2008 West Virginia gubernatorial election
The 2008 West Virginia gubernatorial election took place on November 4, 2008. Incumbent Governor Joe Manchin III was the Democratic nominee, challenged by Republican nominee Russ Weeks and Mountain Party candidate Jesse Johnson. Manchin won every county in the state and was reelected by the largest margin for any gubernatorial candidate in West Virginia's history. Manchin won by over 44%, even as Barack Obama, the Democratic presidential nominee, lost the state to John McCain in the presidential election. As of 2023, this is the last time that Doddridge County has voted for a Democratic candidate for statewide office.
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| Elections in West Virginia |
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Party primaries
Democratic Party
- Mel Kessler, State Delegate
- Joe Manchin, incumbent Governor of West Virginia
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Joe Manchin (incumbent) | 264,775 | 74.62 | |
| Democratic | Mel Kessler | 90,074 | 25.38 | |
| Total votes | 354,849 | 100.00 | ||
Republican Party
- Russ Weeks, former State Senator
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Russ Weeks | 81,019 | 100.00 | |
| Total votes | 81,019 | 100.00 | ||
General election
Predictions
| Source | Ranking | As of |
|---|---|---|
| The Cook Political Report[2] | Safe D | October 16, 2008 |
| Rothenberg Political Report[3] | Safe D | November 2, 2008 |
| Sabato's Crystal Ball[4] | Safe D | November 3, 2008 |
| Real Clear Politics[5] | Safe D | November 4, 2008 |
Polling
| Poll Source | Dates administered | Joe Manchin (D) |
Russ Weeks (R) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rasmussen Reports | October 20, 2008 | 71% | 21% |
| Public Policy Polling Archived 2009-02-03 at the Wayback Machine | October 30, 2008 | 69% | 27% |
Results
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Joe Manchin (incumbent) | 492,697 | 69.81% | +6.30% | |
| Republican | Russ Weeks | 181,612 | 25.73% | -8.27% | |
| Mountain | Jesse Johnson | 31,486 | 4.46% | +1.99% | |
| Margin of victory | 311,085 | 44.08% | +14.57% | ||
| Total votes | 705,795 | 100% | |||
| Democratic hold | Swing | ||||
Counties that flipped from Republican to Democratic
- Doddridge (largest municipality: West Union)
- Grant (largest municipality: Petersburg)
- Berkeley (largest municipality: Martinsburg)
References
- "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on March 26, 2010. Retrieved June 7, 2011.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) - "2008 Governor Race ratings". The Cook Political Report. Retrieved March 4, 2021.
- "2008 Gubernatorial Ratings". Gubernatorial Ratings. The Rothenberg Political Report. Retrieved May 25, 2021.
- "THE LAST LAST WORD The Crystal Ball's Final Projections for the 2008 Election". Sabato's Crystal Ball. November 3, 2008. Retrieved December 25, 2021.
- "2008 West Virginia Governor Race". RealClearPolitics. November 4, 2008. Retrieved March 5, 2021.
- http://www.sos.wv.gov/elections/historyresource/Documents/General%2008%20All%20offices.pdf
External links
- Elections from the West Virginia Secretary of State
- West Virginia Governor candidates at Project Vote Smart
- West Virginia Governor race from OurCampaigns.com
- West Virginia Governor race from 2008 Race Tracker
- Campaign contributions from Follow the Money
- Official candidate websites (archived)
- Joe Manchin, Incumbent Democratic nominee
- Russ Weeks, Republican nominee
- Jesse Johnson, Mountain Party nominee
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