2008 United States House of Representatives elections in Ohio

2008 Ohio's 6th congressional district election
<img alt="" src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/4c/Flag_of_Ohio.svg/50px-Flag_of_Ohio.svg.png" decoding="async" width="50" height="31" class="mw-file-element" data-file-width="520" data-file-height="320">
	<img src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/1b/2008_Ohio%27s_6th_congressional_district_election_results_by_county.svg/225px-2008_Ohio%27s_6th_congressional_district_election_results_by_county.svg.png" decoding="async" width="225" height="319" class="mw-file-element" data-file-width="532" data-file-height="754"> <img src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/7/77/2008_Ohio%27s_6th_congressional_district_election_results_by_precinct.svg/225px-2008_Ohio%27s_6th_congressional_district_election_results_by_precinct.svg.png" decoding="async" width="225" height="319" class="mw-file-element" data-file-width="558" data-file-height="791"> Wilson: 40–50% 50–60% 60–70% 70–80% 80–90% >90%; Stobbs: 40–50% 50–60% 70–80%
U.S. Representative before election; Charlie Wilson; Democratic	Elected U.S. Representative ; Charlie Wilson; Democratic

2008 United States House of Representatives elections in Ohio
All 18 Ohio seats to the United States House of Representatives
Democratic 40–50% 50–60% 60–70% 70–80% 80–90%	Republican 30–40% 40–50% 50–60% 60–70% 70–80%

The 2008 congressional elections in Ohio were held on November 4, 2008, and determined who would represent the state of Ohio in the United States House of Representatives. The primary election was held on March 4, 2008.

Ohio had eighteen seats in the House, apportioned according to the 2000 United States census. Representatives are elected for two-year terms; those elected in November 2008 served in the 111th Congress from January 3, 2009, until January 3, 2011. The election coincided with the 2008 U.S. presidential election.

Districts 1, 15, and 16 changed party (from Republican to Democratic), although CQ Politics had forecasted districts 1, 2, 14, 15, 16 and 18 to be at some risk for the incumbent party. District 15 was not decided until December 8, 2008.^[1] As of 2024, this is the last time that Democrats won both a majority of congressional districts and the House popular vote in the state.

Overview

United States House of Representatives elections in Ohio, 2008^[2]
Party		Votes	Percentage	Seats before	Seats after	+/–
	Democratic	2,752,111	51.21%	7	10	+3
	Republican	2,491,498	46.36%	11	8	-3
	Libertarian	44,902	0.84%	0	0	-
	Green	13,812	0.26%	0	0	-
	Independent	72,017	1.34%	0	0	-
Totals		5,374,340	100%	18	18	—

Match-up summary

District	Incumbent	2008 status	Democratic	Republican	Green	Libertarian	Ind	Ind	Ind
1	Steve Chabot	Re-election	Steve Driehaus	Steve Chabot			Rich Stevenson (WI)	Eric Wilson (WI)
2	Jean Schmidt	Re-election	Victoria Wulsin	Jean Schmidt			David Krikorian	James Condit (WI)
3	Mike Turner	Re-election	Jane Mitakides	Mike Turner
4	Jim Jordan	Re-election	Mike Carroll	Jim Jordan
5	Bob Latta	Re-election	George Mays	Bob Latta
6	Charlie Wilson	Re-election	Charlie Wilson	Richard Stobbs	Dennis Spisak
7	David Hobson	Open	Sharen Neuhardt	Steve Austria
8	John Boehner	Re-election	Nicholas Von Stein	John Boehner
9	Marcy Kaptur	Re-election	Marcy Kaptur	Bradley Leavitt
10	Dennis Kucinich	Re-election	Dennis Kucinich	Jim Trakas		Paul Conroy
11	Marcia L. Fudge	Re-election	Marcia L. Fudge	Thomas Pekarek			Craig Willis (WI)	Eric Johnson (WI)	Robert Reed (WI)
12	Pat Tiberi	Re-election	David Robinson	Pat Tiberi		Steve Linnabary
13	Betty Sutton	Re-election	Betty Sutton	David Potter			Robert Crow (WI)
14	Steve LaTourette	Re-election	Bill O'Neill	Steve LaTourette		David Macko
15	Deborah Pryce	Open	Mary Jo Kilroy	Steve Stivers		Mark M. Noble	Don Elijah Eckhart	Travis Casper
16	Ralph Regula	Open	John Boccieri	Kirk Schuring
17	Tim Ryan	Re-election	Tim Ryan	Duane Grassell
18	Zack Space	Re-election	Zack Space	Fred Dailey

District 1

Democratic nominee Steve Driehaus won against Republican incumbent Steve Chabot. CQ Politics rated the race as 'No Clear Favorite'. Driehaus lost re-election to Chabot in 2010, who was re-elected 5 more times before losing re-election again in 2022.

Results

Ohio's 1st Congressional District election, 2008^[3]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Steve Driehaus	155,089	52.5
	Republican	Steve Chabot (Incumbent)	140,469	47.5
Total votes			295,558	100
	Democratic gain from Republican

Race ranking and details from CQ Politics
Campaign contributions from OpenSecrets
Chabot (R-i) vs Driehaus (D) graph of collected poll results from Pollster.com

District 2

Republican incumbent Jean Schmidt won against Democratic nominee Victoria Wulsin and Independent candidate David Krikorian. CQ Politics rated the race as 'Leans Republican'.

Results

Ohio's 2nd Congressional District election, 2008^[3]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Jean Schmidt (Incumbent)	148,671	44.8
	Democratic	Victoria Wells Wulsin	124,213	37.4
	Independent	David Krikorian	58,710	17.7
Total votes			331,594	100
	Republican hold

Race ranking and details from CQ Politics
Campaign contributions from OpenSecrets
Schmidt (R-i) vs Wulsin (D) graph of collected poll results from Pollster.com

District 3

Republican incumbent Mike Turner won against Democratic nominee Jane Mitakides. CQ Politics rated the race as 'Safe Republican'.

Results

Ohio's 3rd Congressional District election, 2008^[3]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Mike Turner (Incumbent)	200,204	63.3
	Democratic	Jane Mitakides	115,976	36.7
Total votes			316,180	100
	Republican hold

Race ranking and details from CQ Politics
Campaign contributions from OpenSecrets

District 4

Republican incumbent Jim Jordan won against Democratic nominee Mike Carroll. CQ Politics rated the race as 'Safe Republican'.

Results

Ohio's 4th Congressional District election, 2008^[3]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Jim Jordan	186,140	65.2
	Democratic	Mike Carroll	99,491	34.8
Total votes			216,636	100
	Republican hold

Race ranking and details from CQ Politics
Campaign contributions from OpenSecrets

District 5

Republican incumbent Bob Latta won against Democratic nominee George Mays. CQ Politics rated the race as 'Safe Republican'.

Results

Ohio's 5th Congressional District election, 2008^[3]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Bob Latta	188,905	64.1
	Democratic	George Mays	105,840	35.9
Total votes			294,745	100
	Republican hold

Race ranking and details from CQ Politics
Campaign contributions from OpenSecrets

District 6

Democratic incumbent Charlie Wilson won against Republican nominee Richard Stobbs. CQ Politics rated the race as 'Safe Democrat'.

Results

Ohio's 5th Congressional District election, 2008^[3]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Charlie Wilson (incumbent)	188,905	62.3
	Republican	Richard Stobbs	92,968	32.8
	Green	Dennis Spisak	13,812	4.9
Total votes			295,685	100
	Democratic hold

Race ranking and details from CQ Politics
Campaign contributions from OpenSecrets

District 7

Republican incumbent David Hobson did not run for reelection in 2008.Republican nominee Steve Austria won against Democratic nominee Sharen Neuhardt. CQ Politics rated the race as 'Republican Favored'.

Results

Ohio's 7th Congressional District election, 2008^[3]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Steve Austria	174,915	58.2
	Democratic	Sharen Swartz Neuhardt	125,547	41.8
Total votes			300,462	100
	Republican hold

Race ranking and details from CQ Politics
Campaign contributions from OpenSecrets
Austria (R) vs Neuhardt (D) graph of collected poll results from Pollster.com

District 8

Republican incumbent John Boehner won against Democratic nominee Nicholas Von Stein. CQ Politics rated the race as 'Safe Republican'.

Results

Ohio's 8th Congressional District election, 2008^[3]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	John Boehner (incumbent)	202,063	67.9
	Democratic	Nicholas Von Stein	95,510	32.1
Total votes			297,573	100
	Republican hold

Race ranking and details from CQ Politics
Campaign contributions from OpenSecrets

District 9

Democratic incumbent Marcy Kaptur won against Republican nominee Bradley S. Leavitt. CQ Politics rated the race as 'Safe Democrat'.

Results

Ohio's 9th Congressional District election, 2008^[3]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Marcy Kaptur (incumbent)	222,054	74.4
	Republican	Bradley S. Leavitt	76,512	25.6
Total votes			298,566	100
	Democratic hold

Race ranking and details from CQ Politics
Campaign contributions from OpenSecrets

District 10

The Democratic primary was held March 4, 2008, the same day as the Texas and Ohio presidential primaries. The candidates were Cleveland city councilman Joe Cimperman, North Olmsted mayor Thomas O'Grady, Barbra Ferris and Rosemary Palmer.

Kucinich previously stated that he would run again for Congress in 2008 if his bid for president were unsuccessful.^[4]

For 2008, however, Kucinich was facing four challengers in the Democratic primary scheduled for March 4, which prompted him to abandon his run for president.^[5] Opponents included Cleveland City Councilman Joe Cimperman and North Olmsted Mayor Thomas O'Grady. Having only raised around $50,000 so far compared to Cimperman's $228,000,^[6] Kucinich put out appeals for campaign funding on YouTube.^[7] He managed to raise $700,000, surpassing Cimperman's $487,000.^[8]

Cimperman, who was endorsed by the Mayor of Cleveland and the Cleveland Plain Dealer, criticized Kucinich for focusing too much on campaigning for president and not on the district. Kucinich accused Cimperman of representing corporate and real estate interests. Cimperman described Kucinich as an absentee congressman who failed to pass any major legislative initiatives in his 12-year House career. In an interview, Cimperman said he was tired of Kucinich and Cleveland being joke fodder for late-night talk-show hosts, saying, "It's time for him to go home".^[9]^[10] An ad paid for by Cimperman's campaign claimed that Kucinich had missed over 300 votes, but by checking the ad's source, the actual number was 139.^[11]

A report suggested that representatives of Nancy Pelosi and American Israel Public Affairs Committee would "guarantee" Kucinich's re-election if he dropped his bid to impeach Cheney and Bush, though Kucinich denied the meeting happened.^[12]^[13] It was also suggested that Kucinich's calls for universal health care and an immediate withdrawal from Iraq made him a thorn in the side of the Democrats' congressional leadership, as well as his refusal to pledge to support the eventual presidential nominee.^[9]

At the last minute, Kucinich took part in a debate with the other primary challengers. Barbara Ferris criticized him for not bringing as much money back to the district as other area legislators and authoring just one bill that passed during his 12 years in Congress. Kucinich responded:

"It was a Republican Congress and there weren't many Democrats passing meaningful legislation during a Republican Congress."^[14]

Kucinich easily won the primary by a 15-point-margin over his nearest opponent, Joe Cimperman.

2008 10th district democratic primary election, Ohio
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Democratic	Dennis J. Kucinich (Incumbent)	68,156	50.27%
	Democratic	Joe Cimperman	47,891	35.32%	-
	Democratic	Barbara Ferris	8,780	6.48%	-
	Democratic	Thomas O'Grady	6,780	5%	-
	Democratic	Rosemary Palmer	3,982	2.94%	-
Majority			20,265	14.95%
Turnout

Kucinich then beat Republican nominee Jim Trakas. CQ Politics rated the race as 'Safe Democrat'.

Results

Ohio's 10th Congressional District election, 2008^[3]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Dennis Kucinich (incumbent)	157,268	57.0
	Republican	Jim Trakas	107,918	39.1
	Libertarian	Paul Conroy	10,623	3.9
Total votes			275,809	100
	Democratic hold

Race ranking and details from CQ Politics
Campaign contributions from OpenSecrets

District 11

Democratic nominee Marcia Fudge won against Republican nominee Thomas Pekarek. CQ Politics rated the race as 'Safe Democrat'. The following candidates ran in the general election:

Ohio's 11th Congressional District election, 2008^[3]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Marcia L. Fudge	146,840	83.4
	Republican	Thomas Pekarek	36,705	14.7
	Independent	Write-Ins	144	1
Total votes			175,973	100
	Democratic hold

Race ranking and details from CQ Politics
Campaign contributions from OpenSecrets

A special election was held on November 18, 2008, to fill Jones's seat for the remainder of the 110th Congress, until January 3, 2009, which Fudge won with 100% of the vote.^[15] See Ohio's 11th congressional district special election, 2008.

District 12

Republican incumbent Pat Tiberi won against Democratic nominee David Robinson. CQ Politics rated the race as 'Republican Favored'.

Results

Ohio's 12th Congressional District election, 2008^[3]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Pat Tiberi (Incumbent)	197,447	54.8
	Democratic	David Robinson	152,234	42.2
	Libertarian	Steve Linnabary	10,707	3
Total votes			360,388	100
	Republican hold

Race ranking and details from CQ Politics
Campaign contributions from OpenSecrets

District 13

Democratic incumbent Betty Sutton won against Republican nominee David Potter. CQ Politics rated the race as 'Safe Democrat'.

Results

Ohio's 13th Congressional District election, 2008^[3]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Betty Sutton (incumbent)	189,542	64.6
	Republican	David Potter	104,066	35.4
Total votes			293,608	100
	Democratic hold

Race ranking and details from CQ Politics
Campaign contributions from OpenSecrets

District 14

Republican incumbent Steve LaTourette won against Democratic nominee Bill O'Neill. CQ Politics rated the race as 'Republican Favored'.

Results

Ohio's 14th Congressional District election, 2006^[3]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Steve LaTourette (incumbent)	188,488	58.3
	Democratic	Bill O'Neill	125,214	38.7
	Libertarian	Werner J. Lange	9,511	3
Total votes			323,213	100
	Republican hold

Race ranking and details from CQ Politics
Campaign contributions from OpenSecrets

District 15

The election results were essentially tied, requiring an automatic recount.CQ Politics rated the race as 'Leans Democratic'. Republican incumbent Deborah Pryce did not run for reelection in 2008, leaving this an open seat. Kilroy defeated Stivers by 2,311 votes in a race not decided until the final ballots were counted on December 7, 2008.

Results

Ohio's 15th Congressional District election, 2008^[3]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Mary Jo Kilroy	139,584	45.9
	Republican	Steve Stivers	137,272	45.2
	Libertarian	Mark M. Noble	14,061	4.6
	Independent	Don Elijah Eckhart	12,915	4.3
Total votes			304,978	100
	Democratic gain from Republican

Race ranking and details from CQ Politics
Campaign contributions from OpenSecrets
Stivers (R) vs Kilroy (D) graph of collected poll results from Pollster.com

District 16

Democratic nominee John Boccieri won against Republican nominee Kirk Schuring. Republican incumbent Ralph Regula did not run for reelection. CQ Politics rated the race as 'Leans Democratic'.