page_title: 2008 United States Senate elections
section_title: Kansas
hierarchical_section_title: 2008 United States Senate elections / Kansas
context_page_description: The 2008 United States Senate elections 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, the winners of those seats would finish the terms that ended January 3, 2013.
  The presidential election which was won by Democrat Barack Obama, 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 these elections, the Senate consisted of 49 Democrats, 49 Republicans, and two Independents who caucused with the Democrats, giving the Democratic caucus the slightest 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. Democratic candidates defeated Republican incumbents in Alaska, New Hampshire, North Carolina, Oregon, and after a lengthy recount process, Minnesota.
context_section_description: Senator Pat Roberts sought re-election to a third term. Although Kansas has not elected a Democrat to the Senate since 1932, former Democratic Congressman and army veteran Jim Slattery was nominated to run against Roberts. Pat Roberts currently has an approval rating of 56%.
  Roberts was re-elected with 60% to Slattery's 36%.
caption: County results