# 2008 United States Senate election in Delaware

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The 2008 United States Senate election in Delaware was held on November 4, 2008. Incumbent Senator Joe Biden, who was also the Democratic nominee for vice president in the concurrent presidential election, faced Christine O'Donnell in the general election. Biden won re-election to a seventh term with 64.69% of the vote, his best-performing result in his senatorial career, while also being elected vice president.
Biden took his oath of office in the Senate chamber with the rest of his colleagues on January 3, 2009, but resigned his seat on January 15, 2009, and assumed the vice presidency five days later. Long time Biden advisor Ted Kaufman was appointed to fill the vacant seat. A special election was held in 2010 where O'Donnell once again ran unsuccessfully.
This marked the last time Biden won all three counties in a general election, as in his vice presidential and presidential runs, Sussex County would vote for the Republican ticket.

## Candidates

Both candidates ran unopposed.

### Democratic

* Joe Biden, incumbent and longest serving Senator from Delaware

### Republican

* Christine O'Donnell, media consultant, political analyst and write-in candidate in 2006

## Background

After ending his 2008 presidential bid in January 2008, Biden focused instead on running for a seventh Senate term. He was unopposed within his party. On August 23, 2008, Democratic Party presidential nominee Barack Obama announced that he had selected Biden to serve as his vice presidential running mate. Under Delaware law, Biden could run simultaneously for both his Senate seat and for vice president, which he decided to do.
O'Donnell had previously run in for Delaware's Class One senate seat in 2006. After losing the Republican Primary to Jan C. Ting, she ran in the general election as a write-in candidate. She lost, only receiving less than five percent of the vote.
The statewide party primary elections were held September 9, 2008, both candidates ran unopposed.

## General election
### Campaign

Biden largely ignored election in favor of Obama's presidential run. O'Donnell tried to make an issue of the dual campaigns, claiming that serving his constituents was not important to him, and criticized his unwillingness to participate in debates and candidate forums. Politico's Daniel Libit writing about O'Donnell said, "nowhere else in America is a challenger wanting her incumbent opponent to campaign harder against her."
Biden put up very view campaign advertisements, nevertheless he heavily outspent O'Donnell and her campaign failed to gain traction. Her campaign ended with thousands in debt.
Kristin Murray briefly served as the campaign manager O'Donnell. Murray claimed she left the campaign willingly because of O'Donnell financial situation, though O'Donnell claimed she was fired. During O'Donnell's 2010 campaign, Murray claimed that O'Donnell was misusing her campaign donations.

### Predictions

Various pundits considered the race a safe blue state.
Predictions :
| Source | Ranking | Date of Prediction |
| The Cook Political Report | Safe D | October 23, 2008 |
| Congressional Quarterly | Safe D | October 31, 2008 |
| Rothenberg Political Report | Safe D | November 2, 2008 |
| Real Clear Politics | Safe D | November 4, 2008 |

### Results

Minutes after the polls closed the race was called for Biden. He was re-elected in a landslide victory against O'Donnell. Biden secured his largest margin of victory, improving on his 2002 margin by around 6.5%.
United States Senate election in Delaware, 2008 :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Democratic | Joe Biden (incumbent) | 257,539 | 64.69% | +6.47% |
| | Republican | Christine O'Donnell | 140,595 | 35.31% | −5.49% |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 116,944 | 29.38% | |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 398,134 | | |
| | Democratic hold | Democratic hold | Democratic hold | Democratic hold | Democratic hold |
Biden won all three counties, flipping Kent County from Republican to Democrat. This marked the last time he won all three counties in a general election. In his vice presidential runs in 2008 and 2012, and in his presidential run in 2020, Sussex County would vote for the Republican candidates.
Biden's best performance was in New Castle County, where he won around 72 percent of the vote to O'Donnell's 28 percent. O'Donnell's best performance was in Sussex County, where she almost won the county, receiving 49.84% of the vote to Biden's 50.16%, his lowest share of the vote. New Castle County had the highest number of votes cast with 246 thousand, followed by Sussex County with 86 thousand.
Results by county :
| County | Joseph Robinette Biden Jr. Democratic | Joseph Robinette Biden Jr. Democratic | Christine Therese O'Donnell Republican | Christine Therese O'Donnell Republican | Total votes cast | Ref(s) |
| County | # | % | # | % | Total votes cast | Ref(s) |
| Kent | 37,074 | 56.99% | 27,981 | 43.01% | 65,055 | |
| New Castle | 177,070 | 71.82% | 69,491 | 28.18% | 246,561 | |
| Sussex | 43,395 | 50.16% | 43,123 | 49.84% | 86,790 | |
| Total | 257,539 | 64.69% | 140,595 | 35.31% | 398,406 | |

## Aftermath

Biden took the oath of office in the Senate chamber with his fellow senator-elects on January 3, 2009, but resigned his seat on January 15, 2009, and assumed the vice presidency five days later. Outgoing Delaware Governor Ruth Ann Minner appointed Ted Kaufman, a Democrat and longtime Biden advisor, to fill the vacant seat pending a 2010 special election. Kaufman stated he had no plans to run in 2010. O'Donnell once again ran unsuccessfully for the seat, losing to Democrat Chris Coons.