Elections for the United States Senate will be held on November 4 2008, with 35 of the 100 seats in the Senate being contested. Thirty-three seats are regular elections; the winners will be eligible to serve six-year terms from January 3 2009 until January 3 2015 as members of Senate Class II. There are also two special elections: one in Wyoming and another in Mississippi; the winners will serve the remainder of terms that expire on January 32013, as members of Senate Class I.
The 2008 presidential election, gubernatorial elections, and House of Representatives elections will occur on the same date, as well as many state and local elections.
The current composition of the Senate, going into the 2008 election, consists of 49 Republicans, 49 Democrats, and two independents (Bernie Sanders of Vermont and Joe Lieberman of Connecticut, who both caucus with Democrats). Of the seats up for election in 2008, 23 are held by Republicans and 12 by Democrats.
There may be changes to the list of incumbents below if senators die or resign. The date of a death or resignation determines if there will be a special election in 2008, and the rules vary from state to state.
There is a possibility that John McCain of Arizona, the probable Republican nominee for President, will resign his seat (as Bob Dole of Kansas did in 1996) in order to focus in the national race. If this were to occur, Democratic Arizona governor Janet Napolitano would appoint his successor (per state law section 16-222 she must appoint a Republican), and a special election to fill the remainder of McCain's term would be triggered.
