2008 United States Senate election in Delaware
November 4, 2008
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Biden: 50–60% 60–70% 70–80% 80–90% >90% O'Donnell: 50–60% | |||||||||||||||||
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Personal U.S. Senator from Delaware 47th Vice President of the United States Vice presidential campaigns 46th President of the United States Tenure |
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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 Republican challenger 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.
The election was O'Donnell's second run for the Senate after a failed write-in campaign in 2006. Biden primarily focused on his vice presidential run, which O'Donnell criticized him for; he heavily outspent her in Delaware and she ended her campaign in debt. During the 2010 cycle, it was discovered O'Donnell broke campaign finance regulation by spending donations on personal expenses.
Shortly after being sworn in, Biden resigned from the Senate to assume the vice presidency, and long-time Biden advisor Ted Kaufman was appointed to fill the vacancy. A special election was held in 2010, where O'Donnell again ran unsuccessfully.