2008 United States House of Representatives elections in Florida

The 2008 United States House of Representatives Elections in Florida were held on November 4, 2008 to determine who would represent the state of Florida in the United States House of Representatives. Representatives are elected for two-year terms; those elected served in the 111th Congress from January 4, 2009 until January 3, 2011. The election coincided with the 2008 U.S. presidential election.

Florida had twenty-five seats in the House, apportioned according to the 2000 United States census. Its delegation to the 110th Congress of 2007-2009 consisted of sixteen Republicans and nine Democrats. In 2008, Districts 8 and 24 changed party from Republican to Democratic, and District 16 changed party from Democratic to Republican. Florida's delegation to the 111th Congress therefore consisted of fifteen Republicans and ten Democrats, a net increase of one Democrat. CQ Politics had forecasted districts 8, 13, 15, 16, 18, 21, 22, 24 and 25 to be at some risk for the incumbent party.

The Primary election was held August 26, 2008, with a registration deadline of July 28, 2008. The General election was held November 4, 2008, with a registration deadline of October 6, 2008.Calendar of Election Dates Florida Division of Elections Early voting in Florida begins 15 days before an election and ends on the second day before an election.Early Voting Florida Division of Elections In 2008, early voting ran from October 20 through November 2.

Overview United States House of Representatives elections in Florida, 2008PartyVotesPercentageSeats+/– Republican 3,993,663 49.92% 15 –1 Democratic 3,812,163 47.65% 10 +1 Others 194,174 2.43% 0 0 Valid votes 8,000,000 94.60% Invalid or blank votes 456,329 5.40% Totals 8,456,329 100.00% 25 — Voter turnout 75.2%

All of the vote totals were copied from the Secretary of State of Florida's Website

Match-up summary District Incumbent 2008 Status Democratic Republican Other Party Independent 1Jeff Miller Re-election Jim BryanJeff Miller 2Allen Boyd Re-electionAllen Boyd Mark Mulligan 3Corrine Brown Re-electionCorrine Brown 4Ander Crenshaw Re-election Jay McGovernAnder Crenshaw 5Ginny Brown-Waite Re-election John RussellGinny Brown-Waite 6Cliff Stearns Re-election Tim CunhaCliff Stearns 7John Mica Re-election Faye ArmitageJohn Mica 8Ric Keller Re-electionAlan Grayson Ric Keller 9Gus Michael Bilirakis Re-election Bill MitchellGus Michael Bilirakis Richard Emmons,Andrew Pasayan John Kalimnios 10Bill Young Re-election Bob HackworthBill Young 11Kathy Castor Re-electionKathy Castor Eddie Adams, Jr. 12Adam Putnam Re-election Doug TudorAdam Putnam 13Vern Buchanan Re-election Christine JenningsVern Buchanan Jan Schneider 14Connie Mack IV Re-election Robert NeeldConnie Mack IV 15Dave Weldon Open Steve BlytheBill Posey Jeffrey Bouffard Frank Zilaitis,Trevor Lowing 16Tim Mahoney Re-election Tim MahoneyTom Rooney 17Kendrick Meek Re-electionKendrick Meek 18Ileana Ros-Lehtinen Re-election Annette TaddeoIleana Ros-Lehtinen 19Robert Wexler Re-electionRobert Wexler Edward J. Lynch 20Debbie Wasserman Schultz Re-electionDebbie Wasserman Schultz Marc Luzietti Margaret Hostetter 21Lincoln Diaz-Balart Re-election Raul L. MartinezLincoln Diaz-Balart 22Ron Klein Re-electionRon Klein Allen West (former U.S. military officer) 23Alcee Hastings Re-electionAlcee Hastings Marion Dennis Thorpe Jr. 24Tom Feeney Re-electionSuzanne Kosmas Tom Feeney 25Mario Diaz-Balart Re-election Joe GarciaMario Diaz-Balart

District 1

Republican incumbent Jeff Miller has held this seat since winning a special election in 2001. He was challenged by Democrat Jim Bryan (campaign website), a Vietnam War veteran. CQ Politics forecasted the race as 'Safe Republican'. Race ranking and details from CQ Politics Campaign contributions from OpenSecrets

Predictions SourceRankingAs of The Cook Political Report November 6, 2008 Rothenberg November 2, 2008 Sabato's Crystal Ball November 6, 2008 Real Clear Politics November 7, 2008 CQ Politics November 6, 2008

Results Incumbent Jeff Miller retained his seat with about 70 percent of the vote.

District 2

Democratic incumbent Allen Boyd has held this seat since 1997. Other contestants in this race included Republican challenger Mark Mulligan and write-in candidate Robert Ortiz. CQ Politics forecasted the race as 'Safe Democrat'. Race ranking and details from CQ Politics Campaign contributions from OpenSecrets

Results Allen Boyd was reelected with slightly under 62 percent of the vote.

District 3

Democratic incumbent Corrine Brown has held this seat since 1993 and ran unopposed in this election. Race ranking and details from CQ Politics Campaign contributions from OpenSecrets

District 4

Republican incumbent Ander Crenshaw has held this seat since 2001. He was challenged by Democrat Jay McGovern, an Iraq War veteran. CQ Politics forecasts the race as 'Safe Republican'. Race ranking and details from CQ Politics Campaign contributions from OpenSecrets

Results Republican Ander Crenshaw was reelected with around 65 percent of the votes.

District 5

Republican incumbent Ginny Brown-Waite (campaign website), who has held this seat since 2003, was again challenged by Democrat John Russell (campaign website), who received 40% against Brown-Waite in the 2006 election. CQ Politics forecasted the race as 'Safe Republican'. (CPVI=R+5)

Brown-Waite attracted a serious primary challenger in this sprawling Nature Coast district. As of November, Jim King had already begun a media campaign attacking Brown-Waite from the right and appealing to the conservative Christians who exert a serious influence in the local Republican Party.sptimes.com While King was a longshot to unseat Brown-Waite, a lengthy and divisive primary campaign of this sort risks draining the incumbent's campaign resources, splintering her support, and causing her to take up more conservative stances that would appeal less to moderate voters in the general election.

Russell is a businessman, acute care nurse practitioner and local activist. He hoped to capitalize on Brown-Waite's difficult primary, her modest fundraising, and the recent demographic changes in this high-growth area. Race ranking and details from CQ Politics Campaign contributions from OpenSecrets

Results Ginny Brown-Waite retained her seat. She received around 61 percent of the vote, improving her showing against Russell in the 2006 election by slightly over 1 percentage point.

District 6

Republican incumbent Cliff Stearns has held this seat since 1989. He faced Democratic challenger Tim Cunha (campaign website). CQ Politics forecasts the race as 'Safe Republican'. Race ranking and details from CQ Politics Campaign contributions from OpenSecrets

Results Incumbent Cliff Stearns was reelected with just under 61 percent of the votes.

District 7

Republican incumbent John Mica, representing the district since 1993, faced Democratic challenger, Faye Armitage (campaign website). CQ Politics forecasted the race as 'Safe Republican'. Race ranking and details from CQ Politics Campaign contributions from OpenSecrets

Results Incumbent John Mica held his seat, gaining 62 percent of the votes.

District 8

Democratic nominee Alan Grayson challenged Republican incumbent Ric Keller, who had held the seat since 2001. On October 21, 2008, CQ Politics switched its outlook on the race from "No Clear Favorite" to "Leans Democratic," citing the fact that there are now more registered Democrats that Republicans in Keller's district. George W. Bush had won the district in 2004 with 55% of the vote (CPVI=R+3).

In 2006, Keller, author of the "Cheeseburger Bill", was reelected by less than expected to Orlando businessman Charlie Stuart, who polled 46%. After the November 2006 election, Keller announced that he would break his 2000 pledge to serve only four terms. Todd Long, an Orlando attorney and radio talk show host, then announced he would challenge Keller in the Republican primary, promising to make an issue of the broken term-limits pledge.Rachel Kapochunas, "Keller’s Early ‘08 Opponent Focusing on Broken Term Limit Pledge", New York Times, December 5, 2006. Greg Lewis and retired Marine Corps officer Bob Hering also announced they would challenge Keller in the primary, but they did not meet the qualifying requirements. The Keller-Long primary fight intensified over the summer, with Keller's term limit retraction, as well as his vote against The SurgeRic Keller faces tight race after pair of costly decisions making him increasingly vulnerable to defeat. However, just days before the August 26 primary, Keller sent out a mailer exposing Long's arrest record, a DUI, and another trespass warning.Keller: GOP rival has booze history Keller squeaked by with a 53%-47% win in the GOP primary,Florida Rep. Keller Gets Primary Scare but his reputation took a hit, as many saw the mailer as a political "dirty trick."

Grayson, an attorney who prosecutes war profiteers, had run unsuccessfully in the 2006 Democratic primary. In the 2008 primary, he faced large field, including Charlie Stuart, who had lost to Keller by six percentage points in 2006; Mike Smith, a former state prosecutor and current trial lawyer with Morgan & Morgan; Corbett Kroeler, an environmental activist; Quoc Ba Van, local weight-lifting champion and recent Emory Law School graduate.Brendan Farrington, "Florida will be a congressional battleground again in 2008" , Herald Tribune, June 23, 2007.Scott Maxwell "More Keller competition" , Orlando Sentinel, June 20, 2007. Race ranking and details from CQ Politics Campaign contributions from OpenSecrets

Results Alan Grayson defeated incumbent Ric Keller, receiving 52 percent of the vote. This was one of two pickups for the Democratic Party in Florida, along with District 24. The general election was heated, with "mudslinging" and attack ads by both sides on television and in mailers. The race gained considerable national attention.

District 9

Republican freshman incumbent Gus Michael Bilirakis faced several opponents in this race. Challengers included Democrat Bill Mitchell, independents Richard Emmons and John Kalimnios, and write-in candidate Andrew Pasayan. CQ Politics forecasted the race as 'Safe Republican'. Race ranking and details from CQ Politics Campaign contributions from OpenSecrets

Predictions

2008 United States House of Representatives elections in Florida

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