2008 United States Senate elections

E232269

The 2008 United States Senate elections were a nationwide set of contests in which voters chose one-third of the Senate, significantly expanding the Democratic Party’s majority during the final months of the George W. Bush presidency.

All labels observed (4)

How this entity was disambiguated

Statements (46)

Predicate Object
instanceOf United States Senate election
legislative election
affectedControlOf 111th United States Congress
afterMajorityParty Democratic Party
afterMinorityParty Republican Party
beforeMajorityParty Democratic Party
beforeMinorityParty Republican Party
chamber United States Senate
coincidedWith 2008 United States House of Representatives elections
2008 United States presidential election
country United States of America
surface form: United States
determinedCompositionOf United States Senate
surface form: United States Senate in 111th Congress
electionDate 2008-11-04
electorate registered voters in 50 U.S. states
followedBy 2010 United States Senate elections
follows 2006 United States Senate elections
geographicScope 50 U.S. states
historicalSignificance strengthened Democratic control at end of Bush administration
includedSpecialElectionIn Mississippi
Wyoming
keyOutcome Democrats approached filibuster-proof majority
language English
legislativeBodySize 100 United States Senators
majorNationalIssueContext 2008 United States housing and financial crisis
surface form: Great Recession onset

Iraq War
economic crisis
notHeldIn District of Columbia
United States territories
surface form: U.S. territories
numberOfRegularSeatsContested 33
numberOfSeatsContested 35
numberOfSpecialSeatsContested 2
officeContested United States Senator
oversawBy Federal Election Commission
partOf 2008 United States Senate elections self-linksurface differs
surface form: 2008 United States elections
presidentialElectionYear true
regularClassContested United States Senator
surface form: Class II United States Senators
resultedIn Democratic Party seat gains
expansion of Democratic majority in Senate
termLengthForWinners 6 years (regular seats)
tookPlaceDuring 110th United States Congress
Bush administration
surface form: George W. Bush presidency
tookPlaceInMonth November 2008
tookPlaceOnSameDayAs many state and local elections
typeOfElection federal election
voterParticipationContext high turnout presidential year
votingSystem first-past-the-post

How these facts were elicited

Referenced by (5)

Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.

112th United States Congress electionCycleForSenateClassII 2008 United States Senate elections
2008 United States House of Representatives elections coincidesWith 2008 United States Senate elections
Jeanne Shaheen 2008 U.S. Senate campaign election 2008 United States Senate elections
this entity surface form: 2008 United States Senate election in New Hampshire
Jeanne Shaheen 2008 U.S. Senate campaign electionCycle 2008 United States Senate elections
this entity surface form: 2008 U.S. federal elections
2008 United States Senate elections partOf 2008 United States Senate elections self-linksurface differs
this entity surface form: 2008 United States elections