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Elections for the United States Senate were held on November 4, 2008, with 35 of the 100 seats in the Senate being contested. Thirty-three seats were up for regular elections; the winners were eligible to serve six-year terms from January 3, 2009 to January 3, 2015, as members of Class 2. There were also two special elections: one in Mississippi and another in Wyoming; as both seats were Class 1 Senate seats, the winners of both seats would serve the remainder of terms that ended on January 3, 2013. The 2008 presidential election, elections for all House of Representatives seats, and several gubernatorial elections, as well as many state and local elections, occurred on the same date. Going into the 2008 election, the Senate consisted of 49 Democrats, 49 Republicans, and two independents (Bernie Sanders of Vermont and Joe Lieberman of Connecticut) who caucused with the Democrats, giving the Democratic caucus a 51-49 majority. Of the seats up for election in 2008, 23 were held by Republicans and 12 by Democrats. The Republicans, who openly conceded early on that they wouldn't be able to regain the majority in 2008, lost eight seats. This election was the second cycle in a row in which no seats switched from Democratic to Republican. In addition, this was the largest Democratic Senate gain since 1986, when they also won eight seats. Democrats defeated five Republican incumbents: * Ted Stevens of Alaska lost to Mark Begich. * Norm Coleman of Minnesota lost to Al Franken. * John Sununu of New Hampshire lost to Jeanne Shaheen. * Elizabeth Dole of North Carolina lost to Kay Hagan. * Gordon Smith of Oregon lost to Jeff Merkley. Democrats also picked up open seats in Colorado, New Mexico, and Virginia. When the new Senate was first sworn in, the balance was 58–41 in favor of the Democrats, because of the unresolved Senate election in Minnesota. The defection of Republican Arlen Specter of Pennsylvania in April 2009 and the swearing-in of Al Franken in Minnesota brought the balance to 60–40. Republican Scott Brown won a 2010 special election to replace Democrat Ted Kennedy, making the balance 59-41 before the start of the next election cycle. ==Results summary== 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「United States Senate elections, 2008」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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