2008 United States presidential election in Oregon

none June 2025 September 2023 2008 United States presidential election 2008 United States presidential election in Oregon Oregon presidential no 2004 United States presidential election in Oregon 2004 2012 United States presidential election in Oregon 2012 November 4, 2008 x200px File:Obama portrait crop.jpg Barack Obama Democratic Party (United States) Illinois Joe Biden 7 1,037,291 56.75% John McCain official portrait 2009 (cropped).jpg John McCain Republican Party (United States) Arizona Sarah Palin 0 738,475 40.40% 300px County results 300px Congressional district results Obama #b9d7ff 40–50% #86b6f2 50–60% #4389e3 60–70% #1666cb 70–80% McCain #f2b3be 40–50% #e27f90 50–60% #cc2f4a 60–70% #d40000 70–80% President George W. Bush Republican Party (United States) Barack Obama Democratic Party (United States) The 2008 United States presidential election in Oregon took place on November 4, 2008, and was part of the 2008 United States presidential election. Voters chose seven representatives, or electors to the Electoral College, who voted for president and vice president. Oregon was won by Democratic nominee Barack Obama with a 16.4% margin of victory. Prior to the election, all 17 news organizations considered this a state Obama would win, or otherwise considered as a safe blue state. Situated on the West Coast, which has become a reliably Democratic stronghold, Oregon is a relatively blue state. The last Republican presidential nominee to carry Oregon was Ronald Reagan in his 1984 landslide reelection. Although George W. Bush came close in both 2000 and 2004 (with Al Gore winning by 0.54 percentage points in 2000 and John Kerry by 4.16 percentage points in 2004), Republicans have not seriously contested the state since. This is also the first time that a presidential candidate won more than a million votes in Oregon. 2024 11 As of the 2024 presidential election, this is the most recent election in which Jackson County and Wasco County voted for a Democratic presidential candidate, and the last time any Southern Oregon county sided with a Democrat. Marion County, which sided with Obama, would not vote Democratic again until 2020. Primaries 2008 Oregon Democratic presidential primary 2008 Oregon Republican presidential primary Campaign Predictions There were 16 news organizations who made state-by-state predictions of the election. Here are their last predictions before election day: +SourceRankingD.C. Political Report2009-01-01 D.C.'s Political Report: The complete source for campaign summaries. http://www.dcpoliticalreport.com/Predictions.html 2021-08-23 usurped https://web.archive.org/web/20090101161206/http://www.dcpoliticalreport.com/Predictions.html 2009-01-01Likely DCook Political Report2015-05-05 Presidential http://cookpolitical.com/presidential 2021-08-23 https://web.archive.org/web/20150505003043/http://cookpolitical.com/presidential 2015-05-05Solid DThe Takeaway2009-04-22 Vote 2008 - The Takeaway - Track the Electoral College vote predictions http://vote2008.thetakeaway.org/2008/09/20/track-the-electoral-college-vote-predictions/ 2021-08-23 https://web.archive.org/web/20090422070127/http://vote2008.thetakeaway.org/2008/09/20/track-the-electoral-college-vote-predictions/ 2009-04-22Solid DElectoral-vote.comElectoral-vote.com: President, Senate, House Updated Daily https://electoral-vote.com/evp2008/Pres/Maps/Dec31.html 2021-08-23 electoral-vote.comSolid DWashington PostBased on TakeawaySolid DPoliticoPOLITICO's 2008 Swing State Map - POLITICO.com https://www.politico.com/convention/swingstate.html 2016-09-22 www.politico.comSolid DRealClearPolitics http://www.realclearpolitics.com/epolls/maps/obama_vs_mccain/?map=5 dead https://web.archive.org/web/20080605003612/http://www.realclearpolitics.com/epolls/maps/obama_vs_mccain/?map=5 2008-06-05 RealClearPolitics - Electoral MapSolid DFiveThirtyEightSolid DCQ PoliticsCQ Presidential Election Maps, 2008 http://innovation.cq.com/prezMap08/ dead https://web.archive.org/web/20090614004022/http://innovation.cq.com/prezMap08 June 14, 2009 December 20, 2009 CQ PoliticsSolid DThe New York TimesNagourney Adam Zeleny Jeff Carter Shan 2008-11-04 The Electoral Map: Key States The New York Times http://elections.nytimes.com/2008/president/whos-ahead/key-states/map.html?scp=1&sq=electoral%20college%20map&st=cse May 26, 2010Solid DCNN2008-10-31 October – 2008 – CNN Political Ticker - CNN.com Blogs CNN http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2008/10/ May 26, 2010 2010-06-19 https://web.archive.org/web/20100619013250/http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2008/10/ deadSafe DNPRSolid DMSNBCSolid DFox NewsApril 27, 2010 Winning The Electoral College Fox News http://www.foxnews.com/oreilly/winning-the-electoral-college/Likely DAssociated Pressroadto270 http://hosted.ap.org/specials/interactives/campaign_plus/roadto270/ 2016-09-22 hosted.ap.org December 8, 2008 https://web.archive.org/web/20081208002123/http://hosted.ap.org/specials/interactives/campaign_plus/roadto270/ deadLikely DRasmussen ReportsElection 2008: Electoral College Update - Rasmussen Reports http://www.rasmussenreports.com/public_content/politics/elections2/election_20082/2008_presidential_election/election_2008_electoral_college_update 2016-09-22 www.rasmussenreports.comSafe D Polling Statewide opinion polling for the 2008 United States presidential election#Oregon Statewide opinion polling for the 2008 United States presidential election: Oregon Obama won every single pre-election poll. Since September 22, Obama won each by a double-digit margin of victory and at least 52% of the vote. The final 3 polls showed Obama leading 55% to 41%.http://uselectionatlas.org/POLLS/PRESIDENT/2008/pollsa.php?fips=41 Election 2008 Polls Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections Fundraising McCain raised a total of $1,258,426 in the state. Obama raised $6,660,622.http://www.fec.gov/DisclosureSearch/MapAppState.do?stateName=OR&cand_id=P00000001 Presidential Campaign Finance 2009-08-18 https://web.archive.org/web/20090324085957/http://www.fec.gov/DisclosureSearch/MapAppState.do?stateName=OR&cand_id=P00000001 2009-03-24 dead Advertising and visits Obama and his interest groups spent $1,194,908. McCain and his interest groups spent just $159,222.http://www.cnn.com/ELECTION/2008/map/ad.spending/ CNN Map: Campaign Ad Spending - Election Center 2008 from CNN.com May 26, 2010 Neither campaign visited the state.http://www.cnn.com/ELECTION/2008/map/candidate.visits/ CNN Map: Campaign Candidate Visits - Election Center 2008 from CNN.com May 26, 2010 Analysis Voters in Oregon have a strong penchant for advancing the protection of civil liberties and individual freedoms, liberal values that have given Democrats a big edge in the state in recent years. The state once leaned Republican, like most of the Pacific Northwest. It only went Democratic once from 1948 to 1984—during Lyndon Johnson's 44-state landslide of 1964. However, the state has gone Democratic in every election since 1988, and along with California and Washington it is reckoned as forming a solid bloc of blue states along the Pacific Coast. On Election Day, Obama carried the state by 16.35 points. As Oregon was expected to be easily won by Obama, it was called for him as soon as the polls in the state closed. Besides Jackson County in the southwest and Wasco County in the central third, most rural counties in Oregon favored McCain in the 2008 election. Nevertheless, Obama performed much better in these regions than John Kerry had in 2004. Ultimately, Obama's strong support in the more urban Willamette Valley, home to two-thirds of the state's population, would have allowed him to win the state decisively in any event, coupled with the counties making up the northern half of the Oregon Coast. The state remains geographically and politically divided by the Cascade Mountains, with eastern Oregon and the southwest being more rural, less populated and therefore strongly Republican, while the Willamette Valley is more urbanized and therefore strongly Democratic. These two areas compose the core of each party's votes: rural Oregon is strongly Republican and culturally similar to Idaho, while the Willamette Valley—especially the cities of Portland and Eugene—heavily favors the Democrats. While Republicans typically win more counties due to running up large margins in the east and southwest, Democrats typically win the state because the Willamette Valley has more people. In 2008, Obama's overwhelming margins in Portland and Eugene, combined with strong support from Portland's suburbs (which function as swing counties), enabled him to win a landslide in a structurally liberal state. Although Obama broke no decades-long Republican county streaks, he came within 0.49 percent of winning Polk County and 1.36 percent of winning Yamhill County, neither of which have voted for a Democratic presidential candidate since 1964. While not having carried Deschutes County, Obama was only 0.31 percent away from winning it. Prior to Joe Biden in 2020, this was the closest a Democratic candidate came to winning Deschutes County after the 1992 presidential election.Sullivan, Robert David; ‘How the Red and Blue Map Evolved Over the Past Century’; America Magazine in The National Catholic Review; June 29, 2016 During the same election, Democratic Speaker of the Oregon House of Representatives Jeff Merkley defeated incumbent Republican U.S. Senator Gordon Smith by a narrow 3.35% margin. Merkley received 48.90 percent of the vote while Smith took in 45.55 percent, with the remaining 5.24 percent going to Dave Brownlow of the Constitution Party. At the state level, Democrats picked up five seats in the Oregon House of Representatives while Republicans picked up one seat in the Oregon Senate. Results 2008 United States presidential election in OregonPartyCandidateRunning mateVotesPercentageElectoral votes Democratic Barack Obama Joe Biden 1,037,291 56.75%7 Republican John McCain Sarah Palin 738,475 40.40% 0Peace Ralph Nader Matt Gonzalez 18,614 1.02% 0 Write-ins Write-ins 13,613 0.74% 0 Constitution Chuck Baldwin Darrell Castle 7,693 0.42% 0 Libertarian Bob Barr Wayne Allyn Root 7,635 0.42% 0 Pacific Green Cynthia McKinney Rosa Clemente 4,543 0.25% 0 Totals 1,827,864 100.00% 7 Voter turnout (Voting age population) 62.9% By county CountyBarack ObamaDemocraticJohn McCainRepublicanRalph NaderPeaceCharles BaldwinConstitutionBob BarrLibertarianCynthia McKinneyPacific GreenVarious candidatesWrite-insMarginTotal votes cast # % # % # % # % # % # % # % # % Baker 2,805 31.96% 5,650 64.37% 106 1.21% 55 0.63% 51 0.58% 23 0.26% 87 0.99% -2,845 -32.41% 8,777 Benton 29,901 64.33% 15,264 32.84% 427 0.92% 169 0.36% 214 0.46% 169 0.36% 334 0.72% 14,637 31.49% 46,478 Clackamas 103,476 53.93% 83,595 43.57% 1,750 0.91% 692 0.36% 717 0.37% 284 0.15% 1,364 0.71% 19,881 10.36% 191,878Clatsop 10,701 57.69% 7,192 38.78% 249 1.34% 70 0.38% 101 0.54% 68 0.37% 167 0.90% 3,509 18.91% 18,548Columbia 13,390 54.06% 10,413 42.04% 307 1.24% 202 0.82% 123 0.50% 74 0.30% 259 1.05% 2,977 12.02% 24,768Coos 14,401 46.53% 15,354 49.61% 422 1.36% 204 0.66% 163 0.53% 103 0.33% 304 0.98% -953 -3.08% 30,951Crook 3,632 35.09% 6,371 61.54% 157 1.52% 37 0.36% 55 0.53% 24 0.23% 76 0.73% -2,739 -26.45% 10,352Curry 5,230 42.41% 6,646 53.89% 174 1.41% 83 0.67% 57 0.46% 26 0.21% 116 0.94% -1,416 -11.48% 12,332Deschutes 38,819 48.66% 39,064 48.96% 702 0.88% 259 0.32% 305 0.38% 129 0.16% 504 0.63% -245 -0.30% 79,782Douglas 20,298 38.34% 30,919 58.41% 561 1.06% 320 0.60% 217 0.41% 128 0.24% 494 0.93% -10,621 -20.07% 52,937Gilliam 430 38.74% 648 58.38% 16 1.44% 6 0.54% 2 0.18% 2 0.18% 6 0.54% -218 -19.64% 1,110Grant 1,006 25.74% 2,785 71.25% 30 0.77% 39 1.00% 15 0.38% 2 0.05% 32 0.82% -1,779 -45.51% 3,909Harney 950 25.79% 2,595 70.46% 51 1.38% 21 0.57% 29 0.79% 10 0.27% 27 0.73% -1,645 -44.67% 3,683Hood River 6,302 64.11% 3,265 33.21% 112 1.14% 44 0.45% 31 0.32% 21 0.21% 55 0.56% 3,037 30.90% 9,830Jackson 49,090 48.58% 49,043 48.53% 844 0.84% 601 0.59% 425 0.42% 224 0.22% 820 0.81% 47 0.05% 101,047Jefferson 3,682 44.27% 4,402 52.92% 100 1.20% 37 0.44% 22 0.26% 21 0.25% 54 0.65% -720 -8.65% 8,318Josephine 17,412 41.41% 22,973 54.63% 492 1.17% 379 0.90% 234 0.56% 135 0.32% 424 1.01% -5,561 -13.22% 42,049Klamath 9,370 31.87% 19,113 65.01% 300 1.02% 178 0.61% 174 0.59% 68 0.23% 196 0.67% -9,743 -33.14% 29,399Lake 957 25.95% 2,638 71.53% 38 1.03% 19 0.52% 11 0.30% 11 0.30% 14 0.38% -1,681 -45.58% 3,688Lane 114,037 62.35% 63,835 34.90% 1,836 1.00% 590 0.32% 754 0.41% 534 0.29% 1,324 0.72% 50,202 27.45% 182,910Lincoln 14,258 59.68% 8,791 36.80% 334 1.40% 83 0.35% 127 0.53% 73 0.31% 223 0.93% 5,467 22.88% 23,889Linn 22,163 42.64% 28,071 54.00% 625 1.20% 287 0.55% 237 0.46% 134 0.26% 465 0.89% -5,908 -11.36% 51,982Malheur 2,949 28.27% 7,157 68.60% 85 0.81% 81 0.78% 57 0.55% 28 0.27% 76 0.73% -4,208 -40.33% 10,433Marion 61,816 49.63% 59,059 47.41% 1,257 1.01% 551 0.44% 528 0.42% 328 0.26% 1,024 0.82% 2,757 2.22% 124,563Morrow 1,410 34.75% 2,509 61.83% 43 1.06% 33 0.81% 23 0.57% 9 0.22% 31 0.76% -1,099 -27.08% 4,058Multnomah 279,696 76.69% 75,171 20.61% 4,166 1.14% 904 0.25% 1,195 0.33% 1,207 0.33% 2,371 0.65% 204,525 56.08% 364,710Polk 17,536 48.43% 17,714 48.92% 320 0.88% 184 0.51% 116 0.32% 79 0.22% 258 0.71% -178 -0.49% 36,207Sherman 385 36.77% 634 60.55% 8 0.76% 6 0.57% 5 0.48% 1 0.10% 8 0.76% -249 -23.78% 1,047Tillamook 7,072 53.18% 5,757 43.30% 197 1.48% 59 0.44% 58 0.44% 42 0.32% 112 0.84% 1,315 9.88% 13,297Umatilla 9,484 37.16% 15,254 59.77% 245 0.96% 166 0.65% 113 0.44% 56 0.22% 205 0.80% -5,770 -22.61% 25,523Union 4,613 36.63% 7,581 60.20% 119 0.94% 85 0.67% 63 0.50% 23 0.18% 110 0.87% -2,968 -23.57% 12,594Wallowa 1,492 33.42% 2,836 63.52% 35 0.78% 30 0.67% 24 0.54% 6 0.13% 42 0.94% -1,344 -30.10% 4,465Wasco 5,906 51.90% 5,103 44.84% 140 1.23% 61 0.54% 46 0.40% 31 0.27% 93 0.82% 803 7.06% 11,380Washington 141,544 59.82% 89,185 37.69% 1,892 0.80% 895 0.38% 1,148 0.49% 379 0.16% 1,589 0.67% 52,359 22.13% 236,632Wheeler 281 34.61% 498 61.33% 11 1.35% 5 0.62% 9 1.11% 1 0.12% 7 0.86% -217 -26.72% 812Yamhill 20,797 47.78% 21,390 49.14% 463 1.06% 258 0.59% 186 0.43% 90 0.21% 342 0.79% -593 -1.36% 43,526Totals1,037,29156.75%738,47540.40%18,6141.02%7,6930.42%7,6350.42%4,5430.25%13,6130.74%298,81616.35%1,827,864 right 260px Swing by county Legend #00a1c8 Democratic — +>15% #00bdec Democratic — +12.5-15% #09ceff Democratic — +10-12.5% #4bdbff Democratic — +7.5-10% #77e3ff Democratic — +5-7.5% #aaeeff Democratic — +2.5-5% #d5f6ff Democratic — +0-2.5% 260px Trend relative to the state by county Legend #aaeeff Democratic — +2.5-5% #d5f6ff Democratic — +0-2.5% #ffd5d5 Republican — +0-2.5% #ffaaaa Republican — +2.5-5% #ff8080 Republican — +5-7.5% #ff5555 Republican — +7.5-10% 260px County flips Legend Democratic #92c5de Hold #0671b0 Flip Republican #f48882 Hold Counties that flipped from Republican to Democratic Clackamas (largest city: Lake Oswego) Jackson (largest city: Medford) Marion (largest city: Salem) Tillamook (largest city: Tillamook) Wasco (largest city: The Dalles) By congressional district Barack Obama carried four of the state's five congressional districts in Oregon, all held by Democrats. District Obama McCain RepresentativeOregon 1 1st61.03% 36.27%David WuOregon 2 2nd 43.21% 53.86%Greg WaldenOregon 3 3rd71.39% 25.78%Earl BlumenauerOregon 4 4th53.79% 43.08%Peter DeFazioOregon 5 5th53.95%43.33%Darlene Hooley (110th Congress)Kurt Schrader (111th Congress) Electors List of 2008 United States presidential electors Technically the voters of Oregon cast their ballots for electors: representatives to the Electoral College. Oregon is allocated 7 electors because it has 5 congressional districts and 2 senators. All candidates who appear on the ballot or qualify to receive write-in votes must submit a list of 7 electors, who pledge to vote for their candidate and his or her running mate. Whoever wins the majority of votes in the state is awarded all 7 electoral votes. Their chosen electors then vote for president and vice president. Although electors are pledged to their candidate and running mate, they are not obligated to vote for them.http://www.sos.ca.gov/elections/elections_ec.htm Electoral College 2008-11-01 California Secretary of State dead https://web.archive.org/web/20081030041546/http://www.sos.ca.gov/elections/elections_ec.htm October 30, 2008 An elector who votes for someone other than his or her candidate is known as a faithless elector. The electors of each state and the District of Columbia met on December 15, 2008, to cast their votes for president and vice president. The Electoral College itself never meets as one body. Instead the electors from each state and the District of Columbia met in their respective capitols. The following were the members of the Electoral College from the state. All 7 were pledged to Barack Obama and Joe Biden:https://www.archives.gov/federal-register/electoral-college/2008-certificates/index.html#or U. S. Electoral College 2008 Election - Certificates 20 May 2019 Michael Bohan Shirley Cairns Joe Smith John McColgan Meredith Wood Smith Frank James Dixon Bernard Gorter See also United States presidential elections in Oregon Presidency of Barack Obama References Oregon 2008 Presidential