2008 United States House of Representatives election in South Dakota

2008 United States House of Representatives election in South Dakota

November 4, 2008

File:Stephanie Herseth Sandlin, official photo portrait, 2007 (cropped).jpg File:3x4.svg Nominee Stephanie Herseth Sandlin Chris Lein Party Democratic Republican Popular vote 256,041 122,966 Percentage 67.6% 32.4%

File:SD-AL 2008 by county.svg File:2008 SD-AL by precinct.svg Herseth Sandlin:      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%      80–90%      >90% Lein:      50–60%      60–70%      70–80% Tie:      50%

U.S. Representative before election Stephanie Herseth Sandlin Democratic Elected U.S. Representative Stephanie Herseth Sandlin Democratic

The 2008 United States House of Representatives election in South Dakota took place on Tuesday, November 4, 2008. Voters selected a representative for their single At-Large district, who ran on a statewide ballot. Democratic incumbent Stephanie Herseth Sandlin was challenged by the Republican nominee, businessman and attorney Chris Lien. Neither candidate was opposed in the June 3, 2008 primary. CQ Politics forecasted this race as 'Safe Democrat'. George W. Bush won in this district 60% to 38% for John Kerry in 2004. As of 2025, this election, along with the simultaneous Senate race, is the last time a Democrat won a statewide election in South Dakota. This also the last time either party won every county in the state in a contested race.

Results

South Dakota's at-large congressional district election, 2008

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Stephanie Herseth Sandlin (incumbent)	256,041	67.56
	Republican	Chris Lien	122,966	32.44
Total votes			379,007	100.00
	Democratic hold

Counties that flipped from Republican to Democratic

• Douglas (largest city: Armour)

See also

• South Dakota's at-large congressional district

External links

• Elections from the South Dakota Secretary of State
• U.S. Congress candidates for South Dakota at Project Vote Smart
• South Dakota U.S. House Races from 2008 Race Tracker
• Campaign contributions for South Dakota congressional races from OpenSecrets
• Campaign contributions from OpenSecrets
• Campaign websites (Archived)
  • Stephanie Herseth Sandlin for Congress
  • Chris Lien for Congress