2008 United States House of Representatives elections in Wisconsin

← 2006 November 4, 2008 2010 →
All 8 Wisconsin seats to theUnited States House of Representatives
Majority party Minority party   Party Democratic Republican Last election 5 3 Seats won 5 3 Seat change Popular vote 1,383,536 1,274,987 Percentage 49.85% 45.94% Swing 1.23% 4.47%
District results County results Democratic   50–60%   60–70%   70–80%   80–90% Republican   50–60%   60–70%   70–80%   80–90%

The2008 congressional elections in Wisconsin were held on November 4, 2008, to determine who would represent thestate ofWisconsin in theUnited States House of Representatives. Representatives were elected for two-year terms; those elected served in the111th Congress from January 3, 2009, until January 3, 2011. The election coincided with the2008 U.S. presidential election andother Wisconsin elections.

Wisconsin has eight seats in the House, apportioned according to the2000 United States census. Its 2007-2008 congressional delegation consisted of fiveDemocrats and threeRepublicans. That remained unchanged after the 2008 congressional elections in Wisconsin as all incumbent candidates won re-election, althoughCQ Politics had forecastedWisconsin's 8 district to be at some risk for the incumbent party.^[1]

As of 2026, this is the last time the Democrats won a majority of congressional districts from Wisconsin. However, they would still go on to win the popular vote in several subsequent House elections.

Party		Candi- dates	Votes		Seats
			No.	%	No.	+/–	%
	Democratic Party	7	1,383,536	49.85%	5		62.50%
	Republican Party	7	1,274,987	45.94%	3		37.50%
	Independent	2	103,809	3.74%	0		0%
	Libertarian Party	2	12,842	0.46%	0		0%
Total		18	2,775,174	100%	8		100%

2008 Wisconsin's 1st congressional district election

← 2006 2010 →

Nominee Paul Ryan Marge Krupp Party Republican Democratic Popular vote 231,009 125,268 Percentage 63.97% 34.69%

Precinct results Ryan:     40–50%     50–60%     60–70%     70–80%     80–90%     >90% Krupp:     40–50%     50–60%     60–70%     70–80%     80–90% Tie:     50%     No votes

U.S. Representative before election Paul Ryan Republican Elected U.S. Representative Paul Ryan Republican

In this relatively moderate district in southeastWisconsin, incumbent Republican CongressmanPaul Ryan has enjoyed popularity and faced no serious challenge from Democratic nominee, Marge Krupp, a chemist. DespiteBarack Obama'sstrong performance in Wisconsin that year in the presidential election, Ryan was re-elected overwhelmingly.

2008 Wisconsin's 2nd congressional district election

← 2006 2010 →

Nominee Tammy Baldwin Peter Theron Party Democratic Republican Popular vote 277,914 122,513 Percentage 69.33% 30.56%

Precinct results Baldwin:     40–50%     50–60%     60–70%     70–80%     80–90%     >90% Theron:     40–50%     50–60%     60–70%     70–80%     80–90% Tie:     50%     No votes

U.S. Representative before election Tammy Baldwin Democratic Elected U.S. Representative Tammy Baldwin Democratic

In this very liberal district based in theMadison metropolitan area, incumbent Democratic CongresswomanTammy Baldwin, the first openly lesbian member of theHouse, easily turned away a challenge from Republican candidate Peter Theron and won her sixth term with nearly seventy percent of the vote.

2008 Wisconsin's 3rd congressional district election

← 2006 2010 →

Nominee Ron Kind Paul Stark Party Democratic Republican Popular vote 225,208 122,760 Percentage 63.19% 34.44%

Precinct results Kind:     40–50%     50–60%     60–70%     70–80%     80–90%     >90% Stark:     40–50%     50–60%     60–70% Tie:     40–50%     50%     No votes

U.S. Representative before election Ron Kind Democratic Elected U.S. Representative Ron Kind Democratic

In this relatively liberal district based in westernWisconsin, incumbent Democratic CongressmanRon Kind easily won a seventh term over Republican challenger Paul Stark.

2008 Wisconsin's 4th congressional district election

← 2006 2010 →

Nominee Gwen Moore Michael D. LaForest Party Democratic Independent Popular vote 222,728 29,282 Percentage 87.63% 11.52%

Precinct results Moore:     30–40%     60–70%     70–80%     80–90%     >90% Tie:     40–50%     50%     No votes

U.S. Representative before election Gwen Moore Democratic Elected U.S. Representative Gwen Moore Democratic

Incumbent Democratic CongresswomanGwen Moore, running for her third term, faced easy re-election prospects in this highly liberal district based inMilwaukee; no Republican candidate filed to run against her. Moore defeated independent candidate Michael LaForest in a landslide.

2008 Wisconsin's 5th congressional district election

← 2006 2010 →

Nominee Jim Sensenbrenner Robert R. Raymond Party Republican Independent Popular vote 275,271 69,715 Percentage 79.58% 20.15%

Precinct results Sensenbrenner:     40–50%     50–60%     60–70%     70–80%     80–90%     >90% Raymond:     40–50%     50–60% Tie:     40–50%     No votes

U.S. Representative before election Jim Sensenbrenner Republican Elected U.S. Representative Jim Sensenbrenner Republican

In the wealthiest and most conservative district in Wisconsin, based in the northern suburbs ofMilwaukee, long-serving incumbent Republican CongressmanJim Sensenbrenner easily defeated his only challenger, independent candidateRobert R. Raymond, to win a sixteenth term in Congress.

2008 Wisconsin's 6th congressional district election

← 2006 2010 →

Nominee Tom Petri Roger A. Kittelson Party Republican Democratic Popular vote 221,875 126,090 Percentage 63.71% 36.21%

Precinct results Petri:     40–50%     50–60%     60–70%     70–80%     80–90%     >90% Kittelson:     50–60%     60–70%     70–80%     >90% Tie:     50%     No votes

U.S. Representative before election Tom Petri Republican Elected U.S. Representative Tom Petri Republican

This traditionally conservative district based in theOshkosh-Neenah,Metropolitan Statistical Area was narrowly won by Democratic nomineeBarack Obama in the2008 election, but long-serving Republican incumbent CongressmanTom Petri held a tight grip on his seat. Petri sought and won a sixteenth term against Democratic candidate Roger Kittelson, winning handily.

2008 Wisconsin's 7th congressional district election

← 2006 2010 →

Nominee Dave Obey Dan Mielke Party Democratic Republican Popular vote 212,666 136,938 Percentage 60.79% 39.14%

Precinct results Obey:     40–50%     50–60%     60–70%     70–80%     80–90%     >90% Mielke:     50–60%     60–70% Tie:     40–50%     50%     No votes

U.S. Representative before election Dave Obey Democratic Elected U.S. Representative Dave Obey Democratic

Long-serving incumbent Democratic CongressmanDave Obey held an iron grip on this district based in northwesternWisconsin for forty years. Seeking a twenty-first term in Congress, Obey was overwhelmingly re-elected again over Republican challenger Dan Mielke despite the centrist nature of the district.

2008 Wisconsin's 8th congressional district election

← 2006 2010 →

Nominee Steve Kagen John Gard Party Democratic Republican Popular vote 193,662 164,621 Percentage 54.00% 45.90%

Precinct results Kagen:     50–60%     60–70%     70–80%     80–90%     >90% Gard:     40–50%     50–60%     60–70%     70–80%     80–90% Tie:     40–50%     50%     No votes

U.S. Representative before election Steve Kagen Democratic Elected U.S. Representative Steve Kagen Democratic

Incumbent CongressmanSteve Kagen faced off against formerWisconsin State Assembly SpeakerJohn Gard for a second time in this Republican-leaning district that is based in northeasternWisconsin and that includes the cities ofGreen Bay andAppleton. Seeking a second term, Kagen defeated Gard by a larger margin than he did in 2006, allowing him to keep this swing district under Democratic control.

• State of Wisconsin Congressional Districts
• Elections Division from theWisconsin Government Accountability Board
• Wisconsin U.S. House Races from2008 Race Tracker
• Campaign contributions for Wisconsin congressional races fromOpenSecrets
• Politics Plus State and Local Elections from theMilwaukee Journal Sentinel newspaper

• United States House of Representatives elections in Wisconsin
• 2008 United States House of Representatives elections
• 2008 Wisconsin elections

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