2008 United States House of Representatives elections
The 2008 United States House of Representatives elections were held on November 4, 2008, to elect members to the United States House of Representatives to serve in the 111th United States Congress from January 3, 2009, until January 3, 2011. It coincided with the election of Barack Obama as President. All 435 voting seats, as well as all 6 non-voting seats, were up for election. The Democratic Party, which won a majority of seats in the 2006 election, expanded its control in 2008. The Republican Party, hoping to regain the majority it  lost in the 2006 election or at least expand its congressional membership, lost additional seats. With one exception (Louisiana's 2nd district), the only seats to switch from Democratic to Republican had been Republican-held prior to the 2006 elections. Republicans gained five Democratic seats total, while losing 26 of their own, giving the Democrats a net gain of 21 seats, effectively erasing all gains made by the GOP since 1994. In addition, with the defeat of Republican congressman Chris Shays in Connecticut's 4th district, this became the first time since the 1850s that no Republican represented the New  England region. The 10.6% popular vote advantage by the Democrats was the largest by either party since 1982, 26 years earlier, and as of 2022 remains the most recent time that either party won by a double-digit margin in the overall popular vote for the House of Representatives. Turnout increased due to the 2008 presidential election. The presidential election, 2008 Senate elections, and 2008 state gubernatorial elections, as well as many other state and local elections, occurred on the same date. As of 2022, this remains the last election in which Democrats won congressional seats in Idaho, North Dakota , and South Dakota, the last election in which Democrats won more than one seat in Alabama, and the last election in which Democrats won a majority of seats in Arkansas, Indiana, Michigan, Mississippi, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, West Virginia, and Wisconsin. It is also the last time Republicans won a seat in Delaware. Composition entering the election. At the end of the 110th Congress (2nd Session), the membership of the U.S. House of Representatives was composed of 235 Democrats, 199 Republicans, and one vacancy. Special elections. The thirteen special elections to the 110th United States Congress are listed below  by election date. In 2008 there were eight special elections for vacant seats in the United States House of Representatives, for the 110th United States Congress. In the special elections, Democrats gained three seats while keeping hold of five seats. Republicans held only one of their four seats. ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! Retiring incumbents. Thirty-three incumbents voluntarily retired. Democratic incumbents. All six seats held by retiring Democrats were won by Democrats. Republican incumbents. Twenty-seven Republicans retired. Thirteen of their seats were then won by Democrats (see Open seat gains, below). Defeated incumbents. Incumbents defeated in primary election. One Republican lost in a  primary and the seat was eventually won by a Democrat. One Democrat lost the primary as did two Republicans. The three primary winners, however, managed to retain the seat for the same party. Incumbents defeated in general election. Fourteen Republicans and five Democrats lost their general elections, thereby losing their seats to the other party. Open seat gains. Twelve seats (and one delegate's seat) held by retiring Republicans were won by Democrats. No Democratic retirements were picked up by Republicans. Predictions. On April 8, 2008, analyst Stuart Rothenberg of The Rothenberg Political Report stated that the fight for the  House would be a "one-sided battle, with Democrats having most of the targets." He points to a list of one dozen seats (out of all 435 seats in the House) that are most likely to change hands, of those twelve, ten are open seats, seats which Republicans won by 3% or less in 2006 or otherwise endangered GOP seats. In May 2007, conservative columnist Robert Novak wrote that he believed there were at least a few House seats that were won by Democrats in 2006 "solely because of GOP corruption," and that such seats would be "the most likely  to return to the Republican column in 2008". He also said, Novak qualified this by saying that in "previous elections, major House gains by either party have always been followed by losses in the next election". InTrade.com, the only betting site that offered odds on control of the House, put the likelihood of the Democrats retaining control at about 90% . There have been three special elections for open Republican seats, IL-14 (formerly held by Dennis Hastert), LA-06 (formerly held by Richard Baker) and MS-01 (formerly held by Roger Wicker). Democrats won all three elections. After the MS-01 loss, Ron Gunzburger  wrote, "GOP insiders in DC now privately acknowledge the Democratic victory in this seat likely foreshadows a dismal general election ahead for congressional Republicans." The following table rates the competitiveness of selected races from around the country according to noted political analysts. Races not included should be considered safe for the incumbent's party. (Incumbents "not" running for re-election have parentheses around their name.) American Samoa. See Non-voting delegates, below. District of Columbia. See Non-voting delegates, below. Guam. See Non-voting delegates, below. Louisiana. Note: In Louisiana's 2nd and 4th districts, primary runoffs were held November  4, 2008 and the general election for both of these races were held December 6, 2008. Northern Mariana Islands. See Non-voting delegates, below. Puerto Rico. See Non-voting delegates, below. U.S. Virgin Islands. See Non-voting delegates, below. Non-voting delegates. ! ! ! ! ! !