2008 Delaware House of Representatives election

← 2006 November 4, 2008 (2008-11-04) 2010 →
All 41 seats in theDelaware House of Representatives 21 seats needed for a majority
Majority party Minority party   Leader Robert Gilligan Terry Spence (lost re-election) Party Democratic Republican Leader's seat 19th -Wilmington 18th-New Castle Last election 18 23 Seats before 19 22 Seats won 25 16 Seat change 6 6 Popular vote 208,990 156,832 Percentage 56.87% 42.68%
Results:      Democratic gain      Democratic hold     Republican hold
Speaker before election Terry Spence Republican ElectedSpeaker Robert Gilligan Democratic

An election was held on November 4, 2008, to elect all 41 members toDelaware'sHouse of Representatives. The election coincided with elections for other offices, including forU.S. President,U.S. Senate,U.S. House of Representatives,Governor,Lieutenant Governor, andstate senate. Theprimary election was held on September 9, 2008.^[1]Democrats regained control of the House after 24 years after gaining seven seats, winning 25 seats compared to 16 seats for the Republicans.

Representative Dianna Williams (D -District 6) announced immediately after the election that she would be resigning. A special election was held on December 20, 2008, to fill the seat, whichTom Kovach gained for Republicans.

Democrats took control of the Delaware House of Representatives for the first time since 1985, and won a trifecta for the first time since 1977.

Party		Candi- dates	Votes	%	Seats	+/–
	Democratic	37	208,990	56.87%	25	7
	Republican	32	156,832	42.68%	16	7
	Independent	2	642	0.17%	0
	Working Families	5	431	0.12%	0
	Blue Enigma	3	346	0.09%	0
	Libertarian	2	243	0.07%	0
Total		81	367,484	100%	41

Results of the 2008 Delaware House of Representatives election by district:^[3][4]

Incumbent DemocratDennis Williams has represented the 1st district since 1994.

Incumbent DemocratHazel Plant has represented the 2nd district since 2000.

Incumbent DemocratHelene Keeley has represented the 3rd district and its predecessors since 1996.

Incumbent DemocratGerald Brady has represented the 4th district since 2006.

Incumbent DemocratMelanie George Marshall has represented the 5th district since 2002.

Incumbent DemocratDiana McWilliams has represented the 6th district since 2004.

Incumbent DemocratBryon Short has represented the 7th district since winning a 2007 special election.

Incumbent DemocratBethany Hall-Long has represented the 8th district since 2002. Hall-Long retired to run for thestate senate and fellow DemocratQuinn Johnson won the open seat.

Incumbent RepublicanRichard Cathcart has represented the 9th district since 1998.

Incumbent Republican Robert Valihura Jr. has represented the 10th district since 1998. Valihura lost re-election to DemocratDennis Williams.

Incumbent RepublicanGregory Lavelle has represented the 11th district since 2001.

Incumbent RepublicanDeborah Hudson has represented the 12th district since 1994.

Incumbent DemocratLarry Mitchell has represented the 13th district since 2006.

Incumbent Democratic Majority LeaderPeter Schwartzkopf has represented the 14th district since 2002.

Incumbent DemocratValerie Longhurst has represented the 15th district since 2004.

Incumbent DemocratJ.J. Johnson has represented the 16th district since 2004.

Incumbent DemocratMichael Mulrooney has represented the 17th district since 1998.

Incumbent Republican House SpeakerTerry Spence has represented the 18th district and its predecessors since 1980. Spence lost re-election to DemocratMichael Barbieri.

Incumbent Democrat House SpeakerRobert Gilligan has represented the 19th district since 1972.

Incumbent Republican Nick Manolakos has represented the 20th district since 2006.

Incumbent Republican Pamela Maier has represented the 21st district since 1994. Maier didn't seek re-election and fellow RepublicanMichael Ramone won the open seat.

Incumbent RepublicansJoseph Miró has represented the 22nd district since 1998.

Incumbent Democrat Teresa Schooley has represented the 23rd district since 2004.

Incumbent Republican William Orbele Jr. has represented the 24th district since 1976.

Incumbent DemocratJohn Kowalko Jr. has represented the 25th district since 2006.

Incumbent DemocratJohn Viola has represented the 26th district since 1998.

Incumbent Republican Vincet Lofink has represented the 27th district since 1990. Lofink lost re-election to DemocratEarl Jaques Jr..

Incumbent DemocratBruce Ennis has represented the 28th district since 1982. Ennis retired to run for thestate senate and fellow DemocratWilliam Carson Jr. won the open seat.

Incumbent Republican Pamela Thornburg has represented the 29th district since 2000.

Incumbent RepublicanWilliam Outten has represented the 30th district since 2004.

Incumbent Republican Nancy Wagner has represented the 31st district since 1992. Wagner lost re-election to DemocratDarryl Scott.

Incumbent Republican Donna Stone has represented the 32nd district since 1994. Stone lost re-election to Democrat Brad Bennett.

Incumbent DemocratRobert Walls has represented the 33rd district since 2006.

Incumbent RepublicanDonald Blakey has represented the 34th district since 2006.

Incumbent Republican J. Benjamin Ewing has represented the 35th district since 1986. Ewing didn't seek re-election and fellow RepublicanDavid Wilson won the open seat.

Incumbent Republican V. George Carey has represented the 36th district since 1984.

Incumbent Republican Joseph Booth has represented the th district since 2002.

Incumbent RepublicanGerald Hocker has represented the 38th district since 2002.

Incumbent RepublicanDaniel Short has represented the 39th district since 2006.

Incumbent Republican Clifford Lee has represented the 40th district since 1990.

Incumbent Republican Gregory Hastings has represented the 41st district since winning a special election in May 2007. Hastings lost re-election to his predecessor,John Atkins, now a member of the Democratic Party.Democratic primary

General election

• 2008 state legislature elections in the United States
• 2008 Delaware elections
• Delaware House of Representatives elections

• Articles with short description
• Short description with empty Wikidata description
• Use mdy dates from September 2023