:en:2008 United States presidential election

{{Further|United States presidential election#Procedure}}

File:George-W-Bush.jpeg in 2008, George W. Bush. His second term expired at noon on January 20, 2009.]]

Article Two of the United States Constitution says that the President and Vice President of the United States must be natural-born citizens of the United States, at least 35 years old, and residents of the United States for at least 14 years. Candidates for president typically seek the nomination of a political party, in which case each party devises a method (such as a primary election) to choose a candidate for the position. Traditionally, the primaries are indirect elections where voters cast ballots for a slate of party delegates pledged to a particular candidate. The party's delegates then officially nominate a candidate to run on the party's behalf. The general election in November is also an indirect election, where voters cast ballots for a slate of members of the Electoral College; these electors in turn directly elect the president and vice president. President George W. Bush, a Republican and former Governor of Texas, was ineligible to seek reelection to a third term due to the Twenty-second Amendment; in accordance with Section{{nbsp}}1 of the Twentieth Amendment, his term expired at noon Eastern Standard Time on January 20, 2009.

{{Main|Barack Obama 2008 presidential campaign|2008 Democratic Party presidential primaries|2008 Democratic National Convention}}

{{Main|2008 Democratic Party presidential candidates}}

{{Barack Obama series|expanded=Presidential campaigns}}

{{Joe Biden series|expanded=Vice presidential campaigns}}

Media speculation had begun almost immediately after the results of the 2004 presidential election were released. In the 2006 midterm elections, the Democrats regained majorities in both houses of the U.S. Congress.{{cite news |last=Kuhnhenn |first=Jim |title=Democrats win control of Congress |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/11/09/AR2006110900147.html |newspaper=The Washington Post |agency=AP |date=November 9, 2006 |access-date=September 6, 2012 |archive-date=January 12, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200112163708/https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/11/09/AR2006110900147.html |url-status=live }} Early polls taken before anyone had announced a candidacy had shown Senators Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama as the most popular potential Democratic candidates.{{cite news|last=Borger|first=Julian|title=Now the real race begins...|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2006/nov/11/midterms2006.usa2|work=The Guardian|date=November 11, 2006|access-date=June 7, 2009|location=London|archive-date=August 16, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210816002106/https://www.theguardian.com/world/2006/nov/11/midterms2006.usa2|url-status=live}} Nevertheless, the media speculated on several other candidates, including Al Gore, the runner-up in the 2000 election; John Kerry, the runner-up in the 2004 election; John Edwards, Kerry's running mate in 2004; Delaware Senator Joe Biden; New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson; Iowa Governor Tom Vilsack; and Indiana Senator Evan Bayh.{{cite web|last=Hughes|first=John|title=With midterms over, all eyes turn to the 2008 presidential race|url=http://www.csmonitor.com/2006/1115/p09s01-cojh.html?s=widep|newspaper=The Christian Science Monitor|date=November 15, 2006|access-date=June 7, 2009|archive-date=May 6, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210506034027/https://www.csmonitor.com/2006/1115/p09s01-cojh.html?s=widep|url-status=live}}

Edwards was one of the first to formally announce his candidacy for the presidency, on December 28, 2006. This run would be his second attempt at the presidency.{{cite news|last=Balz|first=Dan|title=Edwards Formally Joins 2008 Presidential Race|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/2006/12/29/edwards-formally-joins-2008-presidential-race-span-classbankheadex-senator-calls-for-drawdown-in-iraqspan/a8e3bf08-1096-4edb-a684-e95d3b54cc70/|newspaper=The Washington Post|date=December 29, 2006|access-date=June 7, 2009|archive-date=March 28, 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240328094326/https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/2006/12/29/edwards-formally-joins-2008-presidential-race-span-classbankheadex-senator-calls-for-drawdown-in-iraqspan/a8e3bf08-1096-4edb-a684-e95d3b54cc70/|url-status=live}} Clinton announced intentions to run in the Democratic primaries on January 20, 2007.{{Cite web |last1=Liasson |first1=Mara |last2=Simon |first2=Scott |title=Hillary Clinton Enters Race for President |url=https://www.npr.org/2007/01/20/6929745/hillary-clinton-enters-race-for-president |access-date=28 March 2024 |website=NPR |archive-date=March 28, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240328093216/https://www.npr.org/2007/01/20/6929745/hillary-clinton-enters-race-for-president |url-status=live }} Obama announced his candidacy on February 10 in his home state of Illinois.{{Cite news |last1=Nagourney |first1=Adam |last2=Zeleny |first2=Jeff |date=2007-02-11 |title=Obama Formally Enters Presidential Race |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2007/02/11/us/politics/11obama.html |access-date=2024-03-28 |work=The New York Times |language=en-US |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=March 28, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240328094127/https://www.nytimes.com/2007/02/11/us/politics/11obama.html |url-status=live }}

Early in the year, the support for Barack Obama started to increase in the polls and he passed Clinton for the top spot in Iowa; he ended up winning the caucus in that state, with Edwards coming in second and Clinton in third.{{cite news|first1=Candy|last1=Crowley|first2=Suzanne|last2=Malveaux|first3=Jessica|last3=Yellin|title=Obama wins Iowa as candidate for change|url=http://www.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/01/03/iowa.dems/index.html|website=CNN|date=January 4, 2008|access-date=June 8, 2009|archive-date=April 13, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210413022749/http://www.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/01/03/iowa.dems/index.html|url-status=live}} Obama's win was fueled mostly by first time caucus-goers and Independents and showed voters viewed him as the "candidate of change". Iowa has since been viewed as the state that jump-started Obama's campaign and set him on track to win both the nomination and the presidency.{{cite news|last=Steinhauser|first=Paul|title=Back to where it began: Obama visits Iowa|url=http://www.cnn.com/2009/POLITICS/04/22/obama.iowa/index.html|website=CNN|date=April 22, 2009|access-date=June 8, 2009|archive-date=April 13, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210413040604/http://www.cnn.com/2009/POLITICS/04/22/obama.iowa/index.html|url-status=live}} After the Iowa caucus, Biden and Connecticut Senator Chris Dodd withdrew from the nomination contest.

Obama became the new front runner in New Hampshire, when his poll numbers skyrocketed after his Iowa victory. The Clinton campaign was struggling after a huge loss in Iowa and no strategy beyond the early primaries and caucuses. According to The Vancouver Sun, campaign strategists had "mapped a victory scenario that envisioned the former first lady wrapping up the Democratic presidential nomination by Super Tuesday on Feb. 5."{{cite news|last=Alberts|first=Sheldon|title=Overconfidence, bad strategy doomed Clinton campaign|url=http://www2.canada.com/vancouversun/news/story.html?id=5c4b296c-38e6-454d-9edf-3c03d67aa4bd|publisher=The Vancouver Sun|date=June 7, 2008|access-date=June 8, 2009|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080611002622/http://www.canada.com/vancouversun/news/story.html?id=5c4b296c-38e6-454d-9edf-3c03d67aa4bd|archive-date=June 11, 2008|df=mdy-all}} In what is considered a turning point for her campaign, Clinton had a strong performance at the Saint Anselm College, ABC, and Facebook debates several days before the New Hampshire primary as well as an emotional interview in a public broadcast live on TV.{{cite news|url=http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/us_and_americas/us_elections/article3160177.ece|title=Hillary Clinton: my teary moment won me New Hampshire|date=January 9, 2008|author1=Hannah Strange|author2=Philippe Naughton|name-list-style=amp|work=The Times|access-date=March 14, 2008|location=London|archive-date=April 29, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110429092256/http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/us_and_americas/us_elections/article3160177.ece|url-status=dead}} See also: {{cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dqGl-pDnYMQ |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211212/dqGl-pDnYMQ| archive-date=2021-12-12 |url-status=live|title=Hillary tears up in New Hampshire Primary 2008|date=January 9, 2008 |format=Video|publisher=YouTube}}{{cbignore}} Clinton won that primary by 2% of the vote, contrary to the predictions of pollsters who consistently had her trailing Obama for a few days up to the primary date.{{cite web|title=2008 New Hampshire Democratic Presidential Primary|url=http://www.pollster.com/polls/nh/08-nh-dem-pres-primary.php|publisher=Pollster.com|access-date=June 8, 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080923001235/http://www.pollster.com/polls/nh/08-nh-dem-pres-primary.php|archive-date=September 23, 2008|url-status=dead|df=mdy-all}} Clinton's win was the first time a woman had ever won a major American party's presidential primary for the purposes of delegate selection.{{cite web|url=http://www.cawp.rutgers.edu/fast_facts/elections/preswatch_clinton.php |title = Fast Facts - Elections - Election Watch{{!}} Center for American Women and Politics |access-date=May 31, 2015 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090430130147/http://www.cawp.rutgers.edu/fast_facts/elections/preswatch_clinton.php |archive-date=April 30, 2009 }}

On January 30, 2008, after placing in third in the New Hampshire and South Carolina primaries, Edwards announced that he was suspending his campaign for the presidency, but he did not initially endorse any remaining candidates.{{cite news|url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/edwards-exits-presidential-race/|title=Edwards exits presidential race|work=CBS News|date=January 30, 2008|access-date=January 30, 2008|archive-date=October 20, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121020215050/http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2008/01/30/politics/main3768889.shtml|url-status=live}}{{cite news|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/newsOne/idUSN2964765820080131/|title=Giuliani, Edwards quit White House Race|date=January 30, 2008|access-date=January 30, 2008|publisher=Reuters|first=Steve|last=Holland|archive-date=November 5, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211105190326/https://www.reuters.com/article/newsOne/idUSN2964765820080131|url-status=live}}

File:Super Tuesday Vote Utah.jpg

Super Tuesday was February 5, 2008, when the largest-ever number of simultaneous state primary elections was held.{{cite news|last=Greene|first=Richard Allen|title=States jostle for primary power|work=BBC News|date=May 30, 2007|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/6501241.stm|access-date=September 15, 2008|archive-date=August 15, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210815081755/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/6501241.stm|url-status=live}} Super Tuesday ended up leaving the Democrats in a virtual tie, with Obama amassing 847 delegates to Clinton's 834 from the 23 states that held Democratic primaries.

{{cite web

|title=Presidential primary and caucus dates

|publisher=Pew Research Center

|date=August 30, 2007

|work=Stateline.org

|page=1

|url=http://archive.stateline.org/flash-data/Primary/2008_presidential_primaries.pdf

|access-date=September 15, 2008

|url-status=dead

|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080911154423/http://archive.stateline.org/flash-data/Primary/2008_presidential_primaries.pdf

|archive-date=September 11, 2008

}}

California was one of the Super Tuesday states that could provide a large number of delegates to the candidates. Obama trailed in the California polling by an average of 6.0% before the primary; he ended up losing that state by 8.3% of the vote.{{cite news|url=http://www.fivethirtyeight.com/2008/08/persistent-myth-of-bradley-effect.html|title=The Persistent Myth of the Bradley Effect|author=Nate Silver|date=August 11, 2008|access-date=August 11, 2008|archive-date=December 2, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131202235028/http://www.fivethirtyeight.com/2008/08/persistent-myth-of-bradley-effect.html|url-status=dead}} Some analysts cited a large Latino turnout that voted for Clinton as the deciding factor.{{cite news|url=http://www.californiaprogressreport.com/2008/02/clinton_win_in.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080313005908/http://www.californiaprogressreport.com/2008/02/clinton_win_in.html|archive-date=March 13, 2008|title=Clinton Win in California Larger Than Polls Predicted Because of Huge Latino Turnout|author=Frank D. Russo|date=February 6, 2008|access-date=March 14, 2008}}

The Louisiana, Nebraska, Hawaii, Wisconsin, U.S. Virgin Islands, the District of Columbia, Maryland, and Virginia primaries and the Washington and Maine caucuses all took place after Super Tuesday in February. Obama won all of them, giving him 10 consecutive victories after Super Tuesday.{{cite news|url=http://www.cnn.com/ELECTION/2008/primaries/results/state/#ME|title=Election Center 2008: Primary Results from Maine|work=CNN|date=February 10, 2008|access-date=March 14, 2008|archive-date=May 7, 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080507001932/http://www.cnn.com/ELECTION/2008/primaries/results/state/#ME|url-status=live}}{{cite news|work=NBC News|title=2008 Primary Results|access-date=March 14, 2008|url=https://www.nbcnews.com/id/wbna21660914|archive-date=September 23, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200923223214/http://www.nbcnews.com/id/21660914|url-status=live}}

On March 4, Hillary Clinton carried Ohio and Rhode Island in the Democratic primaries; some considered these wins, especially Ohio, a "surprise upset" by 10%,{{cite news|title=Clinton comeback: Fight goes on|work=The Seattle Times|date=March 5, 2008|url=http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/politics/2004261471_elexdems05.html|access-date=March 5, 2008|archive-date=December 14, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111214175507/http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/politics/2004261471_elexdems05.html|url-status=live}}{{cite web|url=http://politics.nytimes.com/election-guide/2008/results/votes/|title=2008 Presidential election results|access-date=July 27, 2016|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160726145824/http://politics.nytimes.com/election-guide/2008/results/votes/|archive-date=July 26, 2016|df=mdy-all}} although she did lead in the polling averages in both states.{{cite news|title=Clinton wins key primaries, CNN projects; McCain clinches nod|work=CNN|date=March 5, 2008|url=http://www.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/03/04/march.4.contests/|access-date=March 5, 2008|archive-date=April 13, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210413010400/http://www.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/03/04/march.4.contests/|url-status=live}} She also carried the primary in Texas, but Obama won the Texas caucuses held the same day and netted more delegates from the state than Clinton.{{cite news|title=Election Center 2008 Primaries and Caucuses: Results: Democratic Scorecard|date=August 20, 2008|url=http://www.cnn.com/ELECTION/2008/primaries/results/scorecard/#D|work=CNN|access-date=May 26, 2008|archive-date=June 4, 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080604022436/http://www.cnn.com/ELECTION/2008/primaries/results/scorecard/#D|url-status=live}}

Only one state held a primary in April. This was Pennsylvania, on April 22. Although Obama made a strong effort to win Pennsylvania, Hillary Clinton won that primary by nearly 10%, with approximately 55% of the vote.{{cite news|author=Jensen, Kristin|author2=Dodge, Catherine|title=Clinton Wins Pennsylvania Vote; Obama Retains Control (Update6)|url=https://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=asAZ87WefY6Y|publisher=Bloomberg L.P.|date=April 23, 2008|access-date=June 8, 2009}} Obama had outspent Clinton three to one in Pennsylvania, but his comment at a San Francisco fundraiser that small-town Americans "cling" to guns and religion drew sharp criticism from the Clinton campaign and may have hurt his chances in the Keystone State.{{cite news|author=Oinounou, Mosheh|author2=Bruns, Aaron|title=Obama on Guns and Religion: 'I Didn't Say It as Well as I Should Have'|url=http://www.foxnews.com/politics/elections/2008/04/12/obama-on-guns-and-religion-i-didnt-say-it-as-well-as-i-should-have/|publisher=Fox News|date=April 12, 2008|access-date=June 8, 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090220190748/http://www.foxnews.com/politics/elections/2008/04/12/obama-on-guns-and-religion-i-didnt-say-it-as-well-as-i-should-have/ |archive-date=February 20, 2009|author-link=Mosheh Oinounou}} In addition, Clinton had several advantages in Pennsylvania. Throughout the primary process, she relied on the support of older, white, working class voters. Pennsylvania held a closed primary, which means that only registered Democrats could vote, and, according to Ron Elving of NPR, the established Democratic electorate "was older, whiter, more Catholic and more working-class than in most of the primaries to date."{{cite web|last=Elving|first=Ron|title=Analysis: Clinton Needed Pennsylvania to Carry On|url=https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=89865397|publisher=NPR|date=April 23, 2008|access-date=June 8, 2009|archive-date=August 16, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210816190910/https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=89865397|url-status=live}} After Pennsylvania, Obama had a higher number of delegates and popular votes than Clinton did and was still in a stronger position to win the nomination. Clinton, however, had received the endorsement of more superdelegates than Obama.

On May 6, North Carolina and Indiana held their Democratic presidential primaries. Clinton and Obama campaigned aggressively there before the voting took place. Polling had shown Obama a few points ahead in North Carolina and Clinton similarly leading in Indiana.{{cite web|url=http://www.realclearpolitics.com/epolls/2008/president/nc/north_carolina_democratic_primary-275.html|title=Election 2008 – North Carolina Democratic Primary|publisher=RealClearPolitics|date=May 1, 2008|access-date=January 24, 2009|archive-date=April 13, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210413010410/https://www.realclearpolitics.com/epolls/2008/president/nc/north_carolina_democratic_primary-275.html|url-status=live}}{{cite web|url=http://www.realclearpolitics.com/epolls/2008/president/in/indiana_democratic_primary-639.html|title=Election 2008 – Indiana Democratic Primary|publisher=RealClearPolitics|access-date=January 24, 2009|archive-date=July 15, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210715143948/https://www.realclearpolitics.com/epolls/2008/president/in/indiana_democratic_primary-639.html|url-status=live}} In the actual results, Obama outperformed the polls by several points in both states, winning by a significant margin in North Carolina{{cite web|title=NC—Election Results|url=http://results.enr.clarityelections.com/NC/1875/4822/en/summary.html|publisher=North Carolina State Board of Elections|date=May 7, 2008|access-date=June 8, 2009|archive-date=May 25, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170525040551/http://results.enr.clarityelections.com/NC/1875/4822/en/summary.html|url-status=live}} and losing by only 1.1% in Indiana (50.56% to 49.44%).{{cite web|title=Indiana Primary Election, May 6, 2008|url=http://www.in.gov/apps/sos/primary/sos_primary08|publisher=Indiana Secretary of State|date=August 22, 2008|access-date=June 8, 2009|archive-date=August 11, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180811070158/http://www.in.gov/apps/sos/primary/sos_primary08|url-status=live}} After these primaries, most pundits declared that it had become "increasingly improbable," if not impossible, for Clinton to win the nomination.{{cite news|last=Rutenberg|first=Jim|title=Pundits Declare the Race Over|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/08/us/politics/07cnd-pundits.html|work=The New York Times|date=May 8, 2008|access-date=June 8, 2009|archive-date=April 25, 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090425033140/http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/08/us/politics/07cnd-pundits.html|url-status=live}} The small win in Indiana barely kept her campaign alive for the next month.{{cite web|url=https://www.nbcnews.com/id/wbna24481004|title=NBC: Obama takes N.C. - Decision '08- NBC News|work=NBC News|date=May 7, 2008|access-date=January 24, 2009|archive-date=September 23, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200923223746/http://www.nbcnews.com/id/24481004|url-status=live}} Although she did manage to win the majority of the remaining primaries and delegates, it was not enough to overcome Obama's substantial delegate lead.

During late 2007, the two parties adopted rules against states' moving their primaries to an earlier date in the year. For the Republicans, the penalty for this violation was supposed to be the loss of half the state party's delegates to the convention. The Democratic penalty was the complete exclusion from the national convention of delegates from states that broke these rules. The Democratic Party allowed only four states to hold elections before February 5, 2008. Clinton won a majority of delegates and popular votes from both states (though 40% voted uncommitted in Michigan) and subsequently led a fight to seat all the Florida and Michigan delegates.{{cite magazine|author=Hertzberg, Hendrik|date=June 2, 2008|url=http://www.newyorker.com/talk/comment/2008/06/02/080602taco_talk_hertzberg|title=Memory Lapse|magazine=The New Yorker|access-date=June 8, 2009|archive-date=March 7, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140307081344/http://www.newyorker.com/talk/comment/2008/06/02/080602taco_talk_hertzberg|url-status=live}}

There was some speculation that the fight over the delegates could last until the convention in August. On May 31, 2008, the Rules and Bylaws Committee of the Democratic Party reached a compromise on the Florida and Michigan delegate situation. The committee decided to seat delegates from Michigan and Florida at the convention in August, but to only award each a half-vote.{{cite news|url=http://us.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/05/31/dems.delegates/index.html|title=Florida, Michigan get all delegates, but each gets half vote|website=CNN|date=May 31, 2008|access-date=May 31, 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080602222431/http://us.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/05/31/dems.delegates/index.html|archive-date=June 2, 2008}}

File:2008 DNC during Stevie Wonder's performance.jpg

The major political party nomination process (technically) continues through June of an election year. In previous cycles, the candidates were effectively chosen by the end of the primaries held in March, but, in this cycle, Barack Obama did not win enough delegates to secure the nomination until June 3, after a 17-month campaign against Hillary Clinton. He had a wide lead in states won, while Clinton had won majorities in several of the larger states. Now, because a form of proportional representation and popular vote decided Democratic state delegate contests, numbers were close between Clinton and Obama.{{cite web |url= http://www.lib.niu.edu/1991/ii911010.html |title= The 1992 primary: proportional representation for Illinois Democrats |first= John S. |last= Jackson |author2= Barbara Leavitt Brown |work= Illinois Issues |date= October 12, 1991 |access-date= May 18, 2008 |publisher= University of Illinois at Springfield |archive-date= August 23, 2021 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20210823041247/https://www.lib.niu.edu/1991/ii911010.html |url-status= live }} By May, Clinton claimed to hold a lead in the popular vote, but the Associated Press found that her numbers were "accurate only" in one close scenario.{{cite news |url= https://www.usatoday.com/news/politics/2008-05-15-495396467_x.htm |title= Fact check: Clinton vote claims under scrutiny |publisher= USA Today |agency= Associated Press |date= May 15, 2008 |access-date= June 8, 2009 |archive-date= April 28, 2011 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20110428083427/http://www.usatoday.com/news/politics/2008-05-15-495396467_x.htm |url-status= live }}

In June, after the last of the primaries had taken place, Obama secured the Democratic nomination for president, with the help of multiple super delegate endorsements (most of the super delegates had refused to declare their support for either candidate until the primaries were completed).{{cite web|url=https://www.nbcnews.com/id/wbna24944453|title=Obama claims Democratic nomination—Decision '08- NBC News|work=NBC News|date=June 4, 2008|access-date=January 24, 2009|archive-date=September 23, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200923223846/http://www.nbcnews.com/id/24944453|url-status=live}} He was the first African American to win the nomination of a major political party in the United States.{{cite news|last=Zeleny|first=Jeff|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/04/us/politics/04elect.html|title=Obama Clinches Nomination; First Black Candidate to Lead a Major Party Ticket|work=The New York Times|date=June 4, 2008|access-date=January 24, 2009|archive-date=August 17, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200817103707/https://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/04/us/politics/04elect.html|url-status=live}} For several days, Clinton refused to concede the race, although she signaled her presidential campaign was ending in a post-primary speech on June 3 in her home state of New York.{{cite web|url=http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0608/10797.html|title=Historic night: Obama clinches nomination—Bill Nichols and Ben Smith|date=June 3, 2008|publisher=Politico.com|access-date=January 24, 2009|archive-date=April 12, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120412084230/http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0608/10797.html|url-status=live}} She finally conceded the nomination to Obama on June 7. She pledged her full support to the presumptive nominee and vowed to do everything she could to help him get elected.{{cite web|url=https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/Vote2008/Story?id=5020581&page=1|title=ABC News: Clinton Concedes Democratic Nomination; Obama Leads Party in Fall|publisher=Abcnews.go.com|access-date=January 24, 2009|archive-date=August 16, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210816001241/https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/Vote2008/Story?id=5020581&page=1|url-status=live}}

{{Main|John McCain 2008 presidential campaign|2008 Republican Party presidential primaries|2008 Republican National Convention}}

Not only was the 2008 election the first time since 1952 that neither the incumbent president nor the incumbent vice president was a candidate in the general election, but it was also the first time since the 1928 election that neither sought his party's nomination for president; as Bush was term-limited from seeking another nomination, the unique aspect was Vice President Cheney's decision not to seek the Republican nomination.{{cite news|first=Toby|last=Harnden|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/1435447/The-top-US-conservatives-and-liberals.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220110/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/1435447/The-top-US-conservatives-and-liberals.html |archive-date=January 10, 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live|title=The top US conservatives and liberals|access-date=September 7, 2008|date=November 13, 2007|publisher=Telegraph.co.uk|location=London}}{{cbignore}}[https://www.senate.gov/artandhistory/history/common/generic/VP_Charles_Dawes.htm Charles G. Dawes, 30th Vice President (1925–1929)] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141106112435/https://www.senate.gov/artandhistory/history/common/generic/VP_Charles_Dawes.htm |date=November 6, 2014 }}, U.S. Senate. The 2008 election was also the third presidential election since 1896 in which neither the incumbent president, the incumbent vice president, nor a current or former member of the incumbent president's Cabinet won the nomination of either major party the others being 1920 and 1952.{{cite journal|last1=Jones|first1=Charles O.|title=Vice Presidents and Other Heirs Apparent: The Historical Experience of Experience|journal=Presidential Studies Quarterly|date=September 2008|volume=38|issue=3|pages=422–432|jstor=41219688|doi=10.1111/j.1741-5705.2008.02653.x | issn = 0360-4918 }} With no members of the Bush administration emerging as major contenders for the Republican nomination, the Republican race was as open as the Democratic race.

{{Main|2008 Republican Party presidential candidates}}

{{John McCain series}}

{{Sarah Palin series}}

Immediately after the 2006 midterm elections, media pundits began speculating, as they did about the Democrats, about potential Republican candidates for president in 2008. In November 2006, former New York City Mayor Rudolph Giuliani led in the polls, followed closely by Arizona Senator John McCain.{{cite news|last=Vardi|first=Nathan|title=President Rudy Giuliani?|url=https://www.forbes.com/2006/11/14/leadership-giuliani-president-lead-manage-cz_nv_1114giuliani.html|work=Forbes|date=November 14, 2006|access-date=June 9, 2009|archive-date=August 16, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210816030145/https://www.forbes.com/2006/11/14/leadership-giuliani-president-lead-manage-cz_nv_1114giuliani.html|url-status=live}} The media speculated that Giuliani's pro-choice stance on abortion and McCain's age and support of the unpopular Iraq War would be detriments to their candidacies. Giuliani remained the frontrunner in the polls throughout most of 2007, with McCain and former Tennessee Senator Fred Thompson fighting for second place.{{cite web|title=White House 2008: Republican Nomination|url=http://pollingreport.com/wh08rep.htm|publisher=Pollingreport.com|access-date=June 9, 2009|archive-date=June 13, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160613110212/http://www.pollingreport.com/wh08rep.htm|url-status=live}} Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee, Giuliani, former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney, and Texas Representative Ron Paul announced their candidacies on January 28, February 5, February 13, and March 12, respectively.{{cite news|last=Romano|first=Lois|title=Huckabee Announces Presidential Bit|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/01/28/AR2007012800482.html|newspaper=The Washington Post|date=January 29, 2007|access-date=June 9, 2009|archive-date=March 9, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210309060620/https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/01/28/AR2007012800482.html|url-status=live}}{{cite news|author=Balz, Dan|author2=Cillizza, Chris|title=Giuliani Announces He's In '08 Presidential Race|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/02/05/AR2007020500723_pf.html|newspaper=The Washington Post|date=February 6, 2007|access-date=June 9, 2009|archive-date=January 12, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200112163341/https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/02/05/AR2007020500723_pf.html|url-status=live}}{{cite news|last=Gonyea|first=Don|title=Romney Announces His Candidacy for 2008|url=https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=7388715|publisher=NPR|date=February 13, 2007|access-date=June 9, 2009|archive-date=August 18, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210818010250/https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=7388715|url-status=live}}{{cite news|url=http://www.mysanantonio.com/news/metro/stories/MYSA031207.paul2008.EN.74141d9.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070315195015/http://www.mysanantonio.com/news/metro/stories/MYSA031207.paul2008.EN.74141d9.html|archive-date=March 15, 2007|title=Paul formally launches presidential bid|author=Martin, Gary|work=San Antonio Express-News|date=March 12, 2007|access-date=March 13, 2007}} McCain officially announced his candidacy on March 1, 2007, after several informal announcements.{{cite news|last=Parker|first=Jennifer|title=The Art of the Presidential Rollout|url=https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/Story?id=3074824&page=1|work=ABC News|date=April 25, 2007|access-date=June 9, 2009|archive-date=August 14, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210814084204/https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/Story?id=3074824&page=1|url-status=live}} In the third quarter of 2007, the top four GOP (Republican) fundraisers were Romney, Giuliani, Thompson, and Ron Paul.{{cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/11/05/AR2007110501643.html|title=Paul Raises More Than $3.5M in One Day|newspaper=The Washington Post|access-date=January 28, 2018|archive-date=July 14, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170714135133/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/11/05/AR2007110501643.html|url-status=live}} MSNBC's Chuck Todd christened Giuliani and John McCain the front runners after the second Republican presidential debate in early 2007.{{cite news|last=Todd|first=Chuck|author-link=Chuck Todd|url=http://firstread.msnbc.msn.com/archive/2007/05/15/192366.aspx|title=Winners & Losers|publisher=MSNBC|date=May 15, 2007|access-date=June 9, 2009|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090531093129/http://firstread.msnbc.msn.com/archive/2007/05/15/192366.aspx|archive-date=May 31, 2009|df=mdy-all}}

Huckabee, winner of Iowa, had little to no money and hoped for at least a third-place finish in New Hampshire. McCain eventually displaced Rudy Giuliani and Romney as the front runner in New Hampshire. McCain staged a turnaround victory,{{cite news|url=http://www.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/01/08/nh.main/index.html|title=Clinton and McCain the comeback kids|publisher=CNN|date=January 8, 2008|access-date=January 8, 2008|archive-date=September 12, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200912000610/http://www.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/01/08/nh.main/index.html|url-status=live}} having been written off by the pundits and polling in single digits less than a month before the race.{{cite news|url=http://www.nbcnews.com/id/22641730|title=New poll finds McCain reshaping GOP race|work=NBC News|publisher=The New York Times|author1=Robin Toner|author2=Marjorie Connelly|name-list-style=amp|date=January 14, 2008|access-date=March 14, 2008|archive-date=September 23, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200923223353/http://www.nbcnews.com/id/22641730|url-status=dead}} See also: {{cite news|url=http://www.thestar.co.za/index.php?fArticleId=4288771|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080517231623/http://www.thestar.co.za/index.php?fArticleId=4288771|archive-date=May 17, 2008|title=John McCain: Ultimate Survivor|date=March 6, 2008|work=The Star (South Africa)|access-date=March 14, 2008}}

With the Republicans stripping Michigan and Florida of half their delegates for moving their primaries into January 2008 against party rules, the race for the nomination was based there. McCain meanwhile managed a small victory over Huckabee in South Carolina,{{cite news|url=http://www.cnn.com/ELECTION/2008/primaries/results/state/#SC|title=Election Center 2008: Primary Results for South Carolina|date=January 19, 2008|access-date=January 19, 2008|work=CNN|archive-date=May 7, 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080507001932/http://www.cnn.com/ELECTION/2008/primaries/results/state/#SC|url-status=live}} setting him up for a larger and more important victory over Romney in Florida, which held a closed primary on January 29.{{cite news|url=http://www.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/01/29/fl.primary/index.html|title=McCain wins Florida, CNN projects|publisher=CNN|date=January 29, 2008|access-date=June 9, 2009|archive-date=March 25, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210325190455/http://www.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/01/29/fl.primary/index.html|url-status=live}} By this time, after several scandals, no success in the early primaries, and a third-place finish in Florida, Giuliani conceded the nomination and endorsed John McCain the next day.{{cite news|last=Montopoli|first=Brian|title=For Giuliani, A Disappointing Fade To Exit|url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/for-giuliani-a-disappointing-fade-to-exit/|work=CBS News|date=January 29, 2008|access-date=June 9, 2009|archive-date=February 21, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110221135000/http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2008/01/29/politics/main3768035.shtml|url-status=live}}

McCain was also endorsed in February by California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger before the California primary took place on Super Tuesday. This gave him a significant boost in the polls for the state's primary,{{cite news|url=http://www.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/01/31/mccain.endorsements/index.html|title=Schwarzenegger backs McCain for president|publisher=CNN|date=January 31, 2008|access-date=May 26, 2010|archive-date=August 16, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210816062350/http://www.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/01/31/mccain.endorsements/index.html|url-status=live}} which awarded the greatest number of delegates of all the states. On Super Tuesday, McCain won his home state of Arizona, taking all 53 delegates. He also won nearly all of California's 173 delegates, the largest of the Super Tuesday prizes. McCain also scored wins in seven other states, picking up 574 delegates.{{cite news|last=Johnson|first=Wesley|title=Super Tuesday results state by state|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/super-tuesday-results-state-by-state-778654.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220501/https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/super-tuesday-results-state-by-state-778654.html |archive-date=May 1, 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live|work=The Independent|date=February 6, 2008|access-date=June 9, 2009|location=London}}{{cbignore}} Huckabee was the "surprise performer", winning 5 states and 218 delegates. Romney won 7 states and 231 delegates. Two days later, Romney suspended his presidential campaign, saying that if he stayed in the race, he would "forestall the launch of a national campaign and be making it easier for Senator Clinton or Obama to win".{{cite news|title=Romney suspends presidential campaign|work=CNN|date=February 7, 2008|first=John|last=King|url=http://www.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/02/07/romney.campaign/index.html|access-date=June 10, 2009|archive-date=September 2, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210902191057/http://www.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/02/07/romney.campaign/index.html|url-status=live}} His departure left Huckabee and Paul as McCain's only major challengers in the remaining primaries and caucuses. Romney endorsed McCain on February 14.{{cite news|url=http://www.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/02/14/romney.mccain/index.html|title=Romney endorses McCain for GOP nomination|publisher=CNN|date=February 14, 2008|access-date=June 9, 2009|archive-date=April 23, 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090423193808/http://www.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/02/14/romney.mccain/index.html|url-status=live}}

Louisiana, the District of Columbia, Kansas, Wisconsin, and Washington held primaries in February after Super Tuesday. Despite McCain picking up big victories, Huckabee won Louisiana and Kansas. McCain narrowly carried the Washington caucuses over Huckabee and Paul, who amassed a large showing. The Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico closed February for the Republicans. After Super Tuesday, John McCain had become the clear front runner, but by the end of February, he still had not acquired enough delegates to secure the nomination. In March, John McCain clinched the Republican nomination after sweeping all four primaries, Texas, Ohio, Vermont, and Rhode Island, putting him over the top of the 1,191 delegates required to win the GOP nomination. Mike Huckabee then conceded the race to McCain, leaving Ron Paul, who had just 16 delegates, as his only remaining opponent.{{cite news|title=Huckabee bows to 'inevitable,' ends GOP run|work=CNN|date=March 5, 2008|url=http://www.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/03/05/huckabee/|access-date=March 5, 2008|archive-date=August 14, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210814100823/http://www.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/03/05/huckabee/|url-status=live}} Romney would eventually become the Republican presidential nominee 4 years later, which he then lost to Barack Obama.

{{Main|Third-party and independent candidates for the 2008 United States presidential election}}

Along with the Democratic and Republican parties, three other parties nominated candidates with ballot access in enough states to win the minimum 270 electoral votes needed to win the election. These were the Constitution Party, the Green Party, and the Libertarian Party. In addition, independent candidate Ralph Nader ran his own campaign.

The Constitution Party nominated writer, pastor, and conservative talk show host Chuck Baldwin for president, and attorney Darrell Castle from Tennessee for vice president.{{cite news|last=Mannies|first=Jo|title=At KC convention, Constitution Party picks pastor for president|url=http://www.stltoday.com/blogzone/political-fix/political-fix/2008/04/at-kc-convention-constitution-party-picks-pastor-for-president/|archive-url=https://archive.today/20080530214447/http://www.stltoday.com/blogzone/political-fix/political-fix/2008/04/at-kc-convention-constitution-party-picks-pastor-for-president/|url-status=dead|archive-date=May 30, 2008|work=St. Louis Post-Dispatch|date=April 26, 2008|access-date=July 14, 2009}}{{cite news|author=Montana News Association|title=BALDWIN 2008 PRESIDENTIAL CAMPAIGN KICKS OFF|url=http://www.montanasnews.tv/articles.php?mode=view&id=11063|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110501073923/http://www.montanasnews.tv/articles.php?mode=view&id=11063|url-status=dead|archive-date=May 1, 2011|publisher=Montana News Association |date=May 22, 2008|access-date=July 14, 2009}} While campaigning, Baldwin voiced his opposition to the Iraq War, the Sixteenth Amendment, Roe v. Wade, the IRS, and the Federal Reserve.{{cite news|last=Simon|first=Scott|title=Chuck Baldwin On His Run For President|url=https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=95822850|publisher=NPR|date=October 18, 2008|access-date=July 14, 2009|archive-date=August 16, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210816060744/https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=95822850|url-status=live}}

The Green Party nominated former Democratic representative Cynthia McKinney from Georgia for president, and political activist Rosa Clemente from New York for vice president. McKinney campaigned on a platform that supported single-payer universal health care, the withdrawal of American troops from Iraq and Afghanistan, reparations for African Americans, and the creation of a Department of Peace.{{cite news|last=Scott|first=Jeffry|title=McKinney wins Green Party nomination|url=http://www.ajc.com/metro/content/metro/stories/2008/07/12/mckinney_green_nomination.html|work=The Atlanta Journal-Constitution|date=July 12, 2008|access-date=July 14, 2009|archive-date=May 29, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120529073043/http://www.ajc.com/metro/content/metro/stories/2008/07/12/mckinney_green_nomination.html|url-status=live}}

The Libertarian Party nominated former Republican representative Bob Barr from Georgia for president, and his former rival for the Libertarian nomination Wayne Allyn Root from Nevada, for vice president. During the 2008 presidential campaign, Barr advocated a reworking or abolition of the income tax{{cite news|title=Bob Barr: 'We must both reduce and simplify taxes'|url=http://www.independentpoliticalreport.com/2008/06/bob-barr-we-must-both-reduce-and-simplify-taxes/|publisher=Independent Political Report|date=June 5, 2008|access-date=July 14, 2009|archive-date=August 14, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210814111752/https://independentpoliticalreport.com/2008/06/bob-barr-we-must-both-reduce-and-simplify-taxes/|url-status=live}} and opposed the war in Iraq{{cite news|last=Galloway|first=Jim|title=Bob Barr thinking 'very serious' thoughts about a presidential race, Iraq, and torture|url=http://www.ajc.com/metro/content/shared-blogs/ajc/politicalinsider/entries/2008/03/26/bob_barr_very_serious_about_a.html|work=The Atlanta Journal-Constitution|date=March 26, 2008|access-date=July 14, 2009|archive-date=May 29, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120529071826/http://www.ajc.com/metro/content/shared-blogs/ajc/politicalinsider/entries/2008/03/26/bob_barr_very_serious_about_a.html|url-status=live}} and the Patriot Act.{{cite news|first=Jesse|last=Walker|author-link=Jesse Walker|title=Bob Barr, Civil Libertarian. The right wing of the ACLU|url=http://www.reason.com/news/show/28960.html|work=Reason Magazine|date=December 2003|access-date=July 14, 2009|archive-date=September 3, 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090903042812/http://www.reason.com/news/show/28960.html|url-status=live}}

File:Naderspeak.JPG|{{center|Independent:
Attorney
Ralph Nader
from Connecticut
{{small|(campaign)}}}}

File:Bob Barr-2008 cropped.jpg|{{center|Libertarian Party:
Former Representative
Bob Barr
from Georgia
{{small|(campaign)}}}}

File:CBaldwin08.jpg|{{center|Constitution Party:
Former Pastor
Chuck Baldwin
from Florida
{{small|(campaign)}}}}

File:Cynthia McKinney.jpg|{{center|Green Party:
Former Representative
Cynthia McKinney
from Georgia
{{small|(campaign)}}}}

{{Location map+|USA|width=400|float=right|caption=Sites of the 2008 National Party Conventions|places=

{{Location map~|USA|mark=blue-gold pog.svg|marksize=14|lat_deg=39.739167|lon_deg=-104.984722|position=bottom|background=#FFFFFF|label=Denver}}

{{Location map~|USA|mark=red pog.svg|marksize=10|lat_deg=44.9441|lon_deg=-93.0852|position=top|background=#FFFFFF|label=Saint Paul}}

{{Location map~|USA|mark=purple pog.svg|lat_deg=39.1|lon_deg=-94.58|position=bottom|background=#FFFFFF|label=Kansas City}}

{{Location map~|USA|mark=green pog.svg|lat_deg=41.836944|lon_deg=-87.684444|position=bottom|background=#FFFFFF|label=Chicago}}

}}

• April 23–26, 2008: 2008 Constitution Party National Convention held in Kansas City, Missouri.
• May 23–26, 2008: 2008 Libertarian National Convention, held in Denver, Colorado.
• July 10–13, 2008: 2008 Green Party National Convention, held in Chicago, Illinois.
• August 25–28, 2008: 2008 Democratic National Convention, held in Denver, Colorado.
• September 1–4, 2008: 2008 Republican National Convention, held in Saint Paul, Minnesota.

Until the onset of the 2008 financial crisis, the unpopular Iraq War was a key issue during the campaign. John McCain supported the war while Barack Obama opposed it (Obama's early and strong opposition to the war helped him stand out against the other Democratic candidates during the primaries, as well as stand out to a war-weary electorate during the general campaign). Though McCain meant it as a peacetime presence like the United States maintained in Germany and Japan after World War II,{{cite magazine|title=A Hundred Years' War?|author=Hendrik Hertzberg|magazine=The New Yorker|date=January 4, 2008|url=http://www.newyorker.com/online/blogs/hendrikhertzberg/2008/01/a-hundred-years.html|author-link=Hendrik Hertzberg|access-date=March 13, 2009|archive-date=October 18, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131018171545/http://www.newyorker.com/online/blogs/hendrikhertzberg/2008/01/a-hundred-years.html|url-status=live}}; video at {{cite web|title=Make It 100| date=January 3, 2008 |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vf7HYoh9YMM |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211212/vf7HYoh9YMM| archive-date=2021-12-12 |url-status=live|publisher=YouTube}}{{cbignore}} his statement that the United States could be in Iraq for as much as the next 50 to 100 years would prove costly. Obama used it against him as part of his strategy to tie him to the unpopular President Bush.

John McCain's support for the troop 'surge' employed by General David Petraeus, which was one of several factors credited with improving the security situation in Iraq, may have boosted McCain's stance on the issue in voters' minds. McCain (who supported the invasion) argued that his support for the successful surge showed his superior judgment. However, Obama was quick to remind voters that there would have been no need for a "surge" had there been no war at all, thus questioning McCain's judgment.

George W. Bush had become increasingly unpopular among Americans by late 2005 due in part by the growing unpopularity of the Iraq War domestically and internationally, as well as Bush's handling of the 2008 financial crisis and Hurricane Katrina in 2005. By the time Obama was elected as President of the United States on November 4, 2008, Bush's approval rating was in the low to mid 20s and his disapproval grew increasingly significant, being in the high 60s, and even low 70s in some polls.{{Cite web|title=Historic Disapproval: Bush Hits All-Time Low Amid Economic Meltdown|url=https://abcnews.go.com/PollingUnit/Politics/story?id=5920248&page=1|access-date=2021-02-08|website=ABC News|language=en|archive-date=August 18, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210818054317/https://abcnews.go.com/PollingUnit/Politics/story?id=5920248&page=1|url-status=live}} Polls consistently showed that his approval ratings among American voters had averaged around 30 percent.[http://www.gallup.com/poll/124922/Presidential-Approval-Center.aspx?ref=interactive Presidential Job Approval Center] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161118234452/http://www.gallup.com/poll/124922/Presidential-Approval-Center.aspx?ref=interactive |date=November 18, 2016 }} Gallup.com{{cite news|last=Steinhauser|first=Paul|title=Poll: Bush's popularity hits new low|publisher=CNN|date=March 19, 2008|url=http://www.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/03/19/bush.poll/|access-date=January 10, 2009|archive-date=August 16, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210816185228/http://www.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/03/19/bush.poll/|url-status=live}}{{cite news|title=Confidence sinks to lowest since 2002 as fear tightens its hold on US consumers|publisher=International Herald Tribune|date=April 11, 2008|url=http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2008/04/11/business/NA-FIN-ECO-US-Consumer-Confidence.php|access-date=January 10, 2009}} In March 2008, Bush endorsed McCain at the White House,{{cite news|title=Bush says he wants McCain to win presidency|publisher=CNN|date=March 5, 2008|url=http://www.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/03/05/mccain.bush/index.html|access-date=January 10, 2009|archive-date=March 23, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210323195317/http://www.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/03/05/mccain.bush/index.html|url-status=live}} but did not make a single appearance for McCain during the campaign. Bush appeared at the 2008 GOP convention only through a live video broadcast. He chose not to appear in person due to disaster events in the Gulf of Mexico in the aftermath of Hurricane Gustav. Although he supported the war in Iraq, McCain made an effort to show that he had disagreed with Bush on many other key issues such as climate change. During the entire general election campaign, Obama countered by pointing out in ads and at numerous campaign rallies that McCain had claimed in an interview that he voted with Bush 90% of the time, and congressional voting records supported this for the years Bush was in office.{{cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/02/08/AR2008020800964_pf.html|title=History and Necessity Unite Bush, McCain|work=Washingtonpost.com|date=February 9, 2008|access-date=January 30, 2009|first1=Peter|last1=Baker|first2=Michael|last2=Abramowitz last3 A Mazhintue|archive-date=December 3, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201203095920/https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/02/08/AR2008020800964_pf.html|url-status=live}}

{{more citations needed|section|date=November 2017}}

Image:McCainPalin1.jpg, September 10, 2008, following the Republican National Convention]]

Similar to Senator Bob Dole's 1996 presidential campaign, one of the more widely leveled charges against McCain was the issue of his age—he turned 72 in August and there was widespread concern about the idea of electing a man who would be 80 years old if he completed two full terms in office (the oldest president, Ronald Reagan, had been a month shy of 78 when he left office in January 1989).{{Cite news|last=Bouie|first=Jamelle|date=2021-11-23|title=Opinion {{!}} The Ronald Reagan Guide to Joe Biden's Political Future|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2021/11/23/opinion/biden-reagan-approval.html|access-date=2021-11-30|issn=0362-4331|archive-date=November 30, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211130143815/https://www.nytimes.com/2021/11/23/opinion/biden-reagan-approval.html|url-status=live}}{{Cite news|last=Nyhan|first=Brendan|date=2014-05-30|title=How Old Is Too Old for President? Depends Who's Running|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2014/05/31/upshot/how-old-is-too-old-for-president-depends-whos-running.html|access-date=2021-11-30|issn=0362-4331|archive-date=December 13, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201213151524/https://www.nytimes.com/2014/05/31/upshot/how-old-is-too-old-for-president-depends-whos-running.html|url-status=live}} In addition, McCain suffered from the ill effects of his captivity in North Vietnam and reportedly had difficulty lifting his arms above his head. His age in particular was considered a liability against the youthful Senator Obama, who was nearly twenty-five years his junior.{{Cite web|title=Analysis: Age an issue in the 2008 campaign? - CNN.com|url=https://edition.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/06/15/mccain.age/index.html|access-date=2021-11-30|website=edition.cnn.com|archive-date=January 18, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210118183158/http://edition.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/06/15/mccain.age/index.html|url-status=live}} McCain, by comparison, was born before World War II and belonged to the Silent Generation.{{Cite news|date=2018-08-26|title=The key moments in John McCain's life|language=en-GB|work=BBC News|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-44009916|access-date=2021-11-30|archive-date=August 24, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210824230208/https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-44009916|url-status=live}} Much like Bob Dole, McCain attempted to counter these charges by releasing all of his medical records, something Obama did not do. McCain's wife Cindy dismissed concerns about his health by arguing that "We went hiking the Grand Canyon last summer and [John] did great and had no trouble keeping up with us." McCain also appeared at several campaign stops with his still-active 95-year-old mother. In a speech on the House floor, Pennsylvania Congressman John Murtha criticized McCain's age by saying "Seven presidents have come and gone since I've been in Congress, and I saw the toll the job took on each one of them." If elected, McCain would have been the first president born in the 1930s. McCain ultimately died in 2018,{{Cite news|date=August 25, 2018|title=John McCain rebelled at the Naval Academy — and as a POW — long before he was a Senate maverick|newspaper=The Washington Post|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/retropolis/wp/2018/05/03/john-mccain-rebelled-at-the-naval-academy-and-as-a-pow-long-before-he-was-a-senate-maverick/|access-date=November 30, 2021|archive-date=May 27, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190527054724/https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/retropolis/wp/2018/05/03/john-mccain-rebelled-at-the-naval-academy-and-as-a-pow-long-before-he-was-a-senate-maverick/|url-status=live}} just one year after the completion of Obama's second term.

Like the Clinton campaign in 1996, Obama avoided discussing McCain's age directly, instead preferring to simply call his ideas and message "old" and "old hat". He also made a strong appeal to youth voters and back during his primary contest with Hillary Clinton, had stated "When I watched the feud between the Clintons and [Newt Gingrich] unfold during the 1990s, I was reminded of old quarrels started on college campuses long ago. It's time for a new generation to take over." Obama's active use of a Blackberry and other modern technology also stood in contrast to the Arizona Senator's admission that he was an infrequent user of email and the internet.{{cite web |last=Kestenbaum |first=David |date=August 1, 2008 |title=The Digital Divide Between McCain and Obama |website=NPR |url=https://www.npr.org/2008/08/01/93185393/the-digital-divide-between-mccain-and-obama |access-date=February 12, 2025 }} McCain's service in Vietnam, while marketable to baby boomers, was referred to as "unimportant" to younger voters.

File:20081102 Obama-Springsteen Rally in Cleveland.JPG, Ohio with a "Change We Need" sign]]

Obama promised "universal health care, full employment, a green America, and an America respected instead of feared by its enemies".{{cite journal |id={{ProQuest|200339829}} |last1=Simba |first1=Malik |title=The Obama Campaign 2008: A Historical Overview |journal=Western Journal of Black Studies |volume=33 |issue=3 |date=Fall 2009 |pages=186–191 }}

Polls regularly found the general electorate as a whole divided more evenly between 'change' and 'experience' as candidate qualities than the Democratic primary electorate, which split in favor of 'change' by a nearly 2–1 margin.{{cite news |author1=Perry Bacon |author2=Jennifer Agiesta |url=http://voices.washingtonpost.com/the-trail/2008/06/09/change_vs_experience_all_over.html |title=Change vs. Experience All Over Again |newspaper=The Washington Post |date=June 9, 2008 |access-date=January 3, 2009 |archive-date=January 26, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210126100954/http://voices.washingtonpost.com/the-trail/2008/06/09/change_vs_experience_all_over.html |url-status=dead }} Advantages for McCain and Obama on experience and the ability to bring change, respectively, remained steady through the November 4 election. However, final pre-election polling found that voters considered Obama's inexperience less of an impediment than McCain's association with sitting president George W. Bush,{{cite web |url=http://www.quinnipiac.edu/x2882.xml?ReleaseID=1225 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081106060519/http://www.quinnipiac.edu/x2882.xml?ReleaseID=1225 |url-status=dead |archive-date=November 6, 2008 |title=Obama Ends Campaign Ahead In Ohio And Pennsylvania, Quinnipiac University Swing State Poll Finds |publisher=Quinnipiac University Polling Institute |df=mdy-all }} an association which was rhetorically framed by the Obama campaign throughout the election season as "more of the same".

McCain appeared to undercut his line of attack by picking first-term Alaska governor Sarah Palin to be his running mate.{{cite web |author=James Joyner |url=http://www.outsidethebeltway.com/archives/sarah_palin_-_john_mccains_vp_choice/ |title=Sarah Palin – John McCain's VP Choice |publisher=Outsidethebeltway.com |date=August 29, 2008 |access-date=January 30, 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080919210544/http://www.outsidethebeltway.com/archives/sarah_palin_-_john_mccains_vp_choice/ |archive-date=September 19, 2008 |df=mdy-all }} Palin had been governor only since 2006, and before that had been a council member and mayor of Wasilla. The choice of Palin was controversial; however, it appeared to solve two pressing concerns—McCain's age and health (since a youthful vice president would succeed him to office if he died or became incapacitated) and appealing to right-wing conservatives, a group that had been comparatively unmoved by McCain. Palin also came off as more down-to-earth and relatable to average Americans than McCain, widely criticized as a "Beltway insider".{{cite news |url=https://www.nbcnews.com/id/wbna23137096 |title=Christian evangelicals send McCain a message |agency=Associated Press |work=NBC News |date=February 12, 2008 |access-date=January 30, 2009 |archive-date=September 23, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200923223500/http://www.nbcnews.com/id/23137096 |url-status=live }} However, media interviews suggested that Palin lacked knowledge on certain key issues, and they cast doubt among many voters about her qualifications to be vice president or president. In this regard, her inexperience was also a liability when McCain's age and health were factored in—there was a higher-than-normal probability of Palin succeeding to the presidency. "One 72-year-old heartbeat away from the presidency" became a popular anti-GOP slogan.{{Cite web |last=Burns |first=Alexander |date=2008-09-03 |title=McCain and the politics of mortality |url=https://www.politico.com/story/2008/09/mccain-and-the-politics-of-mortality-013096 |access-date=2024-02-19 |website=POLITICO |language=en |archive-date=January 17, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240117002156/https://www.politico.com/story/2008/09/mccain-and-the-politics-of-mortality-013096 |url-status=live }} She also came under attack on everything from her 17-year-old daughter giving birth to a child out of wedlock to actively participating in hunting moose and other animals.{{cite news |title=Palin gets media savaging after faltering interview |publisher=AFP |date=September 26, 2008 |url=http://afp.google.com/article/ALeqM5i7lJ7uGNOkOTK964WwjybvKVDouA |access-date=December 30, 2008 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081201194353/http://afp.google.com/article/ALeqM5i7lJ7uGNOkOTK964WwjybvKVDouA |archive-date=December 1, 2008 |df=mdy-all }} Because of Palin's conservative views, there was also concern that she would alienate independents and moderates, two groups that pundits observed McCain would need to win the election.{{cite news |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/uselection2008/3205619/Sarah-Palin-seen-as-beacon-of-hope-as-defeat-at-poll-looms.html |title=Sarah Palin seen as beacon of hope as defeat at poll looms |work=The Daily Telegraph |location=London |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081017230402/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/uselection2008/3205619/Sarah-Palin-seen-as-beacon-of-hope-as-defeat-at-poll-looms.html |archive-date=October 17, 2008 |url-status=dead}}

Polls taken in the last few months of the presidential campaign and exit polls conducted on Election Day showed the economy as the top concern for voters.{{cite web|url=http://www.gallup.com/poll/109759/Gallups-Quick-Read-Election.aspx|title=Gallup's Quick Read on the Election|date=October 22, 2008|publisher=Gallup.com|access-date=January 30, 2009|archive-date=June 28, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170628223139/http://www.gallup.com/poll/109759/gallups-quick-read-election.aspx|url-status=live}}{{cite news|url=http://www.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/11/04/exit.polls/|title=Exit polls: Obama wins big among young, minority voters|publisher=CNN.com|date=November 4, 2008|access-date=January 30, 2009|archive-date=June 8, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210608222610/http://www.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/11/04/exit.polls/|url-status=live}} In the fall of 2008, many news sources were reporting that the economy was suffering its most serious downturn since the Great Depression.{{cite web|url=https://nationalpost.com/opinion/columnists/story.html?id=058cc3ea-a0f8-4a8c-b767-8cd58f359c82|title=Investors Bail Out: The D word going cheap|publisher=www.nationalpost.com|access-date=February 15, 2009|date=September 16, 2008|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://archive.today/20120904031755/http://www.nationalpost.com/opinion/columnists/story.html?id=058cc3ea-a0f8-4a8c-b767-8cd58f359c82|archive-date=September 4, 2012|df=mdy-all}} During this period, John McCain's election prospects fell with several politically costly comments about the economy.

On August 20, John McCain said in an interview with Politico that he was uncertain how many houses he and his wife, Cindy, owned; "I think—I'll have my staff get to you," he told the media outlet.{{cite news|last=Martin|first=Jonathan|author2=Allen, Mike|title=McCain unsure how many houses he owns|publisher=Politico|date=August 21, 2008|url=http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0808/12685.html|access-date=December 30, 2008|archive-date=July 24, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150724211115/http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0808/12685.html|url-status=live}} Both on the stump and in Obama's political ad, "Seven", the gaffe was used to portray McCain as somebody unable to relate to the concerns of ordinary Americans. This out-of-touch image was further cultivated when, on September 15, the day of the Lehman Brothers bankruptcy, at a morning rally in Jacksonville, Florida, McCain declared that "the fundamentals of our economy are strong," despite what he described as "tremendous turmoil in our financial markets and Wall Street."{{cite news|last=Aigner-Treworgy|first=Adam|title=McCain: Economy still 'strong'|publisher=MSNBC|date=September 15, 2008|url=http://firstread.msnbc.msn.com/archive/2008/09/15/1399191.aspx|access-date=December 30, 2008|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081206043223/http://firstread.msnbc.msn.com/archive/2008/09/15/1399191.aspx|archive-date=December 6, 2008|df=mdy-all}} With the perception among voters to the contrary, the comment appeared to cost McCain politically.

On September 24, 2008, after the onset of the 2008 financial crisis, McCain announced that he was suspending his campaign to return to Washington so he could help craft a $700 billion bailout package for the troubled financial industry, and he stated that he would not debate Obama until Congress passed the bailout bill.{{cite news|title=Obama, McCain Meet In Mississippi|publisher=WAPT.com|date=December 29, 2008|url=http://www.wapt.com/news/18376597/detail.html|access-date=December 30, 2008|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110501071939/http://www.wapt.com/news/18376597/detail.html|archive-date=May 1, 2011|df=mdy-all}} Despite this decision, McCain was portrayed as somebody not playing a significant role in the negotiations for the first version of the bill, which fell short of passage in the House. He eventually decided to attend the first presidential debate on September 26, despite Congress' lack of immediate action on the bill. His ineffectiveness in the negotiations and his reversal in decision to attend the debates were seized upon to portray McCain as erratic in his response to the economy. Days later, a second version of the original bailout bill was passed by both the House and Senate, with Obama, his vice presidential running mate Joe Biden, and McCain all voting for the measure (Hillary Clinton would as well).{{cite web |url=https://www.senate.gov/legislative/LIS/roll_call_lists/roll_call_vote_cfm.cfm?congress=110&session=2&vote=00213 |title=U.S. Senate Roll Call Votes: 110th Congress, 2nd Session |publisher=Senate.gov |access-date=April 2, 2013 |archive-date=May 29, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200529050212/https://www.senate.gov/legislative/LIS/roll_call_lists/roll_call_vote_cfm.cfm?congress=110&session=2&vote=00213 |url-status=live }}

All the aforementioned remarks and campaign issues hurt McCain's standing with voters. All these also occurred after the onset of the 2008 financial crisis and after McCain's poll numbers had started to fall. Although sound bites of all of these "missteps" were played repeatedly on national television, many pundits and analysts say that the actual financial crisis and economic conditions caused McCain's large drop in support in mid-September and severely damaged his campaign.{{cite news |last=Schnur |first=Dan |title=What caused McCain's poll numbers to fall?|url=https://www.latimes.com/la-oew-schnur-cain3-2008nov03-story.html |work=Los Angeles Times| date=November 3, 2008 | url-access=limited |archive-date=October 24, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131024025532/http://www.latimes.com/business/investing/la-oew-schnur-cain3-2008nov03,0,6970010.story|url-status=live}}{{cite news|last=Nichols|first=Hans|title=McCain May Have Last Chance to Overcome Economy in Final Debate|url=https://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=aRnqc1XoUZFU|publisher=Bloomberg|date=October 15, 2008|access-date=January 29, 2009}}

John McCain's proposals focused on open-market competition rather than government funding or control. At the heart of his plan were tax credits – $2,500 for individuals and $5,000 for families who do not subscribe to or do not have access to health care through their employer. To help people who are denied coverage by insurance companies due to pre-existing conditions, McCain proposed working with states to create what he calls a "Guaranteed Access Plan".Robert E. Moffit and Nina Owcharenko, {{unfit|1=[https://web.archive.org/web/20151003204435/http://www.heritage.org/Research/HealthCare/upload/bg_2198.pdf "The McCain Health Care Plan: More Power to Families,"]}} The Heritage Foundation, October 15, 2008

Barack Obama called for universal health care. His health care plan proposed creating a National Health Insurance Exchange that would include both private insurance plans and a Medicare-like government run option. Coverage would be guaranteed regardless of health status, and premiums would not vary based on health status either. It would have required parents to cover their children, but did not require adults to buy insurance.

Critics of McCain's plan argued that it would not significantly reduce the number of uninsured Americans, would increase costs, reduce consumer protections and lead to less generous benefit packages.Thomas Buchmueller, Sherry A. Glied, Anne Royalty, and Katherine Swartz, [http://content.healthaffairs.org/cgi/reprint/hlthaff.27.6.w472v1 "Cost And Coverage Implications Of The McCain Plan To Restructure Health Insurance,"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080917225606/http://content.healthaffairs.org/cgi/reprint/hlthaff.27.6.w472v1 |date=September 17, 2008 }} Health Affairs, September 16, 2008 Critics of Obama's plan argued that it would increase federal regulation of private health insurance without addressing the underlying incentives behind rising health care spending.Joseph Antos, Gail Wilensky, and Hanns Kuttner, [http://content.healthaffairs.org/cgi/reprint/hlthaff.27.6.w462v1 "The Obama Plan: More Regulation, Unsustainable Spending,"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090821115446/http://content.healthaffairs.org/cgi/reprint/hlthaff.27.6.w462v1 |date=August 21, 2009 }} Health Affairs, September 16, 2008Robert E. Moffit and Nina Owcharenko, {{unfit|1=[https://web.archive.org/web/20121002213521/http://www.heritage.org/Research/HealthCare/upload/bg_2197.pdf "The Obama Health Care Plan: More Power to Washington,"]}} The Heritage Foundation, October 15, 2008 Mark Pauly suggested that a combination of the two approaches would work better than either one alone.Mark V. Pauly, [http://content.healthaffairs.org/cgi/reprint/hlthaff.27.6.w482v1 "Blending Better Ingredients For Health Reform,"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090205060847/http://content.healthaffairs.org/cgi/reprint/hlthaff.27.6.w482v1 |date=February 5, 2009 }} Health Affairs, September 16, 2008

A poll released in early November 2008 found that voters supporting Obama listed health care as their second priority; voters supporting McCain listed it as fourth, tied with the war in Iraq. Affordability was the primary health care priority among both sets of voters. Obama voters were more likely than McCain voters to believe government can do much about health care costs.Robert J. Blendon, Drew E. Altman, John M. Benson, Mollyann Brodie, Tami Buhr, Claudia Deane, and Sasha Buscho, [http://content.nejm.org/cgi/reprint/NEJMsr0807717v1.pdf "Voters and Health Reform in the 2008 Presidential Election,"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090326091432/http://content.nejm.org/cgi/reprint/NEJMsr0807717v1.pdf |date=March 26, 2009 }} New England Journal of Medicine 359;19, November 6, 2008

{{Main|2008 United States presidential debates}}

The United States presidential election of 2008 was sponsored by the Commission on Presidential Debates (CPD), a bipartisan organization that sponsored four debates that occurred at various locations around the United States (U.S.) in September and October 2008. Three of the debates involved the presidential nominees, and one involved the vice-presidential nominees.

{{cite news|url=https://www.nbcnews.com/id/wbna27007283|title=Vice presidential debate, Oct. 2, 2008|date=October 3, 2008|access-date=July 14, 2009|work=NBC News|archive-date=September 23, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200923224341/http://www.nbcnews.com/id/27007283|url-status=live}}{{cite news|url=https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/Vote2008/Story?id=5857679&page=1|title=Obama, McCain Prep for Presidential Debates|last=Parker|first=Jennifer|date=September 23, 2008|access-date=July 14, 2009|work=ABC News|archive-date=August 15, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210815130528/https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/Vote2008/Story?id=5857679&page=1|url-status=live}}{{Location map+|USA|places={{Location map~ | USA

| label = University of Mississippi
Oxford, MS

| label_size = 75

| position = bottom

| lat_deg = 34.3659

| lon_deg = -89.5254

}}

{{Location map~ | USA

| label = Belmont University
Nashville, TN

| label_size = 75

| position = right

| lat_deg = 36.1329

| lon_deg = -86.7941

}}

{{Location map~ | USA

| label = Washington University
St. Louis, MO

| label_size = 75

| position = top

| lat_deg = 38.648

| lon_deg = -90.305

}}

{{Location map~ | USA

| label = Hofstra University
Hempstead, NY

| label_size = 75

| position = top

| lat_deg = 40.7168

| lon_deg = -73.5994

}}|alt=Map of United States showing debate locations|caption=Sites of the 2008 general election debates|width=320}}Another debate was sponsored by the Columbia University political union and took place there on October 19. All candidates who could theoretically win the 270 electoral votes needed to win the election were invited, and Ralph Nader, Cynthia McKinney, and Chuck Baldwin agreed to attend. Amy Goodman, principal host of Democracy Now!, moderated. It was broadcast on cable by C-SPAN and on the Internet by Break-the-Matrix.{{cite web|url=http://www.freeandequal.org/events.php?id=7|title=Free and Equal|publisher=Freeandequal.org|access-date=November 3, 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081019015945/http://www.freeandequal.org/events.php?id=7 |archive-date=October 19, 2008}}

{{Main|Fundraising for the 2008 United States presidential election}}

The reported cost of campaigning for president has increased significantly in recent years. One source reported that if the costs for both Democratic and Republican campaigns were added together (for the presidential primary election, general election, and the political conventions), the costs have more than doubled in only eight years ($448.9 million in 1996, $649.5 million in 2000, and $1.01 billion in 2004).{{cite news|first=Helen|last=Kennedy|title=Wanna be Prez? First get $100M|date=January 14, 2007|work=New York Daily News|url=http://eldraque.newsvine.com/_news/2007/01/14/520561-wanna-be-prez-first-get-100|access-date=February 1, 2007|archive-date=November 9, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211109004946/https://www.nbcnews.com/|url-status=live}} In January 2007, Federal Election Commission Chairman Michael E. Toner estimated that the 2008 race would be a $1 billion election, and that to be taken seriously, a candidate would have needed to raise at least $100 million by the end of 2007.{{cite news|first=David|last=Kirkpatrick|title=Death Knell May Be Near for Public Election Funds|date=January 23, 2007|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2007/01/23/us/politics/23donate.html|access-date=September 15, 2008|archive-date=August 15, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210815153555/https://www.nytimes.com/2007/01/23/us/politics/23donate.html|url-status=live}}

According to required campaign filings as reported by the Federal Election Commission (FEC), 148 candidates for all parties collectively raised $1,644,712,232 and spent $1,601,104,696 for the primary and general campaigns combined through November 24, 2008. The amounts raised and spent by the major candidates, according to the same source, were as follows:

• Drill, baby, drill: Republican self-described energy policy
• Yes We Can: Obama's campaign slogan
• That one: McCain's reference to Obama during the 2nd debate.
• Lipstick on a pig: Obama used this phrase to insinuate that any changes that McCain was advocating from the policies of George W. Bush would only be slight modifications of Bush's policies but the underlying policies would be the same, and in Obama's opinion, bad. Some called it sexist, claiming it was a reference to Sarah Palin, who cracked a joke during the Republican convention that the only difference between a hockey mom and a pit bull is lipstick.{{cite news|title=Obama rejects 'lipstick' charge|publisher=BBC|date=September 10, 2008|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/7608653.stm|access-date=December 19, 2012|archive-date=July 30, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170730034254/http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/7608653.stm|url-status=live}}

Elections analysts and political pundits issue probabilistic forecasts of the composition of the Electoral College. These forecasts use a variety of factors to estimate the likelihood of each candidate winning the Electoral College electors for that state. Most election predictors use the following ratings:

• "tossup": no advantage
• "tilt" (used by some predictors): advantage that is not quite as strong as "lean"
• "lean" or "leans": slight advantage
• "likely": significant, but surmountable, advantage
• "safe" or "solid": near-certain chance of victory

Below is a list of states considered by one or more forecast to be competitive; states that are deemed to be "safe" or "solid" by forecasters The Cook Political Report, RealClearPolitics, and FiveThirtyEight.

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{{see also|Grassroots fundraising}}

Howard Dean collected large contributions through the Internet in his 2004 primary run. In 2008, candidates went even further to reach out to Internet users through their own sites and such sites as YouTube, MySpace, and Facebook.{{cite news|url=http://www.cnn.com/2007/POLITICS/07/23/debate.main/|title=Questions, not answers, highlight YouTube debate|work=CNN|date=July 24, 2007|access-date=March 14, 2008|archive-date=August 16, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210816064744/http://www.cnn.com/2007/POLITICS/07/23/debate.main/|url-status=live}}{{cite news|url=http://www.sptimes.com/2007/06/08/State/Candidates_court_youn.shtml|title=Candidates court young voters online|author=Stephanie Garry|work=St. Petersburg Times|date=June 8, 2007|access-date=September 15, 2008|archive-date=April 15, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160415025205/http://www.sptimes.com/2007/06/08/State/Candidates_court_youn.shtml|url-status=live}}

On December 16, 2007, Ron Paul collected $6 million, more money on a single day through Internet donations than any presidential candidate in US history.{{cite news|url=https://www.usatoday.com/news/politics/election2008/2007-12-17-ronpaul-fundraising_N.htm|title='Money bomb': Ron Paul raises $6 million in 24-hour period|author=Kenneth P. Vogel|publisher=Politico|work=USA Today|access-date=March 14, 2008|date=December 17, 2007|author-link=Kenneth P. Vogel|archive-date=March 21, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120321083450/http://www.usatoday.com/news/politics/election2008/2007-12-17-ronpaul-fundraising_N.htm|url-status=live}}{{cite news|url=http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/washington/2007/12/rp.html|title=Breaking News: Ron Paul campaign donors set a record|work=Los Angeles Times|date=December 17, 2007|access-date=September 15, 2008|archive-date=September 17, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210917051521/https://latimesblogs.latimes.com/washington/2007/12/rp.html|url-status=live}}{{cite web|url=http://www.usadaily.com/article.cfm?articleID=151377|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080112234617/http://www.usadaily.com/article.cfm?articleID=151377|archive-date=January 12, 2008|title=Ron Paul makes fund raising history|author=Larry Fester|publisher=USA Daily|date=November 5, 2007}}

The 2008 election was the first time that a majority of the voting-age population preferred to get their news from the Internet.Smith, Aaron (April 15, 2009). [https://www.pewresearch.org/internet/2009/04/15/the-internets-role-in-campaign-2008/ The Internet’s Role in Campaign 2008]. Pew Research Center. Not only did the Internet allow candidates to raise money, but also it gave them a tool to appeal to newer and younger demographics. Political pundits were now evaluating candidates based on their social media following.

Senator Barack Obama's victory is credited to his competitive edge in social media and Internet following. Obama had over 2 million American supporters on Facebook and 100,000 followers on Twitter, while McCain attracted only 600,000 Facebook supporters (likes) and 4,600 followers on Twitter. Obama's YouTube channel held 115,000 subscribers and more than 97 million video views. Obama had maintained a similar advantage over Senator Hillary Clinton in the Democratic primary.{{cite web|last=Fraser|first=Matthew|title=Barack Obama and the Facebook Election|url=https://www.usnews.com/opinion/articles/2008/11/19/barack-obama-and-the-facebook-election?page=2|publisher=U.S. News & World Report|access-date=2 March 2014|archive-date=April 13, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210413022206/https://www.usnews.com/opinion/articles/2008/11/19/barack-obama-and-the-facebook-election?page=2|url-status=live}}

Obama's edge in social media was crucial to the election outcome. According to a study by the Pew Internet and American Life project, 35 percent of Americans relied on online video for election news. Ten percent of Americans used social networking sites to learn about the election.{{Cite report |url=https://www.conference-board.org/publications/publicationdetail.cfm?publicationid=7078 |title=Social Media and the 2008 U.S. Presidential Election |last1=Maruggi |first1=Albert |last2=Metzgar |first2=Emily |date=2009-07-31 |publisher=Society for New Communications Research |access-date=2023-01-15 |url-access=subscription |archive-date=January 15, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230115205259/https://www.conference-board.org/publications/publicationdetail.cfm?publicationid=7078 |url-status=live }} The 2008 election showed huge increases in Internet use.

Another study done after the election gave a lot of insight on young voters. Thirty-seven percent of Americans ages 18–24 got election news from social networking sites. Almost a quarter of Americans saw something about the election in an online video.{{cite news|last=Cain Miller|first=Claire|title=How Obama's Internet Campaign Changed Politics|url=http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/11/07/how-obamas-internet-campaign-changed-politics/|access-date=1 March 2014|newspaper=The New York Times|date=7 Nov 2008|archive-date=March 31, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140331225403/http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/11/07/how-obamas-internet-campaign-changed-politics/|url-status=live}} YouTube and other online video outlets allowed candidates to advertise in ways like never before. The Republican Party in particular was criticized for not adequately using social media and other means to reach young voters.

Anonymous and semi-anonymous smear campaigns, traditionally done with fliers and push calling, also spread to the Internet.{{cite news|title=Palmetto Bugs: Slingers of Slime Step it up in SC|last=Reid|first=Tim|date=November 23, 2007|work=New York Post|url=http://www.nypost.com/seven/11232007/news/nationalnews/palmetto_bugs_188986.htm|access-date=September 15, 2008|archive-date=August 27, 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090827222452/http://www.nypost.com/seven/11232007/news/nationalnews/palmetto_bugs_188986.htm|url-status=live}} Organizations specializing in the production and distribution of viral material, such as Brave New Films, emerged; such organizations have been said to be having a growing influence on American politics.{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/29/us/politics/29opposition.html|work=The New York Times|last=Rutenberg|first=Jim|date=June 29, 2008|access-date=October 25, 2008|title=Political Freelancers Use Web to Join the Attack|archive-date=August 14, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210814102943/https://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/29/us/politics/29opposition.html|url-status=live}}

Allegations of voter list purges using unlawful criteria caused controversy in at least six swing states: Colorado, Indiana, Ohio, Michigan, Nevada and North Carolina.{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/09/us/politics/09voting.html|title=States' Actions to Block Voters Appear Illegal|work=The New York Times|author=Ian Urbina|date=October 9, 2008|access-date=October 15, 2008|archive-date=January 5, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180105104015/http://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/09/us/politics/09voting.html|url-status=live}} On October 5, 2008, the Republican Lt. Governor of Montana, John Bohlinger, accused the Montana Republican Party of vote caging to purge 6,000 voters from three counties which trend Democratic.{{cite web|url=http://www.mtstandard.com/articles/2008/10/05/opinion/hjjbijjejjigfj.txt|title=Republicans crossed line with voter purge attempt|publisher=The Montana Standard|author=John Bohlinger|date=October 5, 2008|access-date=October 15, 2008|archive-date=November 27, 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081127151204/http://www.mtstandard.com/articles/2008/10/05/opinion/hjjbijjejjigfj.txt|url-status=live}} Allegations arose in Michigan that the Republican Party planned to challenge the eligibility of voters based on lists of foreclosed homes.{{cite news|url=http://michiganmessenger.com/4076/lose-your-house-lose-your-vote|title=Lose your house, lose your vote|date=September 10, 2008|publisher=Michigan Messenger|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080923165626/http://michiganmessenger.com/4076/lose-your-house-lose-your-vote|archive-date=September 23, 2008|df=mdy-all}} The campaign of Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama filed a lawsuit challenging this. The House Judiciary Committee wrote to the Department of Justice requesting an investigation.{{cite web|url=http://judiciary.house.gov/news/080919.html|title=Conyers Calls on McCain to Immediately Halt Republican Vote Suppression Efforts|date=September 19, 2008|publisher=House of Representatives|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080924190743/http://judiciary.house.gov/news/080919.html|archive-date=September 24, 2008|df=mdy-all}}

Libertarian candidate Bob Barr filed a lawsuit in Texas to have Obama and McCain removed from the ballot in that state.{{cite news|first=Christy|last=Hoppe|title=Libertarian Bob Barr sues to have McCain, Obama cast off Texas' ballot|work=Dallas Morning News|date=September 19, 2008|access-date=October 8, 2008|url=http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/news/politics/state/stories/DN-barr_19pol.ART.State.Edition1.268aa61.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080921212445/http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/news/politics/state/stories/DN-barr_19pol.ART.State.Edition1.268aa61.html |archive-date=September 21, 2008}} His campaign alleged that both of the candidates had missed the August 26 deadline to file and had been included on the ballot in violation of Texas election law. Neither Obama nor McCain had been confirmed as the candidate of their respective parties at the time of the deadline. The Texas Supreme Court dismissed the lawsuit without explanation.{{cite news|first=Adam|last=Young|title=Texas court: McCain, Obama to remain on ballot|work=Daily Toreador|date=September 24, 2008|access-date=October 8, 2008|url=http://media.www.dailytoreador.com/media/storage/paper870/news/2008/09/24/News/Texas.Court.Mccain.Obama.To.Remain.On.Ballot-3447969.shtml|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081006090557/http://media.www.dailytoreador.com/media/storage/paper870/news/2008/09/24/News/Texas.Court.Mccain.Obama.To.Remain.On.Ballot-3447969.shtml|archive-date=October 6, 2008|df=mdy-all}}

In Ohio, identified by both parties as a key state, allegations surfaced from both Republicans and Democrats that individuals from out of state were moving to the state temporarily and attempting to vote despite not meeting the state's requirement of permanent residency for more than 29 days. The Franklin County Board of Elections referred 55 cases of possible voting irregularities to the local prosecutor.{{cite web|last=Niquette|first=Mark|url=http://www.dispatchpolitics.com/live/content/local_news/stories/2009/11/16/copy/voter_fraud.ART_ART_11-16-09_A1_O9FM66J.html?sid=101|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110429011205/http://www.dispatchpolitics.com/live/content/local_news/stories/2009/11/16/copy/voter_fraud.ART_ART_11-16-09_A1_O9FM66J.html?sid=101|url-status=dead|archive-date=April 29, 2011|title=Mark Niquette, "Vote-Fraud Cases Linger from 2008," Columbus Dispatch, November 16, 2008."|publisher=Dispatchpolitics.com|date=November 16, 2009|access-date=June 13, 2010}} Three groups attracted particular notice: 'Vote from Home,' 'Vote Today Ohio,' and 'Drop Everything and Come to Ohio.' Vote from Home attracted the most attention when thirteen of the group's members moved to the same location in eastern Columbus. Members of the group organized by Marc Gustafson, including several Marshall and Rhodes scholars studying at Oxford University, settled with Franklin County Prosecutor Ron O'Brien to have their challenged ballots withdrawn.{{cite web|last=Niquette|first=Mark|url=http://www.dispatchpolitics.com/live/content/local_news/stories/2008/10/22/copy/DEMS_STRIKE_BACK.ART_ART_10-22-08_A1_2JBLUBM.html?sid=101|title=Mark Niquette and Jill Riepenhoff, "'Voters' Flocking to Ohio," Columbus Dispatch, October 22, 2008|publisher=Dispatchpolitics.com|date=October 22, 2008|access-date=June 13, 2010|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100812050408/http://www.dispatchpolitics.com/live/content/local_news/stories/2008/10/22/copy/DEMS_STRIKE_BACK.ART_ART_10-22-08_A1_2JBLUBM.html?sid=101|archive-date=August 12, 2010|df=mdy-all}}{{cite web |last=Macintosh |first=Jeane |work=New York Post |date=October 20, 2008 |url=http://www.marcgustafson.com/Marc%20Gustafson's%20Website%20Resume.pdf |title=Gotham-to-Ohio Vote Scam Eyed |access-date=April 17, 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110514042809/http://www.marcgustafson.com/Marc%20Gustafson%27s%20Website%20Resume.pdf |archive-date=May 14, 2011 |df=mdy-all }} The Obama campaign and others alleged that members of the McCain campaign had also voted without properly establishing residency. Since 1953, only six people in Ohio have gone to prison for illegal voting.{{cite web|last=Riepenhoff|first=Jill|url=http://www.dispatchpolitics.com/live/content/local_news/stories/2008/10/19/copy/Brownlee.ART_ART_10-19-08_A1_72BL2JG.html?adsec=politics&sid=101|title=Jill Riepenhoff, "Illegal Voters, or Just Getting Out the Vote?" Columbus Dispatch, October 19, 2008|publisher=Dispatchpolitics.com|date=October 19, 2008|access-date=June 13, 2010|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100812051133/http://www.dispatchpolitics.com/live/content/local_news/stories/2008/10/19/copy/Brownlee.ART_ART_10-19-08_A1_72BL2JG.html?adsec=politics&sid=101|archive-date=August 12, 2010|df=mdy-all}}

Republicans and independents leveled significant criticism at media outlets' coverage of the presidential election season. An October 22, 2008 Pew Research Center poll estimated 70% of registered voters believed journalists wanted Barack Obama to win the election, as opposed to 9% for John McCain.{{cite web|title=Most Voters Say Media Wants Obama to Win|publisher=The Pew Research Center for the People & the Press|date=October 22, 2008|url=http://people-press.org/report/463/media-wants-obama|access-date=October 25, 2008|archive-date=March 10, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110310064355/http://people-press.org/report/463/media-wants-obama|url-status=live}} Another Pew survey, conducted after the election, found that 67% of voters thought that the press fairly covered Obama, versus 30% who viewed the coverage as unfair. Regarding McCain, 53% of voters viewed his press coverage as fair versus 44% who characterized it as unfair. Among affiliated Democrats, 83% believed the press fairly covered Obama; just 22% of Republicans thought the press was fair to McCain.[http://www.people-press.org/2008/11/13/section-5-the-press-and-campaign-2008/ High Marks for the Campaign, a High Bar for Obama] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200621142808/https://www.people-press.org/2008/11/13/section-5-the-press-and-campaign-2008/ |date=June 21, 2020 }} Pew Research Center. Retrieved September 6, 2012.

At the February debate, Tim Russert of NBC News was criticized for what some perceived as disproportionately tough questioning of Democratic presidential contender Hillary Clinton. Among the questions, Russert had asked Clinton, but not Obama, to provide the name of the new Russian President (Dmitry Medvedev). This was later parodied on Saturday Night Live. In October 2007, liberal commentators accused Russert of harassing Clinton over the issue of supporting drivers' licenses for illegal immigrants.

On April 16, ABC News hosted a debate in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Moderators Charles Gibson and George Stephanopoulos were criticized by viewers, bloggers and media critics for the poor quality of their questions.{{cite news|first=Jacques|last=Steinberg|author-link=Jacques Steinberg|title=Who Lost the Debate? Moderators, Many Say|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/18/us/politics/18moderator.html|work=The New York Times|date=April 18, 2008|access-date=April 18, 2008|archive-date=December 11, 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081211163337/http://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/18/us/politics/18moderator.html|url-status=live}}{{cite news|first=Howard|last=Kurtz|author-link=Howard Kurtz|title=The Backlash Against ABC|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/04/18/AR2008041800912.html|newspaper=The Washington Post|date=April 18, 2008|access-date=April 18, 2008|archive-date=April 22, 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080422010502/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/04/18/AR2008041800912.html|url-status=live}} Many viewers said they considered some of the questions irrelevant when measured against the importance of the faltering economy or the Iraq War. Included in that category were continued questions about Obama's former pastor, Senator Hillary Clinton's assertion that she had to duck sniper fire in Bosnia more than a decade ago, and Senator Obama's not wearing an American flag pin. The moderators focused on campaign gaffes and some believed they focused too much on Obama. Stephanopoulos defended their performance, saying "Senator Obama was the front-runner" and the questions were "not inappropriate or irrelevant at all."

In an op-ed published on April 27, 2008, in The New York Times, Elizabeth Edwards wrote that the media covered much more of "the rancor of the campaign" and "amount of money spent" than "the candidates' priorities, policies and principles."{{cite news|author=Elizabeth Edwards|title=Op-ed: Bowling 1, Health Care 0|work=The New York Times|date=April 28, 2008|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/27/opinion/27edwards.html|access-date=February 23, 2017|archive-date=August 15, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210815083130/https://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/27/opinion/27edwards.html|url-status=live}} Author Erica Jong commented that "our press has become a sea of triviality, meanness and irrelevant chatter."{{cite news|url=http://www.huffingtonpost.com/erica-jong/inspiration-versus-degrad_b_98844.html|title=Inspiration Versus Degradation|work=The Huffington Post|first=Erica|last=Jong|date=May 5, 2008|access-date=May 22, 2008|archive-date=May 25, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170525040049/http://www.huffingtonpost.com/erica-jong/inspiration-versus-degrad_b_98844.html|url-status=live}} A Gallup poll released on May 29, 2008, also estimated that more Americans felt the media was being harder on Hillary Clinton than they were towards Barack Obama. Time magazine columnist Mark Halperin stated that the media during the 2008 election had a "blind, almost slavish" worship of Obama.{{cite web |url=http://www.gallup.com/poll/107557/public-says-media-harder-clinton-than-obama-mccain.aspx |title=Public Says Media Harder on Clinton Than Obama, McCain |date=May 29, 2008 |publisher=Gallup.com |access-date=July 17, 2011 |archive-date=August 31, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170831182642/http://www.gallup.com/poll/107557/public-says-media-harder-clinton-than-obama-mccain.aspx |url-status=live }}

The Project for Excellence in Journalism and Harvard University's Joan Shorenstein Center on the Press, Politics and Public Policy conducted a study of 5,374 media narratives and assertions about the presidential candidates from January 1 through March 9, 2008. The study found that Obama received 69% favorable coverage and Clinton received 67%, compared to only 43% favorable media coverage of McCain.{{cite web|title=Character and the Primaries of 2008|publisher=The Project for Excellence in Journalism|date=May 29, 2008|url=http://www.journalism.org/node/11266|access-date=June 26, 2008|archive-date=September 10, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130910011549/http://www.journalism.org/node/11266|url-status=live}} Another study by the Center for Media and Public Affairs at George Mason University found the media coverage of Obama to be 72% negative from June 8 to July 21 compared to 57% negative for McCain.{{cite web|title=MEDIA BASH BARACK (NOT A TYPO)|publisher=Center for Media and Public Affairs|date=July 28, 2008|url=http://cmpa.com/Studies/Election08/election%20news%207_29_08.htm|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081120200207/http://www.cmpa.com/Studies/Election08/election%20news%207_29_08.htm|archive-date=November 20, 2008|df=mdy-all}} An October 29 study found 29% of stories about Obama to be negative, compared to 57% of stories about McCain being negative.{{cite web|title=The Color of News|publisher=Project for Excellence in Journalism|date=October 29, 2008|url=http://journalism.org/node/13436|access-date=November 2, 2008|archive-date=September 26, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130926204038/http://www.journalism.org/node/13436|url-status=live}}

{{Main|Timeline of the 2008 United States presidential election}}

[[File:Poll Closing Times 2008.svg|thumb|Final poll closing times on Election Day.

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Election Day was on November 4, 2008. The majority of states allowed early voting, with all states allowing some form of absentee voting.{{usurped|1=[https://web.archive.org/web/20081211174818/http://earlyvoting.net/states/abslaws.php Absentee and Early Voting Laws]}}, from the Early Voting Information Center at Reed College Voters cast votes for listed presidential candidates but were actually selecting representatives for their state's Electoral College slate.

A McCain victory quickly became improbable as Obama amassed early wins in his home state of Illinois, the Northeast, and the critical battleground states of Ohio (which no Republican has ever been elected president without winning) and Pennsylvania by 9:30 pm Eastern Standard Time.{{cite web|url=http://firstread.msnbc.msn.com/archive/2008/11/04/1639565.aspx|title=NBC calls Ohio for Obama—First Read—msnbc.com|publisher=MSNBC|date=November 4, 2008|access-date=January 24, 2009|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081211211123/http://firstread.msnbc.msn.com/archive/2008/11/04/1639565.aspx|archive-date=December 11, 2008|df=mdy-all}} Obama won the entire Northeast by comfortable margins and the Great Lakes states of Michigan, Wisconsin, and Minnesota by double digits. McCain held on to traditionally Republican states like North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska (though notably, Obama did win an electoral vote from Nebraska's 2nd congressional district), Kansas, Oklahoma, Montana, Utah, Idaho, Wyoming, and his home state of Arizona. Out of the southern states, Obama won Florida, North Carolina, Delaware, Maryland, and Virginia. Obama also won the hotly contested states of Iowa and New Mexico, which Al Gore had won in 2000 and George W. Bush in 2004. Also, for only the second time since 1936 (1964 being the other), Indiana went Democratic, giving Obama all eight Great Lakes states, the first time a presidential candidate had won all of them since Richard Nixon in 1972.

CNN and Fox News called Virginia for Obama shortly before 11:00 pm, leaving him only 50 electoral votes shy of victory with only six West Coast states (California, Oregon, Washington, Idaho, Alaska, and Hawaii) still voting. All American networks called the election in favor of Obama at 11:00 pm as the polls closed on the West Coast. Obama was immediately declared the winner in California, Oregon, Washington, and Hawaii, McCain won Idaho, and the Electoral College totals were updated to 297 for Obama and 146 for McCain (270 are needed to win). McCain gave a concession speech half an hour later in his hometown of Phoenix, Arizona.{{cite news|last=Fouhy|first=Beth|title=McCain concedes presidency, congratulates Obama|url=http://tucsoncitizen.com/morgue/2008/11/05/101691-mccain-concedes-presidency-congratulates-obama/|work=Tucson Citizen|date=November 5, 2008|access-date=July 18, 2011|archive-url=https://archive.today/20120716012121/http://tucsoncitizen.com/morgue/2008/11/05/101691-mccain-concedes-presidency-congratulates-obama/|archive-date=July 16, 2012|url-status=dead|df=mdy-all}} Obama appeared just before midnight Eastern Time in Grant Park, Chicago, in front of a crowd of 250,000 people to deliver his victory speech.{{cite web|first=Paul|last=Meincke|url=https://abc7chicago.com/archive/6490862/|title=Chicago could benefit from Obama election|publisher=WLS-TV|location=Chicago|date=November 5, 2008|access-date=July 18, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110629054417/http://abclocal.go.com/wls/story?section=news%2Fpolitics&id=6490862|archive-date=June 29, 2011|url-status=live}}

File:Cartogram-2008 Electoral Vote.png of the Electoral Votes for 2008 United States presidential election, each square representing one electoral vote. The map shows the impact of winning swing states. Nebraska, being one of two states that are not winner-take-all, for the first time had its votes split, with its second congressional district voting for Obama.]]

Following Obama's speech, spontaneous street parties broke out in cities across the United States including Philadelphia, Houston, Las Vegas, Miami, Chicago, Columbus, Detroit, Boston, Los Angeles, Portland, Washington, D.C., San Francisco, Denver, Atlanta, Madison, and New York City{{cite web|url=http://www.canberratimes.com.au/news/local/news/general/scenes-of-joy-across-the-us/1352918.aspx|title=Scenes of joy across the US—Local News—News—General|publisher=The Canberra Times|date=November 5, 2008|access-date=January 24, 2009|archive-date=February 19, 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090219001107/http://www.canberratimes.com.au/news/local/news/general/scenes-of-joy-across-the-us/1352918.aspx|url-status=dead}} and around the world in London; Bonn; Berlin; Obama, Japan; Toronto; Rio de Janeiro; Sydney; and Nairobi.{{cite news|url=http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/us_and_americas/us_elections/article5087886.ece|title=World celebrates Barack Obama victory|publisher=Times Online|date=November 5, 2008|access-date=January 24, 2009|location=London|first1=Philippe|last1=Naughton|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110429092313/http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/us_and_americas/us_elections/article5087886.ece |archive-date=April 29, 2011}}

Later on election night, after Obama was named the winner, he picked up several more wins in swing states in which the polls had shown a close race. These included Florida, Indiana, Virginia, and the western states of Colorado and Nevada. All of these states had been carried by Bush in 2004. North Carolina and the bellwether state of Missouri remained undecided for several days. Eventually Obama was declared the winner in North Carolina and McCain in Missouri, with Obama pulling out a rare win in Nebraska's 2nd congressional district. This put the projected electoral vote count at 365 for Obama and 173 for McCain. Obama's victories in the populous swing states of Florida, Ohio, Pennsylvania, North Carolina, and Virginia contributed to his decisive win. The presidential electors cast their ballots for president and vice president, and Congress tallied these votes on January 8, 2009.

The voter turnout for this election was broadly predicted to be high by American standards,{{cite news|url=http://elections.foxnews.com/2008/11/03/expected-high-voter-turnout-government-officials-watchdog-groups-alert/|title=Expected High Voter Turnout Has Government Officials, Watchdog Groups on Alert|access-date=November 7, 2008|date=November 3, 2008|agency=Fox News|quote="The main thing that we all know is that there's going to be a huge turnout. There are going to be long lines, and any problems that occur will exacerbate because of those lines," said Robert M. Brandon, president of the Fair Elections Legal Network.|archive-date=November 6, 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081106160516/http://elections.foxnews.com/2008/11/03/expected-high-voter-turnout-government-officials-watchdog-groups-alert/|url-status=live}}{{cite news|last=Urbina|first=Ian|title=Voting experts say high turnout may add to problems at the polls|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/03/world/americas/03iht-03voting.17464681.html|work=The New York Times|date=November 3, 2008|access-date=July 16, 2009|archive-date=August 14, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210814111750/https://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/03/world/americas/03iht-03voting.17464681.html|url-status=live}} and a record number of votes were cast.{{cite news |last=Alban |first=Debra |title=Number of votes cast set record, but voter turnout percentage didn't |url=http://www.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/11/06/voter.turnout/index.html |publisher=CNN |date=November 7, 2008 |access-date=July 16, 2009 |archive-date=April 13, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210413013640/http://www.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/11/06/voter.turnout/index.html |url-status=live }} The final tally of total votes counted was 131.3 million, compared to 122.3 million in 2004 (which also boasted the highest record since 1968, the last presidential election before the voting age was lowered to 18). Expressed as a percentage of eligible voters, 131.2 million votes could reflect a turnout as high as 63.0% of eligible voters, which would be the highest since 1960.{{cite press release|url=http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/2008/images/11/06/pdf.gansre08turnout.au.pdf|title=Much-hyped Turnout Record Fails to Materialize|access-date=November 20, 2008|date=November 6, 2008|agency=Center for the Study of the American Electorate, American University|archive-date=March 23, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210323121541/http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/2008/images/11/06/pdf.gansre08turnout.au.pdf|url-status=live}}{{cite press release|url=http://timeswampland.files.wordpress.com/2008/12/2008turnout-report_final11.pdf|title=African-Americans, Anger, Fear and Youth Propel Turnout to Highest Level Since 1964|access-date=December 18, 2008|agency=Center for the Study of the American Electorate, American University|archive-date=December 18, 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081218004523/http://timeswampland.files.wordpress.com/2008/12/2008turnout-report_final11.pdf|url-status=dead}} This 63.0% turnout rate is based on an estimated eligible voter population of 208,323,000. Another estimate puts the eligible voter population at 213,313,508, resulting in a turnout rate of 61.6%, which would be the highest turnout rate since 1968.{{Cite web|title=2008G - United States Elections Project|url=http://www.electproject.org/2008g|access-date=2020-10-31|website=www.electproject.org|archive-date=August 13, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210813232257/http://www.electproject.org/2008g|url-status=live}}{{cite web |url=http://elections.gmu.edu/Turnout_2008G.html |title=2008 General Election Turnout Vote |publisher=Elections.gmu.edu |date=March 31, 2012 |access-date=December 6, 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130112213711/http://elections.gmu.edu/Turnout_2008G.html |archive-date=January 12, 2013 |df=mdy-all }}

Broken down by age group, voters under 35 voted for Obama by a large majority with McCain most popular among voters over 60. Voters between 35 and 59 were nearly split 50/50 between the two candidates.

American University's Center for the Study of the American Electorate released a report on November 6, 2008, two days after the election, which concluded that the anticipated increase in turnout had failed to materialize. That report was the basis for some news articles that indicated voter turnout failed to meet expectations.{{cite news|url=http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2008/11/06/report-08-turnout-same-or-only-slightly-higher-than-04/|title=Report: '08 turnout same as or only slightly higher than '04|date=November 6, 2008|agency=CNN|access-date=December 8, 2008|archive-date=August 1, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210801163321/https://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2008/11/06/report-08-turnout-same-or-only-slightly-higher-than-04/|url-status=dead}}{{cite news|url=http://www.politico.com/news/stories/1108/15422.html|title=That huge voter turnout? Didn't happen|date=November 8, 2008|agency=Politico|access-date=December 9, 2008|archive-date=February 22, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150222060722/http://www.politico.com/news/stories/1108/15422.html|url-status=live}} When the remaining votes were counted after the release of the report, the total number of votes cast in the presidential election was raised to 131.2 million, which surpassed the American University report's preliminary estimate of 126.5 to 128.5 million voters by a factor of between 2% and 4%.

The election saw increased participation from African Americans, who made up 13.0% of the electorate, versus 11.1% in 2004.{{cite web|url=http://www.nonprofitvote.org/download-document/america-goes-to-the-polls-brief-11-19-08-pdf.html|title=America Goes to the Polls|access-date=September 6, 2012|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120416132213/http://www.nonprofitvote.org/download-document/america-goes-to-the-polls-brief-11-19-08-pdf.html|archive-date=April 16, 2012|df=mdy-all}} According to exit polls, over 95% of African Americans voted for Obama. This played a critical role in Southern states such as North Carolina. 74% of North Carolina's registered African American voters turned out, as opposed to 69% of North Carolinians in general, with Obama carrying 100% (with rounding) of African-American females and African Americans age 18 to 29, according to exit polling.{{cite news|url=http://wilmingtonjournal.com/News/search/ArchiveContent.asp?NewsID=92721&sID=|title=How Black Democrats won North Carolina and the Election: Massive Turnout, Week of November 13–19, 2008|date=November 24, 2008|agency=The Wilmington Journal|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101202133159/http://wilmingtonjournal.com/News/search/ArchiveContent.asp?NewsID=92721&sID=|archive-date=December 2, 2010|df=mdy-all}} This was also the case in Virginia, where much higher turnout among African Americans propelled Obama to victory in the former Republican stronghold.{{cite news|url=http://elections.nytimes.com/2008/president/states/virginia|title=2008 Presidential Race: Virginia—Election Guide—The New York Times|last=The New York Times|date=November 4, 2008|work=Election Guide 2008 – The New York Times|publisher=The New York Times Company|access-date=June 2, 2009|archive-date=April 15, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160415030249/http://elections.nytimes.com/2008/president/states/virginia|url-status=live}} Even in southern states in which Obama was unsuccessful, such as Georgia and Mississippi, due to large African American turnout he was much more competitive than John Kerry in 2004.{{cite news|url=http://elections.nytimes.com/2008/president/states/georgia|title=2008 Presidential Race: Georgia—Election Guide—The New York Times|last=The New York Times|date=November 4, 2008|work=Election Guide 2008 – The New York Times|publisher=The New York Times Company|access-date=June 2, 2009|archive-date=April 15, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160415030251/http://elections.nytimes.com/2008/president/states/georgia|url-status=live}}{{cite news|url=http://elections.nytimes.com/2008/president/states/mississippi|title=2008 Presidential Race: Mississippi—Election Guide—The New York Times|last=The New York Times|date=November 4, 2008|work=Election Guide 2008 – The New York Times|publisher=The New York Times Company|access-date=June 2, 2009|archive-date=April 15, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160415030251/http://elections.nytimes.com/2008/president/states/mississippi|url-status=live}}

No other candidate had ballot access in enough states to win 270 electoral votes. All six candidates appeared on the ballot for a majority of the voters, while the 17 other listed candidates were available to no more than 30% of the voters.{{cite web|url=http://www.ballot-access.org/2008/110108.html|title=Ballot Access News – November 1, 2008|publisher=Ballot-access.org|date=March 18, 2008|access-date=February 23, 2010|archive-date=August 16, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210816035202/http://www.ballot-access.org/2008/110108.html|url-status=live}}

The following candidates and parties had ballot listing or write-in status in more than one state:{{cite web|url=http://www.ballot-access.org/2008/110108.html#6|title=Ballot Access News—November 1, 2008|publisher=Ballot-access.org|date=March 18, 2008|access-date=January 24, 2009|archive-date=August 16, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210816035202/http://www.ballot-access.org/2008/110108.html#6|url-status=live}}

• Alan Keyes (America's Independent Party) received 47,746 votes; listed in three states: Colorado and Florida, plus California (listed as American Independent), and also had write-in status in Kentucky, Ohio, Texas, and Utah.
• Ron Paul received 42,426 votes; listed in Louisiana (Louisiana Taxpayers) and in Montana (Constitution), with write-in status in California.
• Gloria La Riva (Party for Socialism and Liberation) received 6,808 votes{{cite web|url=http://www.ballot-access.org/pres1.html|title=12/12/92|publisher=Ballot-access.org|date=December 22, 2008|access-date=January 24, 2009|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090204100357/http://ballot-access.org/pres1.html|archive-date=February 4, 2009|df=mdy-all}} nationally; listed in 12 states: Arkansas, Colorado, Florida, Iowa, Louisiana, New Jersey, New York, Rhode Island, Utah, Vermont, Washington, and Wisconsin.
• Brian Moore (Socialist Party, see Brian Moore presidential campaign, 2008) received 6,538 votes; listed in eight states: Colorado, Florida, Iowa, New Jersey, Ohio, and Wisconsin, and Tennessee (independent) and Vermont (Liberty Union). He also filed for write-in status in 17 other states: Alaska, Connecticut, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Michigan, Minnesota, Montana, New York, North Carolina, Oregon, Texas, Utah, Virginia, Washington, and Wyoming.
• Róger Calero (Socialist Workers Party) received 5,151 votes; listed in ten states. He was listed by name in Delaware, Minnesota, New Jersey, New York, and Vermont. James Harris was listed as his stand-in in Colorado, Florida, Iowa, Louisiana, and Washington, and also had write-in status in California.
• Charles Jay (Boston Tea Party) received 2,422 votes; listed in Colorado and Florida, and in Tennessee (as independent), with write-in status in Arizona, Montana, and Utah.
• Tom Stevens (Objectivist) received 755 votes; listed in Colorado and Florida.
• Gene Amondson (Prohibition) received 653 votes; listed in Colorado, Florida, and Louisiana.
• Jonathan Allen (Heartquake) received 483 votes; listed only in Colorado, with write-in status in Arizona, Georgia, Montana, Texas, and other states.

The following candidates (parties) were listed on the ballot in only one state:

• Richard Duncan (Independent) – Ohio; 3,905 votes.
• John Joseph Polachek (New Party) Illinois; 1,149 votes.
• Frank McEnulty (New American Independent) – Colorado (listed as unaffiliated); 829 votes.
• Jeffrey Wamboldt (We the People) – Wisconsin; 764 votes.
• Jeff Boss (Vote Here) – New Jersey; 639 votes.
• George Phillies – New Hampshire (also listed with the label Libertarian); 531 votes.
• Ted Weill (Reform) – Mississippi; 481 votes.
• Bradford Lyttle (U.S. Pacifist) – Colorado; 110 votes.

In Nevada, 6,267 votes were cast for "None of These Candidates".{{cite web |url=http://nvsos.gov/SOSelectionPages/results/2008StateWideGeneral/ElectionSummary.aspx |title=2008 Official Statewide General Election Results for Nevada |publisher=Nvsos.gov |date=November 4, 2008 |access-date=April 2, 2013 |archive-date=April 13, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210413010353/https://www.nvsos.gov/SOSelectionPages/results/2008StateWideGeneral/ElectionSummary.aspx |url-status=live }} In the three states that officially keep track of "blank" votes for president, 103,193 votes were recorded as "blank".{{cite web|url=http://www.thegreenpapers.com/G08/President-Details.phtml?n=BLANK|title=2008 Presidential Election by State|publisher=Thegreenpapers.com|date=January 8, 2009|access-date=February 23, 2010|archive-date=August 14, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210814094331/http://www.thegreenpapers.com/G08/President-Details.phtml?n=BLANK|url-status=live}} More than 100,000 write-in votes were cast and recorded for a scattering of other candidates, including 62 votes for "Santa Claus" (in ten states) and 11 votes for "Mickey Mouse" (in five states).{{cite web|url=http://www.thegreenpapers.com/G08/President-Details.phtml?n=OTHER|title=2008 Presidential Election by State|publisher=Thegreenpapers.com|date=January 8, 2009|access-date=February 23, 2010|archive-date=April 13, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210413023831/http://www.thegreenpapers.com/G08/President-Details.phtml?n=OTHER|url-status=live}}

According to the Federal Election Commission, an unusually high number of "miscellaneous" write-ins were cast for president in 2008, including 112,597 tallied in the 17 states that record votes for non-listed candidates.{{cite web|url=http://www.ballot-access.org/2009/020109.html|title=Ballot Access News – February 1, 2009|publisher=Ballot-access.org|date=February 1, 2009|access-date=February 23, 2010|archive-date=August 15, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210815184053/http://www.ballot-access.org/2009/020109.html|url-status=live}} There were more presidential candidates on the ballot than at any other time in U. S. history, except for the 1992 election, which also had 23 candidates listed in at least one state.

Of the 3,154 counties/districts/independent cities making returns, McCain won the most popular votes in 2,270 (71.97%) while Obama carried 884 (28.03%).

Popular vote totals are from the official Federal Election Commission report. The results of the electoral vote were certified by Congress on January 8, 2009.{{cite web|url=http://clerk.house.gov/floorsummary/floor.html?day=20090108|title=United States House of Representatives floor summary for Jan 8, 2009|publisher=Clerk.house.gov|access-date=January 30, 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120402071556/http://clerk.house.gov/floorsummary/floor.html?day=20090108|archive-date=April 2, 2012|url-status=dead|df=mdy-all}}

{{start U.S. presidential ticket box|pv_footnote=|ev_footnote=}}

{{U.S. presidential ticket box row|name=Barack Obama|party=Democratic|state=Illinois|pv=69,498,516|pv_pct=52.93%|ev=365|vp_name=Joe Biden|vp_state=Delaware}}

{{U.S. presidential ticket box row|name=John McCain|party=Republican|state=Arizona|pv=59,948,323|pv_pct=45.65%|ev=173|vp_name=Sarah Palin|vp_state=Alaska}}

{{U.S. presidential ticket box row|name=Ralph Nader|party=Independent|state=Connecticut|pv=739,034|pv_pct=0.56%|ev=0|vp_name=Matt Gonzalez|vp_state=California}}

{{U.S. presidential ticket box row|name=Bob Barr|party=Libertarian|state=Georgia|pv=523,715|pv_pct=0.40%|ev=0|vp_name=Wayne Allyn Root|vp_state=Nevada}}

{{U.S. presidential ticket box row|name=Chuck Baldwin|party=Constitution|state=Florida|pv=199,750|pv_pct=0.15%|ev=0|vp_name=Darrell Castle|vp_state=Tennessee}}

{{U.S. presidential ticket box row|name=Cynthia McKinney|party=Green|state=Georgia|pv=161,797|pv_pct=0.12%|ev=0|vp_name=Rosa Clemente|vp_state=North Carolina}}

{{U.S. presidential ticket box row|name=Alan Keyes|party=America's Independent Party|state=New York|pv=47,746|pv_pct=0.04%|ev=0|vp_name=Wiley Drake|vp_state=Colorado}}

{{U.S. presidential ticket box other|footnote=|pv=194,939|pv_pct=0.15%}}

{{end U.S. presidential ticket box|pv=131,313,820|pv_pct=100.00%|ev=538|to_win=270}}

{{bar box

|title=Popular vote

|titlebar=#ddd

|width=600px

|barwidth=410px

|bars=

{{bar percent|Obama|{{party color|Democratic Party (US)}}|52.92}}

{{bar percent|McCain|{{party color|Republican Party (US)}}|45.66}}

{{bar percent|Nader|{{party color|Independent (US)}}|0.56}}

{{bar percent|Barr|{{party color|Libertarian Party (US)}}|0.40}}

{{bar percent|Baldwin|{{party color|Constitution Party (US)}}|0.15}}

{{bar percent|McKinney|{{party color|Green Party (US)}}|0.12}}

{{bar percent|Keyes|{{party color|American Independent Party}}|0.04}}

{{bar percent|Others|#777777|0.15}}

}}

{{bar box

|title=Electoral vote

|titlebar=#ddd

|width=600px

|barwidth=410px

|bars=

{{bar percent|Obama|{{party color|Democratic Party (US)}}|67.84}}

{{bar percent|McCain|{{party color|Republican Party (US)}}|32.16}}

}}

{{further|United States presidential election#The popular vote on Election Day}}

The following table records the official vote tallies for each state for those presidential candidates who were listed on ballots in enough states to have a theoretical chance for a majority in the Electoral College. State popular vote results are from the official Federal Election Commission report. The column labeled "Margin" shows Obama's margin of victory over McCain (the margin is negative for states and districts won by McCain).

Note: Maine and Nebraska each allow for their electoral votes to be split between candidates. In both states, two electoral votes are awarded to the winner of the statewide race and one electoral vote is awarded to the winner of each congressional district.{{cite web|url=http://maine.gov/sos/cec/elec/2008/tabs-can-pr-condistrict-summary-11-08.html|title=Bureau of Corporations, Elections & Commissions, Elections Division|access-date=December 2, 2012|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121104160518/http://www.maine.gov/sos/cec/elec/2008/tabs-can-pr-condistrict-summary-11-08.html|archive-date=November 4, 2012|df=mdy-all}}{{cite web|url=http://www.sos.ne.gov/elec/pdf/2008%20General%20Canvass%20Book.pdf|title=Official Results of Nebraska General Election – November 4, 2008|access-date=December 2, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090114195615/http://www.sos.ne.gov/elec/pdf/2008%20General%20Canvass%20Book.pdf|archive-date=January 14, 2009|url-status=dead}}

• Colorado
• Florida
• Indiana
• Iowa
• Nebraska's 2nd congressional district
• Nevada
• New Mexico
• North Carolina
• Ohio
• Virginia

File:ElectoralCollege2008-Large.png|Results by state with pie charts for the electoral college and popular vote. Note that the depicted split in Nebraska's electoral votes denotes the one electoral vote won by Obama in Nebraska's second congressional district and is not representative of the district's actual geographical boundaries.

File:2008 United States presidential election results map by county.svg|Results by county,{{refn|group=lower-alpha|name="county clarification"|Alaska and Louisiana do not have counties. Alaska's boroughs and census areas and Louisiana's parishes are pictured.}} shaded according to winning candidate's percentage of the vote.

File:2008 Presidential Election by County Flips.svg|Results by county flips from 2004 to the 2008 presidential election{{refn|group=lower-alpha|name="county clarification"|Alaska and Louisiana do not have counties. Alaska's boroughs and census areas and Louisiana's parishes are pictured.}}

File:Presidential Elections 2004-2008 Swing in County Margins.svg|Change in vote margins at the county level from the 2004 election to the 2008 election.{{refn|group=lower-alpha|name="county clarification"}} Obama made dramatic gains in every region of the country except for Arizona (McCain's home state), Alaska (Palin's home state), Appalachia, and the inner South, where McCain improved over Bush.

File:ElectionMapPurpleCounty.png|Presidential popular votes by county as a scale from red/Republican to blue/Democratic.

File:2008CartogramElection.jpg|Cartogram of popular vote with each county rescaled in proportion to its population. Deeper blue represents a Democratic majority; brighter red represents a Republican majority.{{cite web|url=http://www-personal.umich.edu/~mejn/election/2008/|title=Election maps|website=www-personal.umich.edu|access-date=January 18, 2009|archive-date=September 30, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210930150235/http://www-personal.umich.edu/~mejn/election/2008/|url-status=live}}

File:2008 presidential election, results by congressional district (popular vote percentage).svg|Results by congressional districts, shaded according to winning candidate's percentage of the vote.

File:Swing states, 2008.svg

States where the margin of victory was under 1% (26 electoral votes; 15 won by Obama, 11 by McCain):

1. Missouri, 0.14% (3,903 votes) – 11 electoral votes
2. North Carolina, 0.32% (14,177 votes) – 15 electoral votes

States where the margin of victory was between 1% and 5% (62 electoral votes; 59 won by Obama, 3 by McCain):

1. Indiana, 1.04% (28,391 votes) – 11 electoral votes
2. Nebraska's 2nd congressional district, 1.22% (3,370 votes) – 1 electoral vote
3. Montana, 2.26% (11,096 votes) – 3 electoral votes
4. Florida, 2.81% (236,450 votes) – 27 electoral votes
5. Ohio, 4.59% (262,224 votes) – 20 electoral votes

States/districts where the margin of victory was between 5% and 10% (73 electoral votes; 33 won by Obama, 40 by McCain):

1. Georgia, 5.21% (204,636 votes) – 15 electoral votes
2. Virginia, 6.30% (234,527 votes) – 13 electoral votes
3. South Dakota, 8.41% (32,130 votes) – 3 electoral votes
4. Arizona, 8.52% (195,404 votes) – 10 electoral votes
5. North Dakota, 8.63% (27,323 votes) – 3 electoral votes
6. Colorado, 8.95% (215,004 votes) – 9 electoral votes (tipping-point state for Obama victory)
7. South Carolina, 8.97% (172,447 votes) – 8 electoral votes
8. Iowa, 9.54% (146,561 votes) – 7 electoral votes(tipping-point state for McCain victory)
9. New Hampshire, 9.61% (68,292 votes) – 4 electoral votes
10. Nebraska's 1st congressional district, 9.77% (26,768 votes) – 1 electoral vote

Blue denotes states or congressional districts won by Democrat Barack Obama; red denotes those won by Republican John McCain.

Counties with highest percentage of Democratic vote:[https://uselectionatlas.org/RESULTS/national.php?year=2008&off=0&elect=0&f=0] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210910104629/https://uselectionatlas.org/RESULTS/national.php?year=2008&off=0&elect=0&f=0|date=September 10, 2021}}, Uselectionatlas.org.

1. Prince George's County, Maryland 88.87%
2. Bronx County, New York 88.71%
3. Shannon County, South Dakota 88.69%

Counties with highest percentage of Republican vote:

1. King County, Texas 92.64%
2. Roberts County, Texas 92.08%
3. Ochiltree County, Texas 91.70%
4. Glasscock County, Texas 90.13%
5. Beaver County, Oklahoma 89.25%

Source: Exit polls conducted by Edison Research of Somerville, New Jersey, for the National Election Pool, a consortium of ABC News, Associated Press, CBS News, CNN, Fox News, and NBC News.{{cite news|url=http://www.cnn.com/ELECTION/2008/results/polls/#val=USP00p1|title=National Exit Poll|publisher=CNN|access-date=January 28, 2013|archive-date=June 5, 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100605132422/http://www.cnn.com/ELECTION/2008/results/polls/#val=USP00p1|url-status=live}}

Obama, having a white mother and Kenyan father of the Luo ethnic group,{{cite news|first=Derek|last=Kilner|title=Kenyans Welcome Obama's Democratic Party Nomination|date=June 4, 2008|url=http://www.voanews.com/english/archive/2008-06/2008-06-04-voa44.cfm?CFID=30257441&CFTOKEN=32989567|archive-url=http://webarchive.loc.gov/all/20100726062355/http://www1.voanews.com/english/archive/2008-06/2008-06-04-voa44.cfm?CFID=30257441&CFTOKEN=32989567|url-status=dead|archive-date=July 26, 2010|publisher=VOA News|access-date=June 17, 2008}} became the first African American as well as the first biracial president.{{cite news|url=http://www.latimes.com/news/printedition/asection/la-na-assess5-2008nov05,0,6354926.story|title=White Americans play major role in electing the first black president|work=Los Angeles Times|date=November 5, 2008|last=Wallsten|first=Peter|access-date=July 16, 2009|archive-date=December 18, 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081218232632/http://www.latimes.com/news/printedition/asection/la-na-assess5-2008nov05,0,6354926.story|url-status=live}} Several black people had previously run for president, including Shirley Chisholm, Jesse Jackson, Lenora Fulani, Carol Moseley Braun, Alan Keyes, and Al Sharpton, though Obama was the first one ever to win the nomination of a major party, let alone the general election.{{cite web|url=http://www.socialstudiesforkids.com/articles/ushistory/africanamericans_president.htm|title=African-Americans Who Ran for President|publisher=socialstudiesforkids.com|access-date=2016-03-22|archive-date=October 5, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181005012133/http://www.socialstudiesforkids.com/articles/ushistory/africanamericans_president.htm|url-status=dead}} The Obama-Biden ticket was also the first winning ticket in American history in which neither candidate was a white Protestant, as Biden is Roman Catholic and the first Roman Catholic to be elected vice president; all previous tickets with Catholic vice presidential candidates had been defeated (1964, 1972, 1984).{{cite web|url=http://www.america.gov/st/elections08-english/2008/November/20081107132624xjyrrep0.7660639.html|title=America.gov|publisher=America.gov|date=November 7, 2008|access-date=July 16, 2009|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090805090139/http://www.america.gov/st/elections08-english/2008/November/20081107132624xjyrrep0.7660639.html|archive-date=August 5, 2009|df=mdy-all}} The Obama-Biden ticket was the first winning ticket consisting of two sitting senators since 1960 (John F. Kennedy/Lyndon B. Johnson) (in the previous election cycle (2004) Democrats also nominated two sitting senators, John Kerry of Massachusetts and John Edwards of North Carolina, but they lost to incumbents Bush and Cheney), and Obama became the first Northern Democratic president since Kennedy. Also, Obama became the first Democratic candidate to win a majority of the popular vote since Jimmy Carter in 1976, the first to win a majority of both votes and states since Lyndon Johnson in 1964, and the first Northern Democrat to win a majority of both votes and states since Franklin Roosevelt in 1944. Obama became the first Northern Democrat to win any state in the former Confederacy since Hubert Humphrey won Texas in 1968. This was the first presidential election since 1952 in which neither of the major-party nominees was the incumbent president or vice-president. This is the only election where both major party nominees were Senators.

File:Election-state-04-08.png and 2008. Excluding the candidates' home states, only five states trended more Republican: Arkansas, Louisiana, Oklahoma, Tennessee and West Virginia.]]

Prior to the election, commentators discussed whether Senator Obama would be able to redraw the electoral map by winning states that had been voting for Republican candidates in recent decades.{{cite web|url=http://www.progressillinois.com/2008/05/11/features/obama-over-the-top|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080514024717/http://progressillinois.com/2008/05/11/features/obama-over-the-top|url-status=dead|archive-date=May 14, 2008|title=Obama Over the Top: How New Voters Could Redraw The Electoral Map|publisher=Progress Illinois|access-date=January 30, 2009}} In many ways, he was successful. He won every region of the country by double digits except the South, which John McCain won by nine percent, although Obama nonetheless carried Delaware, the District of Columbia, Maryland, North Carolina, Florida, and Virginia (the South as defined by the US Census Bureau). McCain won every state in the Deep South, where white voters had generally supported Republican candidates by increasingly large margins in the previous few decades.[http://elections.nytimes.com/2008/results/president/national-exit-polls.html Exit Polls] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131011094602/http://elections.nytimes.com/2008/results/president/national-exit-polls.html |date=October 11, 2013 }}, The New York Times, November 5, 2008. Obama won all of the 2004 swing states (states that either Kerry or Bush won by less than 5%) by a margin of 8.5 percent or more except for Ohio, which he carried by 4.5 percent.

Obama also defied political bellwethers, becoming the first person to win the presidency while losing Missouri since 1956 and while losing Kentucky and Tennessee since 1960. He was the first Democrat to ever win the presidency without carrying Missouri, to win without carrying Arkansas since that state joined the Union in 1836, and the first to win without West Virginia since 1916 (and, because one West Virginia elector had voted Democratic in 1916, Obama became the first Democrat to win the White House without any of the state's electors since its founding in 1863). Indiana and Virginia voted for the Democratic nominee for the first time since 1964, as did a solitary electoral vote from Nebraska's 2nd congressional district. Indiana would return to being a reliably red state in subsequent elections; Virginia, however, has been won by Democrats in every presidential election since and would grow increasingly Democratic at the state level. North Carolina, which Obama was the first Democrat to carry since 1976, would return to the Republican column in the following elections, though only by narrow margins each time.

Obama was also relatively competitive in some traditionally Republican states he lost, notably Montana, which he lost by under 3%, and Georgia, which he lost by just 5%. He is also the only 21st-century Democrat to lose North Dakota and South Dakota by just single digits. McCain remains the last presidential candidate to receive fewer than 200 electoral votes.

This was the first presidential election in which Nebraska split its electoral votes between two candidates. Together with Maine, which would not split its votes until 2016, Nebraska is one of two states that allow a split in electoral votes without faithless electors: a candidate receives one electoral vote for each congressional district won (Nebraska has three, Maine two), while the statewide winner receives an additional two electoral votes. Obama won the electoral vote from Nebraska's 2nd congressional district, largely comprising the city of Omaha. Nebraska's other four electoral votes went to John McCain. This would not happen again until 2020.

{{as of|2024}}, this election is the last time that Indiana or North Carolina voted Democratic, and is also the most recent election where one of the nominees has since died. Until 2024 this was also the most recent election in which any of the major presidential nominees had any military experience.{{Cite web |date=2023-07-19 |title=From Marine to politician: An inside look at JD Vance's journey to the RNC stage |url=https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/marine-politician-inside-jd-vances-journey-rnc-stage/story?id=112041974 |access-date=2024-07-19 |website=ABC News |language=en |archive-date=September 21, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240921110851/https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/marine-politician-inside-jd-vances-journey-rnc-stage/story?id=112041974 |url-status=live }}

This election exhibited the continuation of some of the polarization trends evident in the 2000 and 2004 elections.{{cite web|last=Cost|first=Jay|url=http://www.realclearpolitics.com/horseraceblog/2008/11/polarization_continues_under_o.html|title=HorseRaceBlog—Electoral Polarization Continues Under Obama|publisher=RealClearPolitics|date=November 20, 2008|access-date=January 24, 2009|archive-date=February 2, 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090202045534/http://realclearpolitics.com/horseraceblog/2008/11/polarization_continues_under_o.html|url-status=live}} McCain won whites 55–43 percent, while Obama won blacks 95–4 percent,{{cite web|author=Kuhn, David Paul|url=http://www.politico.com/news/stories/1108/15297.html|title=Exit polls: How Obama won|work=Politico|date=November 5, 2008|access-date=November 8, 2011|archive-date=November 5, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111105232041/http://www.politico.com/news/stories/1108/15297.html|url-status=live}} Hispanics 67–31 percent, and Asians 62–35 percent. Voters aged 18–29 voted for Obama by 66–32 percent while elderly voters backed McCain 53–45 percent.{{cite news|url=http://www.cnn.com/ELECTION/2008/results/polls/#USP00p1|title=Exit poll|publisher=CNN|access-date=January 30, 2009|archive-date=June 5, 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100605132422/http://www.cnn.com/ELECTION/2008/results/polls/#USP00p1|url-status=live}} The 25-year age gap between McCain and Obama was the widest in U.S. presidential election history among the top two candidates.{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2008/02/03/world/americas/03iht-letter.3.9701386.html |title=Obama vs. McCain would be dream match |work=The New York Times |date=February 3, 2008 |author=Hunt, Albert R. |access-date=February 23, 2017 |archive-date=November 25, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201125220543/https://www.nytimes.com/2008/02/03/world/americas/03iht-letter.3.9701386.html |url-status=live }}

• Barack Obama religion conspiracy theories
• Barack Obama citizenship conspiracy theories
• First inauguration of Barack Obama
• Newspaper endorsements in the 2008 United States presidential election
• Presidential transition of Barack Obama
• 2008 United States gubernatorial elections
• 2008 United States House of Representatives elections
• 2008 United States Senate elections
• Third-party and independent candidates for the 2008 United States presidential election

• Nationwide opinion polling for the 2008 United States presidential election
• Statewide opinion polling for the 2008 United States presidential election
• International opinion polling for the 2008 United States presidential election
• Scientific forecasts: FiveThirtyEight

{{reflist|group=lower-alpha}}

{{Reflist|30em}}

{{refbegin}}

• Balz, Dan, and Haynes Johnson. The Battle for America 2008: The Story of an Extraordinary Election (2009), by leading reporters with inside information
• Crotty, William. "Policy and Politics: The Bush Administration and the 2008 Presidential Election," Polity, July 2009, Vol. 41 Issue 3, pp 282–311 [http://www.palgrave-journals.com/polity/journal/v41/n3/abs/pol20093a.html online] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160404230129/http://www.palgrave-journals.com/polity/journal/v41/n3/abs/pol20093a.html |date=April 4, 2016 }}
• Curtis, Mark. Age of Obama: A Reporter's Journey With Clinton, McCain and Obama in the Making of the President in 2008 (2009)
• Gidlow, Liette. Obama, Clinton, Palin: Making History in Election 2008 (2012)
• Nelson, Michael. The Elections of 2008 (2009), factual summary [https://www.amazon.com/dp/0872895696/ except and text search] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110429113223/http://www.amazon.com/dp/0872895696/ |date=April 29, 2011 }}
• Plouffe, David. The Audacity to Win: The Inside Story and Lessons of Barack Obama's Historic Victory. 2009
• Sussman, Glen. "Choosing a New Direction: The Presidential Election of 2008," White House Studies, 2009, Vol. 9 Issue 1, pp 1–20
• Wolffe, Richard. Renegade: The Making of a President (2010) [https://www.amazon.com/dp/0307463133/ excerpt and text search] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110429113024/http://www.amazon.com/dp/0307463133/ |date=April 29, 2011 }}, narrative

• Abramson, Paul R., John H. Aldrich, and David W. Rohde. Change and Continuity in the 2008 Elections (2009) [https://www.amazon.com/dp/1604265205/ excerpt and text search] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110429111607/http://www.amazon.com/dp/1604265205/ |date=April 29, 2011 }}
• Corwin E. Smidt and others. The Disappearing God Gap? Religion in the 2008 Presidential Election (Oxford University Press; 2010) 278 pages. Finds that the gap between church-attending traditionalists and other voters is not closing, as has been claimed, but is changing in significant ways; draws on survey data from voters who were interviewed in the spring of 2008 and then again after the election.
• Crespino, Joseph. "The U.S. South and the 2008 Election," Southern Spaces (2008) [http://www.southernspaces.org/2008/us-south-and-2008-election online] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200808144411/https://southernspaces.org/2008/us-south-and-2008-election/ |date=August 8, 2020 }}
• Jessee, Stephen A. "Voter Ideology and Candidate Positioning in the 2008 Presidential Election," American Politics Research, March 2010, Vol. 38 Issue 2, pp 195–210
• Kenski, Kate, Bruce W. Hardy, and Kathleen Hall Jamieson. The Obama Victory: How Media, Money, and Message Shaped the 2008 Election (Oxford University Press; 2010) 378 pages. Draws on interviews with key campaign advisors as well as the National Annenberg Election Survey. [https://www.amazon.com/dp/0195399560/ excerpt and text search] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190828224412/https://www.amazon.com/dp/0195399560/ |date=August 28, 2019 }}
• Sabato, Larry. The Year of Obama: How Barack Obama Won the White House (2009)
• Stempel III, Guido H. and Thomas K. Hargrove, eds. The 21st-Century Voter: Who Votes, How They Vote, and Why They Vote (2 vol. 2015).
• Todd, Chuck, and Sheldon Gawiser. How Barack Obama Won: A State-by-State Guide to the Historic 2008 Presidential Election (2009) [https://www.amazon.com/dp/030747366X/ excerpt and text search] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190828224407/https://www.amazon.com/dp/030747366X/ |date=August 28, 2019 }}

{{refend}}

{{Commons category}}

{{Wikinews category|2008 United States presidential election}}

• [http://www.sciam.com/article.cfm?id=electoral-results-maps Beyond Red and Blue: 7 Ways to View the Presidential Election Map]—from Scientific American
• [http://www.livingroomcandidate.org/commercials/2008 Campaign commercials from the 2008 election]
• [http://www.ecoresearch.net/election2008/ US Election 2008 Web Monitor]
• [http://mapmash.googlepages.com/election_map.html 2008 Electoral Map]
• [https://www.usatoday.com/news/politics/election2008/results.htm "Behind the Results", USA Today election coverage]
• Joseph Crespino, [http://southernspaces.org/2008/us-south-and-2008-election "The U.S. South and the 2008 Election"], Southern Spaces, December 11, 2008.
• [http://www.countingthevotes.com/2008/ Election of 2008 in Counting the Votes]
• {{cite episode|title=The Choice 2008|series=Frontline|series-link=Frontline (American TV program)|network=PBS|station=WGBH|date=October 14, 2008|season=26|number=11|url=https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/frontline/documentary/choice2008/|access-date=November 28, 2024}}

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