2008 United States Senate election in New Hampshire

The 2008 United States Senate election in New Hampshire was held on November 4, 2008. Incumbent Republican U.S. Senator John E. Sununu ran for re-election to a second term, but was defeated by Democratic former Governor Jeanne Shaheen in a rematch of the 2002 election. Shaheen's win marked the first time since 1972 that a Democrat won this seat, and made her the first Democratic senator elected from New Hampshire since John A. Durkin's victory in 1975.

Background For a considerable amount of time, New Hampshire had always been considered an island of conservatism in the Northeast. Following the 2006 election, however, many offices were taken over by Democrats: Representatives Carol Shea-Porter and Paul Hodes, Governor John Lynch, the majority of the New Hampshire Executive Council, and the majority of both legislative chambers (which had not occurred since 1911).Storm of change sweeps through N.H. Legislature The popularity of Governor Lynch was considered an impediment to Sununu's re-election. Though the state voted for then-Gov. George W. Bush in 2000, Sen. John Kerry narrowly won the state over Bush in 2004.

As of 2026, This remains the only general statewide election loss of a member of the Sununu family.

Democratic primary Candidates Jeanne Shaheen, former governor and nominee for the United States Senate in 2002. Raymond Stebbins, attorney

Campaign

Astronaut Jay Buckey MD, Portsmouth Mayor Steve Marchand, and Katrina Swett (wife of former Congressman Richard Swett who ran for this seat in 1996), had announced their candidacies but withdrew in favor of former governor Jeanne Shaheen upon her entrance into the race.Swett Drops Out Of NH Senate Race WCSH 6 September 21, 2007. Retrieved September 22, 2007

Shaheen had been the Democratic nominee for the race in 2002. Since 2005, Shaheen had served as director of the Institute of Politics at Harvard Kennedy School before leaving on September 14, 2007. She had been aggressively courted to run by Senator Ted Kennedy (D-MA) on behalf of Senate Democrats, and by a "Draft Shaheen" campaign led by former New Hampshire Democratic Chairman Kathy Sullivan.

The filing deadline for the Democratic and Republican Parties was June 13, 2008. Shaheen filed, as did Raymond Stebbins.Democratic Party Cumulative Filings New Hampshire Secretary of State. Retrieved June 15, 2008.

Results

Republican primary Candidates Tom Alciere, former state representativeRepublican Party Cumulative Filings New Hampshire Secretary of State. Retrieved June 15, 2008. John E. Sununu, incumbent U.S. Senator

Results

General election Candidates Ken Blevens (L) Jeanne Shaheen (D), former governor John E. Sununu (R), incumbent U.S. Senator

Campaign A November 2006 SurveyUSA poll of New Hampshire voters found Sununu had a 47% approval rating. Results of SurveyUSA News Poll #11151, conducted November 2006 A February 1, 2007 poll conducted by the University of New Hampshire found that only 45% of New Hampshire voters held a favorable opinion of Sununu. In June 2007, a poll by 7NEWS and Suffolk University of likely voters reported that only 31 percent in the poll said Sununu deserved re-election, with 47 percent saying that someone else should get his seat.Ralph Z. Hallow, "N.H. poll puts Gore over Clinton", Washington Times, June 27, 2007

A July 2008 Granite State Poll had Sununu's favorability rating at 52%, his unfavorability rating at 33%, and neutral or undecided by 16%. Shaheen is viewed favorable by 53%, unfavorable by 31% and neutral or undecided by 15%.

Senator John McCain, the Republican nominee for president, had mentioned Sununu as a possible running mate for the 2008 presidential election, as well as Lindsey Graham, Bob Riley, Steve Forbes and John Thune. Sununu had said he would remain neutral in the New Hampshire primary. However, McCain selected Alaska governor Sarah Palin instead.

Predictions SourceRankingAs of The Cook Political Report October 23, 2008 CQ PoliticsRace Ratings Chart: Senate CQ Politics October 31, 2008 Rothenberg Political Report November 2, 2008 Real Clear Politics November 2, 2008

Polling Source Date JohnSununu (R) JeanneShaheen (D) KenBlevens (L) UndecidedAmerican Research GroupAmerican Research Group March 29, 2007 34% 44% –– 22%American Research GroupAmerican Research Group June 2007 29% 57% –– 14%Research 2000Research 2000 July 2007 34% 56% –– 10%WMUR-CNNWMUR-CNN July 2007 38% 54% –– 7%Rasmussen ReportsRasmussen Reports September 16, 2007 43% 48% –– 9%American Research GroupAmerican Research Group September 18, 2007 41% 46% –– 13%WMUR-CNNWMUR-CNN September 2007 38% 54% –– 7%SurveyUSASurveyUSA November 5, 2007 42% 53% –– 5%American Research GroupAmerican Research Group December 20, 2007 52% 41% –– 7%Granite State PollGranite State Poll February 11, 2008 37% 54% –– 7%Rasmussen ReportsRasmussen Reports February 13, 2008 41% 49% –– ––American Research GroupAmerican Research Group March 20, 2008 33% 47% –– 20%Rasmussen ReportsRasmussen Reports March 21, 2008 41% 49% –– ––Rasmussen ReportsRasmussen Reports May 23, 2008 43% 50% –– ––American Research GroupAmerican Research Group June 18, 2008 40% 54% –– 6%Rasmussen ReportsRasmussen Reports June 20, 2008 39% 53% –– ––Granite State PollGranite State Poll July 20, 2008 42% 46% –– 10%American Research GroupAmerican Research Group July 19, 2008 36% 58% –– ––Rasmussen ReportsRasmussen Reports July 23, 2008 45% 51% –– ––Rasmussen ReportsRasmussen Reports August 19, 2008 43% 52% –– ––American Research GroupAmerican Research Group August 18, 2008 41% 52% –– 7%Public Opinion StrategiesPublic Opinion Strategies September 3, 2008 44% 46% 3% 5%American Research GroupAmerican Research Group September 13, 2008 40% 52% –– 8%Granite State PollGranite State Poll September 14, 2008 44% 48% –– 7%Rasmussen ReportsRasmussen Reports September 23, 2008 52% 45% 1% 2%Rasmussen ReportsRasmussen Reports October 1, 2008 45% 50% 1% 3%Rasmussen ReportsRasmussen Reports October 23, 2008 46% 52% –– ––Rasmussen ReportsRasmussen Reports October 30, 2008 44% 52% –– ––Survey USASurvey USA October 30, 2008 40% 53% 6% 2%

Fundraising Candidate (party) Receipts Disbursements Cash on hand Debt Jeanne Shaheen (D) $8,273,501.00 $8,225,580.00 $47,920.00 $120,630.00 John Sununu (R) $8,879,307.00 $8,868,017.00 $104,187.00 $0 Source: Federal Election Commission

Results

By county County Jeanne ShaheenDemocratic John E. SununuRepublican Various candidatesOther parties Margin Total votes cast # % # % # % # % Belknap 15,931 48.3% 16,166 49.0% 871 2.6% -235 -0.7% 32,968 Carroll 13,428 47.3% 13,965 49.2% 986 3.5% -537 -1.9% 28,379 Cheshire 24,788 59.7% 15,259 36.7% 1,506 3.6% 9,529 23.0% 41,553 Coos 9,031 56.6% 6,375 40.0% 543 3.4% 2,656 16.6% 15,949 Grafton 27,797 57.5% 18,957 39.2% 1,580 3.3% 8,840 18.3% 48,334 Hillsborough 97,734 48.8% 95,646 47.8% 6,763 3.3% 2,088 1.0% 200,143 Merrimack 42,646 54.1% 33,958 43.1% 2,250 2.9% 8,688 11.0% 78,854 Rockingham 78,992 48.2% 80,051 48.8% 5,004 3.1% -1,059 -0.6% 164,047 Strafford 36,096 57.9% 24,503 39.3% 1,781 2.9% 11,593 18.6% 62,380 Sullivan 11,995 54.1% 9,523 42.9% 662 3.0% 2,472 13.2% 22,180Totals358,43851.6%314,40345.3%21,9463.2%44,0356.3%694,787 Counties that flipped from Republican to Democratic Hillsborough (largest municipality: Manchester) Sullivan (largest municipality: Claremont)

See also 2008 United States Senate elections

References

External links Election Division from the New Hampshire Secretary of State U.S. Congress candidates for New Hampshire at Project Vote Smart New Hampshire, U.S. Senate CQ Politics New Hampshire U.S. Senate from OurCampaigns.com New Hampshire U.S. Senate race from 2008 Race Tracker Campaign contributions from OpenSecrets Sununu (R-i) vs Shaheen (D) graph of multiple polls from Pollster.com Official campaign websites John Sununu, Republican nominee Jay Buckey, withdrawn Jeanne Shaheen , Democratic nominee anti-Sununu website from the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee anti-Shaheen website from the National Republican Senatorial Committee