How many U.S. Senate seats changed party in 2008?

7 seats changed party in the 2008 Senate elections: Alaska (Republican to Democrat), Colorado (Republican to Democrat), New Hampshire (Republican to Democrat), New Mexico (Republican to Democrat), North Carolina (Republican to Democrat), Oregon (Republican to Democrat), Virginia (Republican to Democrat).

Which new senators were elected in 2008?

9 new senators won seats in 2008: Mark Begich (Democrat-AK), Mark Udall (Democrat-CO), Jim Risch (Republican-ID), Mike Johanns (Republican-NE), Jeanne Shaheen (Democrat-NH), Tom Udall (Democrat-NM), Kay Hagan (Democrat-NC), Jeff Merkley (Democrat-OR), Mark Warner (Democrat-VA).

2008 U.S. Senate Elections: Results

33 Senate seats were decided on Tuesday, November 4, 2008: the 33 Class II seats. 23 incumbents kept their seats, 9 new senators were elected, and 7 seats changed party.

All cycles 1990 1992 1994 1996 1998 2000 2002 2004 2006 2008 2010 2012 2014 2016 2018 2020 2022 2024 2026 2028 2030

Seats on the ballot

33 Class II

Held going in

21 Republican · 12 Democrat

New senators

23 incumbents re-elected

Seats that changed party

AK, CO, NH, NM, NC, OR, VA

Every Seat on the 2008 Ballot

Incumbent is whoever held the seat on election day; the result is who was sworn in for it afterwards.

State ▲	Incumbent ↕	Party ↕	Seat ↕	Since ↕	Age on Election Day ↕	Result ↕
Alabama	Jeff Sessions, III Since 1997	Republican	Class II	1997		Re-elected
Alaska	Ted Stevens Since 1968	Republican	Class II	1968		Mark Begich (Democrat) Party change
Arkansas	Mark Pryor Since 2003	Democrat	Class II	2003		Re-elected
Colorado	A. Allard Since 1997	Republican	Class II	1997		Mark Udall (Democrat) Party change
Delaware	Joe Biden, Jr. Since 1973	Democrat	Class II	1973		Re-elected
Georgia	Saxby Chambliss Since 2003	Republican	Class II	2003		Re-elected
Idaho	Larry Craig Since 1991	Republican	Class II	1991		Jim Risch (Republican)
Illinois	Dick Durbin Since 1997 · age 63	Democrat	Class II	1997	63	Re-elected
Iowa	Tom Harkin Since 1985	Democrat	Class II	1985		Re-elected
Kansas	Pat Roberts Since 1997	Republican	Class II	1997		Re-elected
Kentucky	Mitch McConnell Since 1985 · age 66	Republican	Class II	1985	66	Re-elected
Louisiana	Mary Landrieu Since 1997	Democrat	Class II	1997		Re-elected
Maine	Susan Collins Since 1997 · age 55	Republican	Class II	1997	55	Re-elected
Massachusetts	John Kerry Since 1985	Democrat	Class II	1985		Re-elected
Michigan	Carl Levin Since 1979	Democrat	Class II	1979		Re-elected
Minnesota	Norm Coleman Since 2003	Republican	Class II	2003		No seating on record
Mississippi	William Cochran Since 1978	Republican	Class II	1978		Re-elected
Montana	Max Baucus Since 1978	Democrat	Class II	1978		Re-elected
Nebraska	Chuck Hagel Since 1997	Republican	Class II	1997		Mike Johanns (Republican)
New Hampshire	John Sununu Since 2003	Republican	Class II	2003		Jeanne Shaheen (Democrat) Party change
New Jersey	Frank Lautenberg Since 1982	Democrat	Class II	1982		Re-elected
New Mexico	Pete Domenici Since 1973	Republican	Class II	1973		Tom Udall (Democrat) Party change
North Carolina	Elizabeth Dole Since 2003	Republican	Class II	2003		Kay Hagan (Democrat) Party change
Oklahoma	James Inhofe Since 1994	Republican	Class II	1994		Re-elected
Oregon	Gordon Smith Since 1997	Republican	Class II	1997		Jeff Merkley (Democrat) Party change
Rhode Island	Jack Reed Since 1997 · age 58	Democrat	Class II	1997	58	Re-elected
South Carolina	Lindsey Graham Since 2003 · age 53	Republican	Class II	2003	53	Re-elected
South Dakota	Tim Johnson Since 1997	Democrat	Class II	1997		Re-elected
Tennessee	Lamar Alexander Since 2003	Republican	Class II	2003		Re-elected
Texas	John Cornyn Since 2002 · age 56	Republican	Class II	2002	56	Re-elected
Virginia	John Warner Since 1979	Republican	Class II	1979		Mark Warner (Democrat) Party change
West Virginia	Jay Rockefeller, IV Since 1985	Democrat	Class II	1985		Re-elected
Wyoming	Michael Enzi Since 1997	Republican	Class II	1997		Re-elected

New Senators Elected in 2008

Mark Begich

Democrat · Alaska

Succeeded Ted Stevens (Republican)

Mark Udall

Democrat · Colorado

Succeeded A. Allard (Republican)

Jim Risch

Republican · Idaho

Succeeded Larry Craig

Mike Johanns

Republican · Nebraska

Succeeded Chuck Hagel

Jeanne Shaheen

Democrat · New Hampshire

Succeeded John Sununu (Republican)

Tom Udall

Democrat · New Mexico

Succeeded Pete Domenici (Republican)

Kay Hagan

Democrat · North Carolina

Succeeded Elizabeth Dole (Republican)

Jeff Merkley

Democrat · Oregon

Succeeded Gordon Smith (Republican)

Mark Warner

Democrat · Virginia

Succeeded John Warner (Republican)

About this page

Seats, incumbents and results are derived from the Senate's service records (via the congress-legislators dataset): the seats on a year's ballot are the class whose terms end the following January, plus any seat held by appointment pending a special election, and a result is recorded when the winner is sworn in. Incumbent status and candidates for the next election come from FEC candidate filings; a seat is listed as open when the FEC tags its candidates as running for a seat with no incumbent. Election day is the Tuesday after the first Monday in November. See every cycle since 1990, the seniority list and the voting analysis.