2008 United States Senate election in Texas

The 2008 United States Senate election in Texas was held on November 4, 2008. Incumbent Republican John Cornyn defeated Democratic nominee Rick Noriega, a member of the Texas House of Representatives, to win re-election to a second term in office.

Candidates

 * Gene Kelly, U.S. Air Force veteran and nominee for the U.S. Senate in 2000
 * Ray McMurrey, teacher at Mary Carroll High School
 * Rick Noriega, State Representative
 * Rhett Smith, U.S. Navy veteran and auditor at the Texas Department of Human Services

Candidates

 * John Cornyn, incumbent U.S. Senator
 * Larry Kilgore, conservative/Secessionist activist

Candidates

 * John Cornyn (R), incumbent U.S. Senator
 * Rick Noriega (D), State Representative
 * Yvonne Adams Schick (L), real estate entrepreneur

Campaign
Cornyn, running as an incumbent, had a 42% approval rating with a 43% disapproval rating in June 2007. Texas is a red state, that Republican presidential nominee John McCain won with over 55% of the vote. Cornyn slightly underperformed McCain. However, Noriega underperformed both 2008 Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama in Texas and Cornyn's 2002 opponent, Ron Kirk, with Noriega receiving just 42.8% of the vote.

Counties that flipped from Republican to Democratic

 * Bexar (largest municipality: San Antonio)
 * Harris (largest municipality: Houston)
 * Brewster (largest city: Alpine)
 * Uvalde (largest city: Uvalde)

Counties that flipped from Democratic to Republican

 * Bee (Largest city: Beeville)
 * Caldwell (Largest city: Lockhart)
 * Fisher (Largest city: Rotan)
 * Foard (Largest city: Crowell)
 * Haskell (Largest city: Haskell)
 * Marion (Largest city: Jefferson)
 * Pecos (Largest city: Fort Stockton)
 * Refugio (Largest city: Refugio)
 * San Augustine (Largest city: San Augustine)
 * San Patricio (Largest city: Portland)
 * Terrell (Largest city: Sanderson)
 * Morris (Largest city: Daingerfield)
 * Newton (Largest city: Newton)
 * Calhoun (Largest city: Port Lavaca)
 * Robertson (Largest city: Hearne)