2008 United States Senate election in Alaska information
2008 United States Senate election in Alaska
← 2002
November 4, 2008
2014 →
Nominee
Mark Begich
Ted Stevens
Party
Democratic
Republican
Popular vote
151,767
147,814
Percentage
47.77%
46.52%
Borough and census area results Begich: 40–50% 50–60% 60–70% Stevens: 40–50% 50–60% 60–70%
U.S. senator before election
Ted Stevens
Republican
Elected U.S. Senator
Mark Begich
Democratic
Elections in Alaska
Federal government
Presidential elections
1960
1964
1968
1972
1976
1980
1984
1988
1992
1996
2000
2004
2008
2012
2016
2020
2024
Presidential primaries and caucuses
Democratic
2008
2016
2020
2024
Republican
2008
2012
2016
2024
U.S. Senate elections
1958
1960
1962
1966
1968
1970 sp
1972
1974
1978
1980
1984
1986
1990
1992
1996
1998
2002
2004
2008
2010
2014
2016
2020
2022
2026
2028
U.S. House of Representatives elections
1958
1960
1962
1964
1966
1968
1970
1972
1973 sp
1974
1976
1978
1980
1982
1984
1986
1988
1990
1992
1994
1996
1998
2000
2002
2004
2006
2008
2010
2012
2014
2016
2018
2020
2022 sp
2022
2024
State government
Statewide elections
2006
2008
2010
2012
2014
2016
2018
2020
2022
Gubernatorial elections
1958
1962
1966
1970
1974
1978
1982
1986
1990
1994
1998
2002
2006
2010
2014
2018
2022
2026
Senate elections
2014
2016
2018
2020
2022
2024
House of Representatives elections
2014
2016
2018
2020
2022
2024
Ballot measures
1990
2
1998
2
2008
ACWI
2014
2
2020
2
Anchorage
Mayoral elections
1975
1978
1981
1984
1987
1990
1994
1997
2000
2003
2006
2009
2012
2015
2018
2021
2024
Propositions
2018 (1)
v
t
e
The 2008 United States Senate election in Alaska was held on November 4, 2008. Incumbent Republican U.S. Senator and former President pro tempore Ted Stevens ran for re-election for an eighth term (a seventh full term) in the United States Senate. It was one of the ten Senate races that U.S. Senator John Ensign of Nevada, the chairman of the National Republican Senatorial Committee, predicted as being most competitive.[1] The primaries were held on August 26, 2008.[2] Stevens was challenged by Democratic candidate Mark Begich, the mayor of Anchorage and son of former U.S. Representative Nick Begich.
On October 27, 2008, Stevens was convicted on seven charges of ethics violations and corruption.[3][4] If re-elected, Stevens would have been the first convicted felon to be elected to the United States Senate.[5] On November 18, 2008, the Associated Press called the race for Begich, making Stevens the longest-serving U.S. Senator ever to lose a re-election bid.[6] Surpassing Warren Magnuson's record, they served for over 36 years before he lost his seat to Slade Gorton in 1980, 28 years prior. Stevens conceded the race to Begich on November 19.
Begich was the only Democrat in 2008 to flip a Senate seat in a state that Barack Obama lost (to John McCain) in the concurrent presidential election. With a margin of 1.3%, this election was the second-closest race of the 2008 Senate election cycle, behind only the election in Minnesota. Begich was the first Democrat to be elected to the U.S. Senate in Alaska since Mike Gravel in 1974. The party would not win another statewide election in Alaska until 2022, when Mary Peltola was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives. This was the first time since 1966 that a Democrat was elected to Alaska's Class 2 Senate seat, and the only time since 1974 that Democrats won an Alaska U.S. Senate Election.[7]
Stevens's conviction was set aside in April 2009, and the U.S. attorney general dropped all charges against him, citing serious prosecutorial misconduct during the trial. Nearly two years after his election defeat, on August 9, 2010, Stevens died in a plane crash.[8][9]
^Kate Phillips, G.O.P. Leader Maps Senate Elections The New York Times, June 13, 2008
^2008 Primary Election Information Archived August 5, 2008, at the Wayback Machine Division of Elections from the Alaska Secretary of State
^Alaska Senator Found Guilty of Lying About Gifts, New York Times, October 27, 2008
^"Alaska Sen. Ted Stevens found guilty of lying about gifts from contractor". Los Angeles Times. October 27, 2008. Archived from the original on October 28, 2008. Retrieved October 27, 2008.
^Yardley, William. "Senator Stevens hanging by a thread in Alaska." The New York Times, November 5, 2008. Retrieved on November 5, 2008
^"Stevens loses Alaska Senate seat to Democrat". NBC News. Associated Press. November 18, 2008. Retrieved November 18, 2008.
^Rakich, Nathaniel (September 1, 2022). "What Democrats' Win In Alaska Tells Us About November". FiveThirtyEight. Retrieved September 1, 2022.
^Clymer, Adam (August 10, 2010). "Ted Stevens, Longtime Alaska Senator, Dies at 86". The New York Times. Retrieved June 12, 2023.
^Kahn, HUMA (August 10, 2010). "Ted Stevens, Longest-Serving Republican Senator, Dies in Plane Crash". ABC News. Retrieved June 12, 2023.
and 30 Related for: 2008 United States Senate election in Alaska information
The 1974 UnitedStatesSenateelectioninAlaska took place on November 5, 1974. Incumbent Democratic U.S. Senator Mike Gravel was re-elected to a second...
The 1986 UnitedStatesSenateelectioninAlaska was held on November 4, 1986. Incumbent Republican UnitedStates Senator Frank Murkowski ran for a second...
The 1958 UnitedStatesSenateelectionsinAlaska were held November 25, 1958. The elections were held in anticipation of Alaska's admission as the forty-ninth...
The 2020 UnitedStatesSenateelections were held on November 3, 2020, with the 33 class 2 seats of the Senate contested in regular elections. Of these...
The 2022 UnitedStatesSenateelections were held on November 8, 2022, concurrently with other midterm elections at the federal, state and local levels...