2008 United States presidential election in Wisconsin

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Main article: 2008 United States presidential election
2008 United States presidential election in Wisconsin
← 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 10 0
Popular vote 1,677,211 1,262,393
Percentage 56.22% 42.31%
310px
County Results
President before election

George W. Bush
Republican

 Elected President

Barack Obama
Democratic
Elections in Wisconsin
Seal of Wisconsin.svg
This box:

The 2008 United States presidential election in Wisconsin took place on November 4, 2008, and was part of the 2008 United States presidential election. Voters chose 10 representatives, or electors to the Electoral College, who voted for president and vice president.

Wisconsin was won by Democratic nominee Barack Obama by a 13.91% margin of victory. Prior to the election, all 17 news organizations considered this a state Obama would win, or otherwise considered as a safe blue state, despite the extremely close margins of victory in the previous two presidential elections. Polling throughout the state began to show a sizable and widening lead for Democrat Barack Obama of neighboring Illinois over Republican John McCain of Arizona. Obama carried Wisconsin with over 56% of the vote, significantly improving upon John Kerry's margin of victory in 2004. No presidential candidate has ever received more votes in Wisconsin than Obama. Whether measured by raw vote margin, percentage of total votes, or two-party percentage, Obama's victory remains the strongest performance for any candidate in the state since the re-election of Democrat Lyndon B. Johnson in 1964. In fact, Obama carried two of three counties that voted for Barry Goldwater in that election, was the first Democrat since Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1936 to carry Waupaca County, and only the second Democratic nominee to carry that county since the Civil War.[lower-alpha 1]

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 2008 United States presidential election: Wisconsin

Pre-election polling early on showed a tight race. Since May 18, Obama swept every single poll. Since September 21, Obama won every poll with at least 49% of the vote. The final 3 polls averaged Obama leading 53% to 40%.[18]

Fundraising

John McCain raised a total of $1,728,185 in the state. Barack Obama raised $4,862,486.[19]

Advertising and visits

Obama and his interest groups spent $13,586,634. McCain and his interest groups spent $9,240,899.[20] Each ticket visited the state 7 times.[21]

Analysis

Having voted for the Democratic presidential nominees by extremely narrow margins in 2000 and 2004, Wisconsin was originally considered to be a swing state in 2008.[22] However, Obama took a wide lead in the polls in Wisconsin near the final weeks before the election and many pundits and news organizations labeled the state as a safe blue state.[23]

Obama won Wisconsin by a comfortable 13.91% margin of victory. Obama carried the heavily Democratic cities of Milwaukee and Madison by large margins, winning above two-thirds of the vote, along with some traditionally Republican cities like Green Bay and Appleton.[24] This was consistent with Obama's pattern of strong performances in the states bordering Illinois. The state's Republican base essentially melted; John McCain only carried 13 of the state's 72 counties. McCain did best in the Milwaukee suburbs like Waukesha and Ozaukee counties. Wisconsin would not vote for a Republican candidate for president until Donald Trump in 2016. As of the 2016 presidential election, this is the last election in which Chippewa County, Brown County, Outagamie County, Jefferson County, Wood County, Oneida County, Barron County, Manitowoc County, Washburn County, Monroe County, Marathon County, Kewaunee County, Clark County, Rusk County, Oconto County, Burnett County, Calumet County, Iron County, Pierce County, Marinette County, Langlade County, Waushara County, Shawano County, and Waupaca County voted for the Democratic candidate.

Results

The presidential race in Wisconsin in 2008 was not close, with McCain winning only 13 out of 72 counties.

2008 United States presidential election in Wisconsin[25]
Party Candidate Running mate Votes Percentage Electoral votes
Democratic Barack Obama Joe Biden 1,677,211 56.22% 10
Republican John McCain Sarah Palin 1,262,393 42.31% 0
Independent Ralph Nader Matt Gonzalez 17,605 0.59% 0
Libertarian Bob Barr Wayne Allyn Root 8,858 0.30% 0
Write-ins Write-ins 6,521 0.22% 0
Constitution Chuck Baldwin Darrell Castle 5,072 0.17% 0
Green Cynthia McKinney Rosa Clemente 4,216 0.14% 0
Others - - 1,541 0.05% 0
Totals 2,983,417 100.00% 10
Voter turnout (Voting age population) 70.8%

Results breakdown

By county

County Obama% Obama# McCain% McCain# Others% Others# Total
Adams County 58.14% 5,806 39.80% 3,974 2.06% 206 9,986
Ashland County 67.86% 5,818 30.72% 2,634 1.42% 122 8,574
Barron County 52.77% 12,078 45.69% 10,457 1.53% 351 22,886
Bayfield County 63.08% 5,972 35.54% 3,365 1.38% 131 9,468
Brown County 53.93% 67,269 44.77% 55,854 1.30% 1,621 124,744
Buffalo County 56.41% 3,949 41.76% 2,923 1.83% 128 7,000
Burnett County 49.92% 4,337 48.34% 4,200 1.74% 151 8,688
Calumet County 50.22% 13,295 48.05% 12,722 1.73% 457 26,474
Chippewa County 53.72% 16,239 44.63% 13,492 1.65% 500 30,231
Clark County 52.54% 7,454 44.99% 6,383 2.47% 350 14,187
Columbia County 56.92% 16,661 41.65% 12,193 1.43% 418 29,272
Crawford County 62.49% 4,987 35.46% 2,830 2.05% 164 7,981
Dane County 72.80% 205,984 25.82% 73,065 1.37% 3,890 282,939
Dodge County 44.80% 19,183 53.74% 23,015 1.46% 625 42,823
Door County 58.02% 10,142 40.68% 7,112 1.30% 227 17,481
Douglas County 65.78% 15,830 32.56% 7,835 1.67% 401 24,066
Dunn County 56.56% 13,002 41.61% 9,566 1.83% 421 22,989
Eau Claire County 60.25% 33,146 38.10% 20,959 1.65% 905 55,010
Florence County 42.23% 1,134 56.31% 1,512 1.45% 39 2,685
Fond du Lac County 44.84% 23,463 53.83% 28,164 1.33% 696 52,323
Forest County 57.08% 2,673 41.92% 1,963 1.00% 47 4,683
Grant County 61.16% 14,875 37.29% 9,068 1.55% 377 24,320
Green County 62.06% 11,502 36.31% 6,730 1.63% 302 18,534
Green Lake County 41.95% 4,000 56.55% 5,393 1.50% 143 9,536
Iowa County 66.73% 7,987 31.99% 3,829 1.28% 153 11,969
Iron County 55.77% 1,914 42.66% 1,464 1.57% 54 3,432
Jackson County 60.23% 5,572 38.40% 3,552 1.37% 127 9,251
Jefferson County 49.69% 21,448 48.87% 21,096 1.44% 622 43,166
Juneau County 53.65% 6,186 44.65% 5,148 1.70% 196 11,530
Kenosha County 58.18% 45,836 40.12% 31,609 1.71% 1,344 78,789
Kewaunee County 54.71% 5,902 43.67% 4,711 1.61% 174 10,787
La Crosse County 60.94% 38,524 37.49% 23,701 1.57% 993 63,218
Lafayette County 60.43% 4,732 38.10% 2,984 1.47% 115 7,831
Langlade County 49.82% 5,182 48.85% 5,081 1.34% 139 10,402
Lincoln County 55.17% 8,424 42.70% 6,519 2.13% 325 15,268
Manitowoc County 52.88% 22,428 45.35% 19,234 1.77% 752 42,414
Marathon County 53.53% 36,367 44.66% 30,345 1.81% 1,228 67,940
Marinette County 52.67% 11,195 45.76% 9,726 1.57% 334 21,255
Marquette County 51.85% 4,068 46.57% 3,654 1.58% 124 7,846
Menominee County 86.81% 1,257 12.78% 185 0.41% 6 1,448
Milwaukee County 67.30% 319,819 31.45% 149,445 1.25% 5,928 475,192
Monroe County 53.25% 10,198 45.25% 8,666 1.50% 288 19,152
Oconto County 52.34% 9,927 46.16% 8,755 1.51% 286 18,968
Oneida County 54.30% 11,907 43.92% 9,630 1.78% 390 21,927
Outagamie County 54.93% 50,294 43.33% 39,677 1.74% 1,592 91,563
Ozaukee County 38.56% 20,579 60.29% 32,172 1.15% 614 53,365
Pepin County 55.74% 2,102 42.85% 1,616 1.41% 53 3,771
Pierce County 53.39% 11,803 44.38% 9,812 2.23% 492 22,107
Polk County 48.03% 10,876 49.83% 11,282 2.14% 485 22,643
Portage County 62.95% 24,817 35.03% 13,810 2.02% 795 39,422
Price County 55.64% 4,559 42.24% 3,461 2.12% 174 8,194
Racine County 53.07% 53,408 45.66% 45,954 1.27% 1,280 100,642
Richland County 59.66% 5,041 39.03% 3,298 1.31% 111 8,450
Rock County 63.82% 50,529 34.56% 27,364 1.61% 1,276 79,169
Rusk County 53.01% 3,855 44.73% 3,253 2.26% 164 7,272
St. Croix County 47.25% 21,177 50.95% 22,837 1.80% 807 44,821
Sauk County 60.79% 18,617 37.75% 11,562 1.46% 447 30,626
Sawyer County 52.45% 4,765 46.22% 4,199 1.33% 121 9,085
Shawano County 51.07% 10,259 47.48% 9,538 1.45% 292 20,089
Sheboygan County 48.94% 30,395 49.59% 30,801 1.47% 911 62,107
Taylor County 48.82% 4,563 49.07% 4,586 2.11% 197 9,346
Trempealeau County 62.50% 8,321 36.11% 4,808 1.39% 185 13,314
Vernon County 60.13% 8,463 38.13% 5,367 1.74% 245 14,075
Vilas County 47.21% 6,491 51.31% 7,055 1.48% 204 13,750
Walworth County 47.95% 24,177 50.54% 25,485 1.51% 760 50,422
Washburn County 51.50% 4,693 47.22% 4,303 1.27% 116 9,112
Washington County 34.56% 25,719 64.14% 47,729 1.29% 963 74,411
Waukesha County 36.64% 85,339 62.32% 145,152 1.03% 2,406 232,897
Waupaca County 50.77% 12,952 47.95% 12,232 1.28% 327 25,511
Waushara County 49.52% 5,868 48.70% 5,770 1.78% 211 11,849
Winnebago County 54.94% 48,167 43.28% 37,946 1.78% 1,564 87,677
Wood County 55.59% 21,710 42.46% 16,581 1.95% 761 39,052

By congressional district

Barack Obama swept the state, carrying seven of the state’s eight congressional districts, including two districts held by Republicans.

District McCain Obama Representative
1st 47.45% 51.40% Paul Ryan
2nd 29.78% 69.00% Tammy Baldwin
3rd 40.80% 57.76% Ron Kind
4th 23.61% 75.39% Gwen Moore
5th 57.73% 41.28% Jim Sensenbrenner
6th 48.72% 49.91% Tom Petri
7th 42.52% 55.91% David Obey
8th 45.12% 53.59% Steve Kagen

Electors

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Main article: List of 2008 United States presidential electors

Technically the voters of Wisconsin cast their ballots for electors: representatives to the Electoral College. Wisconsin is allocated 10 electors because it has 8 congressional districts and 2 senators. All candidates who appear on the ballot or qualify to receive write-in votes must submit a list of 10 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 10 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.[26] 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 the members of the Electoral College from the state. All 10 were pledged to Barack Obama and Joe Biden:[27]

  1. Ray Rivera
  2. Fred Risser
  3. Rollie Hick
  4. Polly Williams
  5. Dean Palmer
  6. Gordon Hintz
  7. Christine Bremer-Muggli
  8. Donsia Strong Hill
  9. Jim Doyle
  10. Joe Wineke

See also

Notes

  1. ↑ Waupaca County did like most of Wisconsin vote for “Independent” Robert M. La Follette in 1924, but apart from this election and supporting Roosevelt in 1932 and 1936 it voted Republican in every election between 1868 and 2004.[1]

References

  1. ↑ Menendez, Albert J.; The Geography of Presidential Elections in the United States, 1868-2004, pp. 337-342 ISBN 0786422173
  2. ↑ http://www.dcpoliticalreport.com/Predictions.html
  3. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  4. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  5. ↑ http://electoral-vote.com/evp2008/Pres/Maps/Dec31.html
  6. ↑ Based on Takeaway
  7. ↑ http://www.politico.com/convention/swingstate.html
  8. ↑ http://www.realclearpolitics.com/epolls/maps/obama_vs_mccain/?map=5
  9. ↑ Based on Takeaway
  10. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  11. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  12. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  13. ↑ Based on Takeaway
  14. ↑ Based on Takeaway
  15. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  16. ↑ http://hosted.ap.org/specials/interactives/campaign_plus/roadto270/
  17. ↑ http://www.rasmussenreports.com/public_content/politics/elections2/election_20082/2008_presidential_election/election_2008_electoral_college_update
  18. ↑ http://uselectionatlas.org/POLLS/PRESIDENT/2008/pollsa.php?fips=55
  19. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  20. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  21. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  22. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  23. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  24. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  25. ↑ http://uselectionatlas.org/RESULTS/
  26. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  27. ↑ https://www.archives.gov/federal-register/electoral-college/2008-certificates/index.html#wi
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