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2008 West Virginia gubernatorial election

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2008 West Virginia gubernatorial election

← 2004 November 4, 2008 2011 (special) →
 
Nominee Joe Manchin Russ Weeks
Party Democratic Republican
Popular vote 492,697 181,612
Percentage 69.8% 25.7%

County results
Manchin:      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%      80–90%

Governor before election

Joe Manchin
Democratic

Elected Governor

Joe Manchin
Democratic

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 2024, this is the last time that Doddridge County has voted for a Democratic candidate for statewide office.

Party primaries

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Democratic Party

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Democratic primary results[1]
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

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Republican primary results[1]
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Russ Weeks 81,019 100.00
Total votes 81,019 100.00

General election

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Predictions

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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

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Poll Source Dates administered Joe
Manchin (D)
Russ
Weeks (R)
Rasmussen Reports[6] October 20, 2008 71% 21%
Public Policy Polling[7] October 30, 2008 69% 27%

Results

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West Virginia gubernatorial election, 2008[8]
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

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References

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  1. ^ a b "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)
  2. ^ "2008 Governor Race ratings". The Cook Political Report. Retrieved March 4, 2021.
  3. ^ "2008 Gubernatorial Ratings". Gubernatorial Ratings. The Rothenberg Political Report. Retrieved May 25, 2021.
  4. ^ "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.
  5. ^ "2008 West Virginia Governor Race". RealClearPolitics. November 4, 2008. Retrieved March 5, 2021.
  6. ^ Rasmussen Reports
  7. ^ Public Policy Polling Archived 2009-02-03 at the Wayback Machine
  8. ^ http://www.sos.wv.gov/elections/historyresource/Documents/General%2008%20All%20offices.pdf [dead link]
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