The 2008 election is the first election since 1988 in which no independent or minor party candidate won a statewide election. However, there is one statewide race in 2008 in which an independent appears to have placed ahead of a major party nominee, and also one U.S. House race with that characteristic.
In Vermont, with 88.5% of the precincts reporting, independent gubernatorial candidate Anthony Pollina is slightly ahead of his Democratic opponent. The vote is Douglas (Rep.) 146,034; Pollina (indp.) 57,366; Symington (Dem.) 57,150; others 7,938.
In California’s U.S. House race, 8th district, the vote is: Pelosi (Dem.) 126,073; Sheehan (indp.) 29,951; Walsh (Rep.) 16,149; Berg (Libt.) 4,024.
The candidate that Pollina leads in Vermont is the Democrat, not the Republican. (That Democrat has the same last name as a high profile Republican in Arizona.)
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