Who won Kentucky in the 2008 presidential election?

McCain (Republican) carried Kentucky in 2008, winning its 8 electoral votes.

How many electoral votes did Kentucky have in 2008?

Kentucky cast 8 electoral votes in the 2008 presidential election.

Did Kentucky vote for the national winner in 2008?

No. Kentucky backed McCain, while Barack Obama won the presidency nationally.

Modern PolarizationKY · 8 EV

2008

Kentucky: McCain carries 8 EV.

Kentucky cast its 8 electoral votes for McCain (Republican). National winner: Barack Obama (Democratic) — Kentucky voted against the national winner this cycle.

What happened in Kentucky, 2008

In 2008, Kentucky awarded its 8 electoral votes to McCain of the Republican party. Nationally the result broke the other way — Barack Obama (Democratic) won the presidency, leaving Kentucky among the states he did not carry.

It marked the 3rd consecutive election in which Kentucky backed the Republican party, a streak reaching back to 2000. The region divided — West Virginia, Tennessee, and Missouri joined Kentucky for the Republican ticket, while Indiana, Ohio, Virginia, and Illinois did not. Across the 59 presidential elections Kentucky has taken part in, it has most often sided with the Democratic party (28 times). The vote fell within the Modern Polarization — Close elections in a divided country.

In the national count, Barack Obama took 365 of the 538 electoral votes, against John McCain's 173. Barack Obama led the national popular vote with 52.93% of the ballots cast.

The 2008 national map

Kentucky full history →