United States House of Representatives election in Delaware, 2008

United States House of Representatives election in Delaware, 2008

2006 ← November 4, 2008 → 2010

Nominee Michael Castle Karen Hartley-Nagle Party Republican Democratic Popular vote 235,437 146,434 Percentage 61.08 37.99

Representative before election Michael Castle Republican Elected Representative Michael Castle Republican

The 2008 United States House election in Delaware was held on November 4, 2008 to determine who will represent the state of Delaware in the United States House of Representatives for the 111th Congress, coinciding with the presidential election. The primary election was held on September 9, 2008.^[1]

Delaware has a single at-large representative in the House of Representatives. Republican incumbent Michael N. Castle was reelected for an eighth term.

Match-up summary

District	Incumbent	2008 Status	Democratic	Republican	Libertarian
At-large	Michael N. Castle	Re-election	Karen Hartley-Nagle	Michael N. Castle	Mark Anthony Parks

Overview

Further information: Delaware's At-large congressional district

Map of Delaware's at-large congressional district

The state of Delaware is completely contained in a single at-large district. The district has a Cook Partisan Voting Index of D+7.^[2] Since 1993, the district has been represented by Republican Michael N. Castle.

Primary election

Primary elections in Delaware are closed 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 2006 independent candidate Karen Hartley-Nagle, veterinarian and Vietnam War veteran Jerry Northington, and Michael Miller.^[4][5] Hartley-Nagle was nominated with 55.4 percent of the vote, with turnout at 28 percent.^[6] Castle did not face any Republican primary challengers.

Delaware Democratic Party House of Representatives primary, 2008[6]
Party		Candidate	Votes	Percentage
	Democratic	Karen Hartley-Nagle	35,995	55.4%
	Democratic	Jerry Northington	22,393	34.5%
	Democratic	Michael Miller	6,609	10.1%
Totals			64,997	100%

General election

In the general election, Republican incumbent Michael N. Castle was challenged by Democratic nominee Karen Hartley-Nagle and Libertarian Party candidate Mark Anthony Parks. CQ Politics forecasted the race in Delaware'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]

Delaware's at-large congressional district election, 2008[7]
Party		Candidate	Votes	Percentage
	Republican	Michael Castle (incumbent)	235,437	61.08%
	Democratic	Karen Hartley-Nagle	146,434	37.99%
	Libertarian	Mark Parks	3,586	0.93%
Totals			385,457	100.00%
	Republican hold

See also

• United States House of Representatives election in Delaware, 2006

References

1. ^ Calendar of Election Events State of Delaware
2. ^ "Cook Political Report, PVI for the 110th Congress" (PDF). Cook Political Report. 30 June 2008. http://www.cookpolitical.com/sites/default/files/pvichart.pdf. Retrieved 15 February 2009. 
3. ^ "15 Del.C. § 3110. Qualifications of voters.". Delaware Code. State of Delaware. http://delcode.delaware.gov/title15/c031/sc01/index.shtml#3110. Retrieved 10 February 2009. 
4. ^ "Getting to Know Karen Hartley-Nagle". Karen Hartley-Nagle for Congress. http://hartley-nagle.com/meetkaren.php. Retrieved 8 February 2009. ^{[dead link]}
5. ^ "About Jerry Northington". Northington for Congress. http://www.northington08.com/about/. Retrieved 8 February 2009. 
6. ^ ^{a b} "State of Delaware Primary Election (Official Results)". Commissioner of Elections for the State of Delaware. 2 October 2008. http://elections.delaware.gov/archive/elect08/elect08_primary_election/html/election.shtml. Retrieved 10 February 2009. 
7. ^ ^{a b} "State of Delaware General Election (Official Results)". Commissioner of Elections for the State of Delaware. 2008-12-15. http://elections.delaware.gov/archive/elect08/elect08_general_election/html/elect08_gen_office.shtml. Retrieved 2009-02-. 

External links

• Castle's campaign website
• Hartley-Nagle's campaign website
• Northington's campaign website
• Delaware Commissioner of Elections
• Race ranking and details from CQ Politics
• Delaware U.S. House Races from 2008 Race Tracker
• Campaign contributions from OpenSecrets.org