The 2008 congressional elections in Missouri were held on November 4, 2008, to determine who will represent the

state State most commonly refers to: * State (polity), a centralized political organization that regulates law and society within a territory **Sovereign state, a sovereign polity in international law, commonly referred to as a country **Nation state, a ...

Missouri Missouri (''see #Etymology and pronunciation, pronunciation'') is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking List of U.S. states and territories by area, 21st in land area, it border ...

in the

United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the Bicameralism, bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Artic ...

. The primary election for candidates seeking the nomination of the Republican Party, the Democratic Party, and the Libertarian Party was held on August 5. Missouri has nine seats in the House, apportioned according to the 2000 United States census. Representatives are elected for two-year terms; those elected will serve in the

111th Congress The 111th United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government from January 3, 2009, until January 3, 2011. It began during the last weeks of the George W. Bush administration, with t ...

from January 3, 2009, until January 3, 2011. The election coincided with the

2008 U.S. presidential election Presidential elections were held in the United States on November 4, 2008. The Democratic ticket of Barack Obama, the junior senator from Illinois, and Joe Biden, the senior senator from Delaware, defeated the Republican ticket of John Mc ...

. The races not forecasted as safe for the incumbent party were 6 and 9; however, the Republicans held both seats. Missouri was the only state in which the party that won the state's popular vote did not win a majority of seats in 2008. It was also the last time the Democrats won the House popular vote in Missouri.

Overview

District 1

Incumbent Democratic Congressman William Lacy Clay Jr. easily dispatched with Libertarian challenger Robb Cunningham in this

St. Louis St. Louis ( , sometimes referred to as St. Louis City, Saint Louis or STL) is an independent city in the U.S. state of Missouri. It lies near the confluence of the Mississippi and the Missouri rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a populatio ...

-based liberal district.

Democratic primary results

Libertarian primary results

General election results

District 2

Incumbent Republican Congressman

Todd Akin William Todd Akin (July 5, 1947 – October 3, 2021) was an American politician who served as the U.S. representative for from 2001 to 2013. He was a member of the Republican Party. Born in New York City, Akin grew up in the Greater St. Louis ...

easily won re-election to a fifth term over Democratic nominee Bill Haas and Libertarian candidate Thomas Knapp in this conservative district rooted in the northern and western suburbs of

Democratic primary results

Libertarian primary results

General election results

District 3

In this fairly liberal district based in the southern portion of

and previously represented by

House Minority Leader Party leaders of the United States House of Representatives, also known as floor leaders, are congresspeople who coordinate legislative initiatives and serve as the chief spokespersons for their parties on the House floor. These leaders are el ...

Dick Gephardt Richard Andrew Gephardt (; born January 31, 1941) is an American attorney, lobbyist, and politician who represented in the United States House of Representatives from 1977 to 2005. A member of the Democratic Party, he was House majority lead ...

, Democratic Congressman

Russ Carnahan John Russell Carnahan (born July 10, 1958) is an American politician from the state of Missouri. A member of the Democratic Party, he served as the U.S. representative for from 2005 to 2013. At the time, the district included the southern thir ...

easily defeated Republican Chris Sander, Libertarian Kevin Babcock, and Constitution Party candidate Cindy Redburn to win a third term.

Democratic primary results

Republican primary results

Libertarian primary results

General election results

District 4

Long-serving incumbent Democratic Congressman

Ike Skelton Isaac Newton Skelton IV (December 20, 1931 – October 28, 2013) was an American politician and lawyer who served as the U.S. representative for from 1977 to 2011. During his tenure, he served as the chairman of the House Armed Services Committ ...

, the Chairman of the

House Armed Services Committee The U.S. House Committee on Armed Services, commonly known as the House Armed Services Committee or HASC, is a standing committee of the United States House of Representatives. It is responsible for funding and oversight of the Department of ...

, easily defeated Republican nominee Jeff Parnell in this conservative, west-central Missouri district to win a seventeenth term. By contrast, in the simultaneous 2008 presidential election the district gave 61 percent of its vote to Republican nominee

John McCain John Sidney McCain III (August 29, 1936 – August 25, 2018) was an American statesman and United States Navy, naval officer who represented the Arizona, state of Arizona in United States Congress, Congress for over 35 years, first as ...

and 38 percent to Democratic nominee

Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II (born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who was the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, he was the first African American president in American history. O ...

, making this the only Missouri district with opposite results in the two elections.

Democratic primary results

Republican primary results

General election results

District 5

Democratic incumbent Congressman

Emanuel Cleaver Emanuel Cleaver II (born October 26, 1944) is a United Methodist pastor and American politician who has represented in the U.S. House of Representatives since 2005. He was previously the mayor of Kansas City, Missouri, from 1991 to 1999, the ...

defeated Republican nominee Jacob Turk to win a third term in this fairly liberal district based in

Kansas City The Kansas City metropolitan area is a bi-state metropolitan area anchored by Kansas City, Missouri. Its 14 counties straddle the border between the U.S. states of Missouri (9 counties) and Kansas (5 counties). With and a population of more t ...

Democratic primary results

Republican primary results

General election results

District 6

Incumbent Republican Congressman

Sam Graves Samuel Bruce Graves Jr. (born November 7, 1963) is an American politician best known for serving in the United States House of Representatives, U.S. House of Representatives for , with him being the dean of Missouri's congressional districts, Mi ...

survived a high-profile challenge from Democratic nominee and former

Mayor Kay Barnes by a much healthier margin than expected. Barnes' inability to capitalize on the strong Democratic wave sweeping the country ultimately left her defeated in this normally conservative district based in northwest Missouri.

Republican primary results

Democratic primary results

Libertarian primary results

General election results

District 7

Incumbent Republican Congressman

Roy Blunt Roy Dean Blunt (born January 10, 1950) is an American politician and lobbyist who served as a United States Senate, United States senator from Missouri from 2011 to 2023. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he pre ...

, a former short-serving

House Majority Leader Party leaders of the United States House of Representatives, also known as floor leaders, are congresspeople who coordinate legislative initiatives and serve as the chief spokespersons for their parties on the House floor. These leaders are el ...

defeated Democrat Richard Monroe, Libertarian Kevin Craig, and Constitution candidate Travis Maddox to easily win another term in office.

Republican primary results

Democratic primary results

Libertarian primary results

General election results

District 8

In this staunchly conservative district based in southeast Missouri, incumbent Republican Congresswoman

Jo Ann Emerson Jo Ann Emerson (née Hermann; born September 16, 1950) is an American politician who was the U.S. representative for from 1996 to 2013. The district consists of Southeast and South Central Missouri and includes the Bootheel, the Lead Belt and ...

had no difficulty in dispatching Democrat Joe Allen, Libertarian Branden McCullough, and Constitution candidate Richard Smith to win another term in office.

Republican primary results

Democratic primary results

Libertarian primary results

General election results

District 9

When Republican Congressman

Kenny Hulshof Kenny Charles Hulshof (; born May 22, 1958) is an American politician and lawyer who represented in the United States House of Representatives. He was the unsuccessful nominee of the Republican Party for Governor of Missouri in the 2008 electio ...

declined to seek another term in favor of running for Governor, an open seat emerged. Former Missouri State Representative

Blaine Luetkemeyer William Blaine Luetkemeyer ( ; born May 7, 1952) is an American politician who served as the U.S. representative for from 2013 to 2025. On January 4, 2024, he declined to run for reelection to Congress. He previously represented from 2009 to 2 ...

, the Republican nominee, defeated Democratic nominee

Judy Baker Judith W. Baker (born April 10, 1960) is an American Democratic politician, small business owner, and educator from Missouri. She is a former member of the Missouri House of Representatives and a former Region VII Director for the United States ...

, a member of the

Missouri House of Representatives The Missouri House of Representatives is the lower chamber of the Missouri General Assembly. It has 163 members, representing districts with an average size of 37,000 residents. House members are elected for two-year terms during general elections ...

by a thin margin in this normally conservative district based in northeast Missouri, a part of " Little Dixie."

Republican primary results

Democratic primary results

Libertarian primary results

General election results

References

External links

Elections
from the ''Missouri Secretary of State''
U.S. Congress candidates for Missouri
at

Project Vote Smart Vote Smart, formerly called Project Vote Smart, is an American non-profit, non-partisan research organization that collects and distributes information on candidates for public office in the United States. It covers candidates and elected offic ...

Campaign contributions for Missouri congressional races
from

OpenSecrets OpenSecrets is a nonprofit organization based in Washington, D.C., that tracks and publishes data on campaign finance and lobbying, including a revolving door database which documents the individuals who have worked in both the public sector an ...

{{2008 United States elections

2008 2008 was designated as: *International Year of Languages *International Year of Planet Earth *International Year of the Potato *International Year of Sanitation The Great Recession, a worldwide recession which began in 2007, continued throu ...