2008 United States presidential election in Vermont

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Main article: 2008 United States presidential election
2008 United States presidential election in Vermont
← 2004 November 4, 2008 2012 →
  Obama portrait crop.jpg John McCain official portrait 2009.jpg
Nominee Barack Obama John McCain
Party Democratic Republican
Home state Illinois Arizona
Running mate Joe Biden Sarah Palin
Electoral vote 3 0
Popular vote 219,262 98,974
Percentage 67.46% 30.45%
200px
County results
Obama
  70-80%
  60-70%
  50-60%
President before election

George W. Bush
Republican

 Elected President

Barack Obama
Democratic

Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found. The 2008 United States presidential election in Vermont took place on November 4, 2008, concurrent with the federal election in all 50 states and D.C., which was part of the 2008 United States presidential election. Voters chose three representatives, or electors to the Electoral College, who voted for president and vice president.

Vermont was won by Democratic nominee Barack Obama with 67.46%, to Republican John McCain's 30.45%, a Democratic victory margin of 37.01%.

Obama carried every county by more than 60% of the vote with the exception of Essex County, which he won with 56%. He also broke 70% in 3 counties.

A very liberal Northeastern state, Vermont was the second most Democratic state in the nation, weighing in as a whopping 30% more Democratic than the national average in the 2008 election.

Obama's landslide win in Vermont outperformed Lyndon Johnson's 1964 Democratic landslide in the state, making the results of 2008 the strongest Democratic victory in Vermont's history.

Primaries

Campaign

Predictions

There were 16 news organizations who made state-by-state predictions of the election. Here are their last predictions before election day:

Polling

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Main article: Statewide opinion polling for the United States presidential election, 2008: Vermont

Obama won every single pre-election poll, and each with a double-digit margin of victory. The final 3 polls averaged Obama leading 59% to 35%.[17]

Fundraising

Obama raised a total of $2,071,271 in the state. McCain raised $206,395.[18]

Advertising and visits

Neither campaign spent any money on advertising in Vermont.[19] Neither campaign visited the state.[20]

Analysis

Vermont was once the quintessential Yankee Republican state. It identified with the newly formed GOP in 1856 and remained in the Republican fold for over 130 years. From 1856 to 1988, it only voted for a Democrat once, in Lyndon Johnson's 44-state landslide of 1964. Vermont and Maine were the only states that Franklin D. Roosevelt didn't carry in any of his four elections.

However, the brand of Republicanism practiced in the Green Mountain State has historically been a moderate one. Coupled with an influx of more liberal newcomers from out of state, this made Vermont considerably friendlier to Democrats as the national GOP moved further to the right. After narrowly supporting George H. W. Bush in 1988, Vermont gave Bill Clinton a 16-point margin in 1992. Republicans have not seriously contested the state since then, and Vermont is now reckoned as part of the solid bloc of blue states in New England.

The 2008 race kept this tradition going. Obama won with 67% of the vote to McCain's 30%. The state was called for Obama almost as soon as the polls closed, and was the first state called for Obama.

Vermont was Obama's second-best state and his best in the contiguous 48 states; only topped by the staggering 71% he received in Hawaii, the state where he was born. The Obama-Biden ticket won every county in the state, including several north eastern counties which had a history of voting Republican.[21] Obama also performed better than John Kerry in every county.[22]

Results

2008 United States presidential election in Vermont
Party Candidate Running mate Votes Percentage Electoral votes
Democratic Barack Obama Joe Biden 219,262 67.46% 3
Republican John McCain Sarah Palin 98,974 30.45% 0
Independent Ralph Nader Matt Gonzalez 3,339 1.03% 0
Write-ins* Write-ins 1,464 0.45% 0
Libertarian Bob Barr Wayne Allyn Root 1,067 0.33% 0
Constitution Chuck Baldwin Darrell Castle 500 0.15% 0
Others* Others 440 0.14% 0
Totals 325,046 100.00% 3
Voter turnout (Voting age population) 66.7%

By county

County Obama Votes McCain Votes Others Votes Total
Addison 68.62% 13,202 29.46% 5,667 1.92% 369 19,238
Bennington 65.47% 12,524 32.06% 6,133 2.47% 472 19,129
Caledonia 60.43% 8,900 37.15% 5,472 2.42% 356 14,728
Chittenden 71.44% 59,611 26.65% 22,237 1.91% 1,592 83,440
Essex 55.89% 1,733 41.41% 1,284 2.71% 84 3,101
Franklin 61.41% 13,179 36.59% 7,853 1.99% 428 21,460
Grand Isle 63.11% 2,694 34.90% 1,490 1.99% 85 4,269
Lamoille 70.37% 8,914 27.75% 3,515 1.88% 239 12,668
Orange 64.56% 9,799 33.25% 5,047 2.19% 333 15,179
Orleans 62.63% 7,998 35.10% 4,482 2.27% 291 12,771
Rutland 61.22% 19,355 36.64% 11,584 2.14% 678 31,617
Washington 69.33% 22,324 28.35% 9,129 2.32% 747 32,200
Windham 73.02% 17,585 24.90% 5,997 2.08% 499 24,081
Windsor 68.81% 21,444 29.15% 9,084 2.04% 637 31,165

Electors

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Main article: List of 2008 United States presidential electors

Technically the voters of Vermont, as they do in every state, cast their ballots for electors: representatives to the Electoral College. Vermont is allocated three electors because it has 1 congressional district and 2 senators. All candidates who appear on the ballot or qualify to receive write-in votes must submit a list of 3 electors, who pledge to vote for their candidate and his or her running mate. Whoever wins the majority of votes in the state is awarded all 3 electoral votes. Their chosen electors then vote for president and vice president. Although electors are pledged to their candidate and running mate, they are not obligated to vote for them.[24] An elector who votes for someone other than his or her candidate is known as a faithless elector.

The electors of each state and the District of Columbia met on December 15, 2008, to cast their votes for president and vice president. The Electoral College itself never meets as one body. Instead the electors from each state and the District of Columbia met in their respective capitols.

The following were elected at large as members of the Electoral College from the state. All three were pledged to Barack Obama and Joe Biden:[25]

  1. Claire Ayer
  2. Euan Bear
  3. Kevin Christie

References

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  5. ↑ Based on Takeaway
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  8. ↑ Based on Takeaway
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  12. ↑ Based on Takeaway
  13. ↑ Based on Takeaway
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External links

See also

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