2008
The 2008 U.S. presidential election was won by Barack Obama (Democratic) with 365 of 538 electoral votes, defeating John McCain (Republican). Electoral-vote margin: 192 (365 to 173). Popular-vote margin: 7.3 percentage points. Turnout was 61.6%. The cycle falls in the Modern Polarization era of American electoral history.
Open the what-if calculator → — flip states and re-count. A toy, not history.
A new coalition reaches the White House
Barack Obama made history as the first African American elected president, defeating Senator John McCain in an election dominated by the 2008 financial crisis. The economic collapse in September 2008 destroyed McCain's lead and tied him to the unpopular Bush administration. Obama's grassroots fundraising and organizing shattered records. McCain's selection of Alaska Governor Sarah Palin as running mate initially boosted his campaign but her interviews raised doubts about her preparedness. Obama flipped key states including North Carolina, Indiana, and Virginia.
2008 financial crisis; Iraq War; healthcare reform; historic racial barrier
First African American president; financial crisis collapsed McCain's lead in September
This summary was drafted with AI tools and has not yet been checked sentence by sentence. The vote table and the National Archives note on this page come from named sources; where they differ from the summary, rely on them. Tell us about an error.
Nebraska distributes its electoral votes proportionally, with two at-large electors representing the statewide winning presidential and vice presidential candidates and one elector each representing the winners from its three Congressional districts. For the first time since adopting this system, Nebraska's five electoral votes were split between the two major party tickets.
National Archives, Electoral College results for 2008, archives.gov, read October 3, 2026. Quoted as published.
States · 51 reporting
State results · 2008
- Missouri McCain by 3,903 · 0.1 pts
- North Carolina Obama by 14,177 · 0.3 pts
- Indiana Obama by 28,391 · 1.0 pts
- Montana McCain by 11,096 · 2.3 pts
- Florida Obama by 236,450 · 2.8 pts
ColoradoObama won it by 9.0 points; its electoral votes took the total to 278, past the 270 needed.
Line up the states the winner carried from widest margin to narrowest and add up their electoral votes: the tipping point is the state that takes the total past a majority.
Scroll the table sideways for every column.
| State | Electoral votes | Barack Obama Dem | John McCain Rep | Also named | Margin | Leader |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alabama | 9 EV | 813,479 38.7% | 1,266,546 60.3% | None | 453,067 21.6 pts | McCain Rep |
| Alaska | 3 EV | 123,594 37.9% | 193,841 59.4% | Ralph Nader 3,783 · 1.2% | 70,247 21.5 pts | McCain Rep |
| Arizona | 10 EV | 1,034,707 45.1% | 1,230,111 53.6% | None | 195,404 8.5 pts | McCain Rep |
| Arkansas | 6 EV | 422,310 38.9% | 638,017 58.7% | Ralph Nader 12,882 · 1.2% | 215,707 19.9 pts | McCain Rep |
| California | 55 EV | 8,274,473 61.0% | 5,011,781 37.0% | None | 3,262,692 24.1 pts | Obama Dem |
| Colorado | 9 EV | 1,288,576 53.7% | 1,073,589 44.7% | None | 214,987 9.0 pts | Obama Dem |
| Connecticut | 7 EV | 997,772 60.6% | 629,428 38.2% | Ralph Nader 19,162 · 1.2% | 368,344 22.4 pts | Obama Dem |
| Delaware | 3 EV | 255,459 61.9% | 152,374 36.9% | None | 103,085 25.0 pts | Obama Dem |
| District of Columbia | 3 EV | 245,800 92.5% | 17,367 6.5% | None | 228,433 85.9 pts | Obama Dem |
| Florida | 27 EV | 4,282,074 51.0% | 4,045,624 48.2% | None | 236,450 2.8 pts | Obama Dem |
| Georgia | 15 EV | 1,844,123 47.0% | 2,048,759 52.2% | None | 204,636 5.2 pts | McCain Rep |
| Hawaii1 | 4 EV | 325,871 71.5% | 120,566 26.4% | None | 205,305 45.0 pts | Obama Dem |
| Idaho | 4 EV | 236,440 36.1% | 403,012 61.5% | Ralph Nader 7,175 · 1.1% | 166,572 25.4 pts | McCain Rep |
| Illinois | 21 EV | 3,419,348 61.9% | 2,031,179 36.8% | None | 1,388,169 25.1 pts | Obama Dem |
| Indiana | 11 EV | 1,374,039 49.9% | 1,345,648 48.9% | Bob Barr 29,257 · 1.1% | 28,391 1.0 pts | Obama Dem |
| Iowa | 7 EV | 828,940 53.9% | 682,379 44.4% | None | 146,561 9.5 pts | Obama Dem |
| Kansas | 6 EV | 514,765 41.7% | 699,655 56.6% | None | 184,890 15.0 pts | McCain Rep |
| Kentucky | 8 EV | 751,985 41.2% | 1,048,462 57.4% | None | 296,477 16.2 pts | McCain Rep |
| Louisiana | 9 EV | 782,989 39.9% | 1,148,275 58.6% | None | 365,286 18.6 pts | McCain Rep |
| Maine | 4 EV | 421,923 57.7% | 295,273 40.4% | Ralph Nader 10,636 · 1.5% | 126,650 17.3 pts | Obama Dem |
| Maryland | 10 EV | 1,629,467 61.9% | 959,862 36.5% | None | 669,605 25.4 pts | Obama Dem |
| Massachusetts2 | 12 EV | 1,904,097 61.4% | 1,108,854 35.7% | None | 795,243 25.6 pts | Obama Dem |
| Michigan | 17 EV | 2,872,579 57.4% | 2,048,639 41.0% | None | 823,940 16.5 pts | Obama Dem |
| Minnesota | 10 EV | 1,573,354 54.1% | 1,275,409 43.8% | Ralph Nader 30,152 · 1.0% | 297,945 10.2 pts | Obama Dem |
| Mississippi | 6 EV | 554,662 43.0% | 724,597 56.2% | None | 169,935 13.2 pts | McCain Rep |
| Missouri | 11 EV | 1,441,911 49.3% | 1,445,814 49.4% | None | 3,903 0.1 pts | McCain Rep |
| Montana | 3 EV | 231,667 47.3% | 242,763 49.5% | Ron Paul 10,638 · 2.2% | 11,096 2.3 pts | McCain Rep |
| Nebraska | 5 EV McCain 4, Obama 1 (2nd congressional district) | 333,319 41.6% | 452,979 56.5% | None | 119,660 14.9 pts | McCain Rep |
| Nevada3 | 5 EV | 533,736 55.1% | 412,827 42.7% | None | 120,909 12.5 pts | Obama Dem |
| New Hampshire | 4 EV | 384,826 54.1% | 316,534 44.5% | None | 68,292 9.6 pts | Obama Dem |
| New Jersey | 15 EV | 2,215,422 57.3% | 1,613,207 41.7% | None | 602,215 15.6 pts | Obama Dem |
| New Mexico | 5 EV | 472,422 56.9% | 346,832 41.8% | None | 125,590 15.1 pts | Obama Dem |
| New York4 | 31 EV | 4,804,945 62.2% | 2,752,771 35.6% | None | 2,052,174 26.6 pts | Obama Dem |
| North Carolina | 15 EV | 2,142,651 49.7% | 2,128,474 49.4% | None | 14,177 0.3 pts | Obama Dem |
| North Dakota | 3 EV | 141,278 44.6% | 168,601 53.3% | Ralph Nader 4,189 · 1.3% | 27,323 8.6 pts | McCain Rep |
| Ohio | 20 EV | 2,940,044 51.5% | 2,677,820 46.9% | None | 262,224 4.6 pts | Obama Dem |
| Oklahoma | 7 EV | 502,496 34.4% | 960,165 65.6% | None | 457,669 31.3 pts | McCain Rep |
| Oregon | 7 EV | 1,037,291 56.7% | 738,475 40.4% | Ralph Nader 18,614 · 1.0% | 298,816 16.3 pts | Obama Dem |
| Pennsylvania | 21 EV | 3,276,363 54.5% | 2,655,885 44.2% | None | 620,478 10.3 pts | Obama Dem |
| Rhode Island | 4 EV | 296,571 62.9% | 165,391 35.1% | Ralph Nader 4,829 · 1.0% | 131,180 27.8 pts | Obama Dem |
| South Carolina | 8 EV | 862,449 44.9% | 1,034,896 53.9% | None | 172,447 9.0 pts | McCain Rep |
| South Dakota | 3 EV | 170,924 44.7% | 203,054 53.2% | Ralph Nader 4,267 · 1.1% | 32,130 8.4 pts | McCain Rep |
| Tennessee5 | 11 EV | 1,087,437 41.8% | 1,479,178 56.9% | None | 391,741 15.1 pts | McCain Rep |
| Texas | 34 EV | 3,528,633 43.7% | 4,479,328 55.5% | None | 950,695 11.8 pts | McCain Rep |
| Utah | 5 EV | 327,670 34.4% | 596,030 62.6% | Chuck Baldwin 12,012 · 1.3% | 268,360 28.2 pts | McCain Rep |
| Vermont | 3 EV | 219,262 67.5% | 98,974 30.4% | Ralph Nader 3,339 · 1.0% | 120,288 37.0 pts | Obama Dem |
| Virginia | 13 EV | 1,959,532 52.6% | 1,725,005 46.3% | None | 234,527 6.3 pts | Obama Dem |
| Washington | 11 EV | 1,750,848 57.7% | 1,229,216 40.5% | None | 521,632 17.2 pts | Obama Dem |
| West Virginia | 5 EV | 303,857 42.6% | 397,466 55.7% | Ralph Nader 7,219 · 1.0% | 93,609 13.1 pts | McCain Rep |
| Wisconsin | 10 EV | 1,677,211 56.2% | 1,262,393 42.3% | None | 414,818 13.9 pts | Obama Dem |
| Wyoming6,7 | 3 EV | 82,868 32.5% | 164,958 64.7% | None | 82,090 32.2 pts | McCain Rep |
Shares are of each state’s total vote for president. “Not named”: the figures do not give that candidate a line of their own in that state — for example under 1% of the vote, not on the ballot there, or counted on an unnamed line (see the state’s note). Margin is the leader’s lead over the second-placed candidate.
Notes on the figures
- Hawaii 'Other candidates' includes 2,496 blank, void, over- or under-vote or 'none of these candidates' ballots, which the source reports as lines of their own.
- Massachusetts 'Other candidates' includes 22,010 blank, void, over- or under-vote or 'none of these candidates' ballots, which the source reports as lines of their own.
- Nevada 'Other candidates' includes 6,267 blank, void, over- or under-vote or 'none of these candidates' ballots, which the source reports as lines of their own.
- New York 'Other candidates' includes 84,701 blank, void, over- or under-vote or 'none of these candidates' ballots, which the source reports as lines of their own.
- Tennessee The source reports 33,134 votes under the label 'Independent' on one line with no candidate name, so the people they went to cannot be shown separately; they are counted in 'Other candidates'.
- Wyoming 'Other candidates' includes 246 blank, void, over- or under-vote or 'none of these candidates' ballots, which the source reports as lines of their own.
- Wyoming The source reports 3,717 votes under the label 'Independent' on one line with no candidate name, so the people they went to cannot be shown separately; they are counted in 'Other candidates'.
SourceMIT Election Data and Science Lab, U.S. President 1976–2024 . How these figures were compiled
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