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= 2008 Missouri Attorney General election = For related races, see 2008 Missouri elections.

The 2008 Missouri Attorney General election was held on November 4, 2008. Democratic incumbent Jay Nixon was term-limited. Democratic candidate Chris Koster defeated Republican candidate Mike Gibbons 52.9% to 47.1%.

Background
On August 1, 2007, Koster announced that he was leaving the Missouri Republican Party to join the Democratic party. Citing his frustration with the Republican Party's increasing intolerance on issues like stem cell research, workers' rights, cultural inclusion, and the non-partisan court plan, Koster said that the Missouri Republican Party had become too beholden to the extreme right-wing of the party. He said, "Today, Republican moderates are all but extinct."

In 2008, Koster defeated State Representative Margaret Donnelly and Jeff Harris in the Democratic primary for the nomination for Missouri Attorney General. Despite joining the Missouri Democratic party only a year earlier, and primary rivals calling him an opportunist for switching parties, Koster received several Democratic-leaning endorsements from law enforcement, labor unions, Democratic interest groups and elected officials. Koster won the nomination despite accusations from Donnelly and Harris that his campaign violated state law in raising money from multiple committees.

During the campaign, Koster's ex-wife Rebecca Bowman Nassikas donated $200,000 to Missourians for Honest Leadership, a political committee, which paid $187,500 to purchase air time and produce television ads in an effort to oppose Koster's candidacy for Missouri Attorney General. He went on to defeat Republican State Senator Mike Gibbons in the general election, 52.83% to 47.17%. He was sworn in as attorney general on January 12, 2009, succeeding Jay Nixon.

Republican Primary
Gibbons ran unnoposed