2007	Matt Blunt - 44%	Jay Nixon - 43%
Rasmussen	August 23, 2007	Matt Blunt - 43%	Jay Nixon - 46%
SurveyUSA	July 25-27 2007	Matt Blunt - 38%	Jay Nixon - 57%

Results

2008 Missouri Governor general election
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Democratic	Jay Nixon	1,680,611	58.4	+10.6
	Republican	Kenny Hulshof	1,136,364	39.5	-11.3
	Libertarian	Andrew Finkenstadt	31,850	1.1	+0.2
	Constitution	Gregory Thompson	28,941	1.0	+0.6
		write-ins	12	0.0
Majority			544,247
Turnout			2,877,778
	Democratic gain from Republican		Swing

See also

• U.S. gubernatorial elections, 2008
• Missouri gubernatorial election, 2004
• Missouri Lieutenant gubernatorial election, 2008

References

1. ^ [1] Matt Blunt
2. ^ ^{a b} [2] Survey USA
3. ^ Article by Columbia Daily Tribune: Document points to Nixon run
4. ^ August 5, 2008 State Primary Election Information Missouri Secretary of State
5. ^ Dems Gain in Five of Six New CQ Politics Rating Changes CQ Politics, October 8, 2008
6. ^ ^{a b c} 2008 Missouri Election Calendar from the Missouri Secretary of State

External links

• Elections from the Missouri Secretary of State
• Missouri Governor candidates at Project Vote Smart
• Missouri Governor race from OurCampaigns.com
• Missouri Governor race from 2008 Race Tracker
• Campaign contributions from Follow the Money
• Hulshof (R) vs Nixon (D) graph of collected polls from Pollster.com
• Official campaign websites
  • Jay Nixon, Democratic candidate
  • Kenny Hulshof, Republican candidate
  • Sarah Steelman, Republican candidate
  • Andy Finkenstadt, Libertarian candidate