2008 United States Senate election in Texas


The 2008 United States Senate election in Texas was held on November 4, 2008. Incumbent Republican John Cornyn won re-election to a second term.

Democratic primary

Candidates

Turnout, 2,178,252

Republican primary

Candidates

General election

Candidates

Cornyn, running as an incumbent, had a 42% approval rating with a 43% disapproval rating in June 2007. Texas is a red state, that Republican presidential nominee John McCain won with over 55% of the vote. Cornyn slightly underperformed McCain. However, Noriega underperformed both 2008 Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama in Texas and Cornyn's 2002 opponent, Ron Kirk, with Noriega receiving just 42.8% of the vote.

Predictions

CQ Politics rated this race as 'Republican Favored'. The Cook Political Report considered it 'Solid Republican'.
The Rothenberg Political Report considered it a 'Safe Republican'.

Polling

Results