United States Senate election in South Carolina, 2008

November 4, 2008



Nominee	Lindsey Graham	Bob Conley
Party	Republican	Democratic
Popular vote	1,076,150	790,216
Percentage	57.5%	42.3%

County results

U.S. Senator before election

Lindsey Graham
Republican

Elected U.S. Senator

Lindsey Graham
Republican

Elections in South Carolina

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Ballot measures

The 2008 United States Senate election in South Carolina was held on November 4, 2008. Incumbent Republican U.S. Senator Lindsey Graham won election to a second term.^[1]^[2]

Democratic primary 1
- Candidates 1.1
- Campaign 1.2
- Results 1.3
Republican primary 2
- Candidates 2.1
- Polling 2.2
- Results 2.3
General election 3
- Candidates 3.1
- Campaign 3.2
- Predictions 3.3
- Polling 3.4
- Results 3.5
See also 4
References 5
External links 6

Democratic primary

Candidates

Bob Conley, pilot
Michael Cone, attorney

Campaign

"Conley stands for ending illegal immigration, protecting American workers, bringing our troops home from Iraq, increasing veterans' benefits, reducing our dependence on foreign oil, ending Wall Street bailouts, repealing the Patriot Act, cutting spending, and fidelity to the Constitution."^[3] He is opposed to same-sex marriage.^[4]

Michael Cone, Conley's primary opponent, criticized Conley for being too conservative, that "We've nominated a Republican in a Democratic primary." Conley was a Republican but left the party due to frustration over immigration, trade, and the Iraq War. Some have compared him to Republican Congressman Ron Paul, as Conley supported Republican Congressman Ron Paul in his presidential campaign.^[3]^[5] Conley is considered to be a conservative Democrat.^[3]

Results

Conley defeated Cone in the primary election on June 16, following a recount, by a margin of 1,058 votes.^[6]

2008 South Carolina U.S. Senate Democratic primary election
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Democratic	Bob Conley	73,793	50.3
	Democratic	Michael Cone	72,807	49.7
Turnout			146,660

Republican primary

Candidates

Lindsey Graham, incumbent U.S. Senator
Buddy Witherspoon, former National Committeeman of the South Carolina Republican Party

Polling

Source	Date	Graham	Witherspoon
Public Policy Polling	January 17, 2008	52%	5%

Results

2008 South Carolina U.S. Senate Republican primary election
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Republican	Lindsey Graham	186,398	66.8
	Republican	Buddy Witherspoon	92,547	33.2
Turnout			278,945

General election

Candidates

Bob Conley (D), pilot
Lindsey Graham (R), incumbent U.S. Senator

Campaign

Conley, who had switched to the Democratic Party from the Republican Party,^[7] was opposed by much of the Democratic establishment because of his controversial positions such as his vocal opposition to the immigration reform and same-sex marriage and his support of Ron Paul's presidential bid. A number of prominent Democratic figures in the state, including U.S. Congressman James Clyburn, supported Lindsey Graham over Conley in the general election.^[8] Political scientist Bill Moore claimed “The bottom line is, by not paying attention to this race, they ended up embarrassed by what has transpired: a Republican getting the Democratic Party’s nomination for U.S. Senate and a Republican who comes across as even more conservative than Lindsey Graham.“

Graham had $3.8 million. In fact, he’s spent more time on the campaign trail for John McCain than he has defending his own seat. Conley only raised $23,628 during the campaign. Conley was so unknown that even Graham admitted “Almost no one knows my opponent. The Democrats really didn’t field a — make a serious challenge — in terms of trying to find an opponent for me.“^[9]

Predictions

The race was rated "Safe Republican" by Congressional Quarterly.

Polling

Poll Source	Dates administered	Conley	Graham
Survey USA	October 28–29, 2008	39%	58%
Survey USA	October 12–13, 2008	40%	56%
Survey USA	September 21–22, 2008	40%	54%
Rasmussen Reports	September 18, 2008	41%	50%
Public Policy Polling	July 9–11, 2008	32%	54%

Results

General election results^[10]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Republican	Lindsey Graham	1,076,534	57.52%	+3.1
	Democratic	Bob Conley	790,621	42.25%	-1.9
	Write-ins		4,276	0.23%	+0.1
Majority			285,913
Turnout			1,871,431
	Republican hold		Swing

References

^ US Senate recount shows Conley to face Graham. WBTV 3 News. June 16, 2008. Accessed November 17, 2008
^ 2008 General election statewide results. South Carolina State Election Commission. Accessed November 17, 2008.
^ ^a ^b ^c Democrat Bob Conley offers conservatives a real choice in November June 18, 2008 Charleston City Paper
^ "aimhighwithbob.com". Aimhighwithbob.com. Retrieved 2008-11-29.
^ Elonkey. Bob Conley: "The Ron Paul Democrat" June 23, 2008
^ US Senate recount shows Conley to face Graham. WBTV 3 News.
^ Graham's Dem challenger was SC county GOP official. International Herald Tribune, June 20, 2008. Accessed November 17, 2008
^ Graham easily wins second term. The State, November 5, 2008. Accessed November 17, 2008.
^ Republican Graham aims to turn aside Dem challenge | SCNOW
^ "U.S. Senate: South Carolina".

External links

South Carolina State Election Commission
U.S. Congress candidates for South Carolina at Project Vote Smart
South Carolina, U.S. Senate from CQ Politics
South Carolina U.S. Senate from OurCampaigns.com
Campaign contributions from OpenSecrets.org
Graham (R-i) vs Conley (D) graph of multiple polls from Pollster.com
Official campaign websites
- Lindsey Graham
- John J. Cina

Elections in South Carolina

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United States Senate election in South Carolina, 2008