The 2008 United States Senate election in Michigan was held on November 4, 2008Terri Lynn Land, Secretary of State."2008 Official Michigan General Candidate Listing". Michigan.gov (website). Incumbent Democratic U.S. Senator Carl Levin won a sixth and final term. Levin carried 77 of Michigan’s 83 Counties, and carried every Congressional district.
The only counties Levin did not carry were Allegan, Barry, Hillsdale, Livingston, Missaukee, and Ottawa.
General election Candidates Scott Boman (Libertarian) Doug Dern (Natural Law) Carl Levin, incumbent U.S. Senator (Democratic) Jack Hoogendyk, State Representative from Kalamazoo (Republican) Harley Mikkelson (Green) Michael Nikitin (U.S. Taxpayers)
Campaign Levin's 2002 opponent Andrew Raczkowski considered running again, but military commitments forced him to drop out. State representative Jack Hoogendyk declared his candidacy to challenge Levin. Troy engineer Bart Baron was also running. Baron apparently failed to qualify for the August 5, 2008 party primary ballot in the Michigan Secretary of State's office. So only Hoogendyk was listed on the Republican side in the Michigan primary election.Terri Lynn Land, Secretary of State."2008 Official Michigan Primary Candidate Listing". Michigan.gov (website). Levin was unopposed on the Democratic side. The filing deadline for candidates to run was May 13.Terri Lynn Land, Secretary of State."August 5, 2008 Primary and November 4, 2008 General Election: Important Dates and Filing Deadlines". Michigan.gov (website).
Minor party candidates who ran included Harley Mikkelson of the Green Party, Scotty Boman of the Libertarian Party, Michael Nikitin of the U.S. Taxpayers Party and Doug Dern of the Natural Law Party. Levin, who maintained a huge fundraising advantage over his opponents, easily won re-election.
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 4, 2008
Polling Poll Source Dates administered CarlLevin (D) JackHoogendyk (R)Rasmussen ReportsRasmussen Reports October 8, 2008 61% 36%Public Policy PollingPublic Policy Polling September 29 – October 1, 2008 50% 32%Strategic VisionStrategic Vision September 22–24, 2008 57% 29%Detroit NewsDetroit News September 14–17, 2008 56% 28%Rasmussen ReportsRasmussen Reports September 18, 2008 57% 38%Strategic VisionStrategic Vision September 5–7, 2008 58% 28%Public Policy PollingPublic Policy Polling September 6–7, 2008 51% 36%EPIC-MRA/Detroit NewsEPIC-MRA/Detroit News August 18–21, 2008 59% 27%Public Policy Polling(PPP)Public Policy Polling(PPP) July 23–27, 2008 54% 35%Rasmussen Reports July 10, 2008 59% 36%Public Policy PollingPublic Policy Polling June 21–22, 2008 54% 32%Rasmussen ReportsRasmussen Reports June 11, 2008 55% 35%Rasmussen Reports May 7, 2008 54% 37%
Debates On October 19 WGVU Public television hosted a Senatorial debate to which only Democratic Senator Carl Levin and Republican State Representative Jack Hoogendyk were invited. They debated topics such as the economy, immigration, and foreign policy.
Levin blamed job loss in Michigan on President Bush, while Hoogendyk blamed Levin. Levin supported a Federal bailout of the auto industry, while Hoogendyk opposed the idea.
The event, which was moderated by WZZM TV 13's News anchor Peter Ross, was met with protest by supporters of excluded candidates. One of the protesters was Libertarian candidate Scotty Boman, who asserted that he met the stations qualifications. WGVU required the candidates to show at least 5% support in a statewide scientific poll, but Boman said no statewide poll had been done that included him. An exclusive WXYZ poll included all of the candidates, but only contacted respondents in the 7th and 9th Congressional district. Boman also claimed that public broadcasters should have invited the other candidates since it is supported with tax dollars.
Senator Carl Levin and State Representative Jack Hoogendyk met again, the following day (October 20), for a forum hosted by the Detroit Economic Club.
Results Levin was declared the winner right when the polls closed in Michigan. Levin won all but six of Michigan's 83 counties. Levin unsurprisingly won major metropolitan areas, such as Wayne County home of Detroit or Ingham County home of Lansing. He also became the first Democratic Senator since Donald Riegle in 1982 to carry Kent County, home of Grand Rapids. When combining the suburban and rural counties, it was too much for Hoogendyk to overcome. Levin's 3,038,386 votes is the most received by any political candidate in the state's history.
Counties that flipped from Republican to Democratic Kent (largest city: Grand Rapids) Cass (Largest city: Dowagiac) Berrien (largest city: Niles) St. Joseph (largest city: Sturgis)
See also 2008 United States Senate elections
References
External links Elections from the Michigan Secretary of State U.S. Congress candidates for Michigan at Project Vote Smart Michigan, U.S. Senate from CQ Politics Michigan U.S. Senate from OurCampaigns.com Michigan U.S. Senate race from 2008 Race Tracker Campaign contributions from OpenSecrets Hoogendyk (R) vs Levin (D-i) graph of multiple polls from Pollster.com Official campaign websites (Archived) Carl Levin Jack Hoogendyk Harley Mikkelson