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 County results House district resultsCastle: 50–60% 60–70% 70–80% Hartley-Nagle: 50–60% 60–70% | |||||||||||||||||
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The2008 United States House election in Delaware was held on November 4, 2008, to determine who will represent thestate ofDelaware in theUnited States House of Representatives for the111th Congress, coinciding with thepresidential election. Theprimary election was held on September 9, 2008.[1]
Delaware has a singleat-large representative in the House of Representatives.Republican incumbentMike Castle was reelected for an eighth term. As of 2025, this is the last time where a Republican won a congressional race in Delaware, and the last statewide race where the Republican wonNew Castle County. It was an impressive display of ticket-splitting by Delaware voters, as Castle, a Republican, obtained over 60% of the vote, while theDemocratic candidates in the concurrentpresidential,Senate, andgubernatorial elections all received over 60% of the vote as well.
The state of Delaware is completely contained in a single at-large district. The district had aCook Partisan Voting Index of D+7 in 2008.[2] Since 1993, the district had been represented byRepublicanMike Castle.
Primary elections in Delaware areclosed primaries; that is, only voters who have declared a party affiliation may vote in that party's primary.[3] Three Democrats were on the primary ballot: children's rights advocate and 2006independent candidate Karen Hartley-Nagle,veterinarian andVietnam War veteran Jerry Northington, and Michael Miller.[4][5] Hartley-Nagle was nominated with 55.4 percent of the vote, withturnout at 28 percent.[6] Castle did not face any Republican primary challengers.
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Karen Hartley-Nagle | 35,995 | 55.4 | |
| Democratic | Jerry Northington | 22,393 | 34.5 | |
| Democratic | Michael Miller | 6,609 | 10.1 | |
| Total votes | 64,997 | 100 | ||
In the general election, Republican incumbentMike Castle was challenged by Democratic nominee Karen Hartley-Nagle and Libertarian Party candidate Mark Anthony Parks. CQ Politics forecasted the race inDelaware's at-large congressional district as 'Safe Republican'. Castle enjoyed a lead throughout the campaign, and ultimately won the election with slightly over 61 percent of the votes cast. Statewide turnout for the election was at 68 percent.[7]
| Source | Ranking | As of |
|---|---|---|
| The Cook Political Report[8] | Safe R | November 6, 2008 |
| Rothenberg[9] | Safe R | November 2, 2008 |
| Sabato's Crystal Ball[10] | Safe R | November 6, 2008 |
| Real Clear Politics[11] | Safe R | November 7, 2008 |
| CQ Politics[12] | Safe R | November 6, 2008 |
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Delaware Republican Party | Mike Castle (incumbent) | 235,437 | 61.08 | |
| Democratic | Karen Hartley-Nagle | 146,434 | 37.99 | |
| Libertarian | Mark Parks | 3,586 | 0.93 | |
| Total votes | 385,457 | 100.00 | ||
| Delaware Republican Partyhold | ||||
