2008 United States presidential election in Rhode Island

none June 2025 September 2023 2008 United States presidential election 2008 United States presidential election in Rhode Island Rhode Island presidential no 2004 United States presidential election in Rhode Island 2004 2012 United States presidential election in Rhode Island 2012 66.9%This figure is calculated by dividing the total number of votes cast in 2008 (469,767) by an estimate of the number of registered voters in Rhode Island in 2008 (701,307). For the number of votes cast, see Official 2008 Presidential General Election Results http://www.ri.gov/election/results/2008/general_election/ Rhode Island Board of Elections November 17, 2008 February 6, 2018 For the estimated number of registered voters, see Eligible Voter October 4, 2008 http://www.elections.ri.gov/publications/Election_Publications/Election_Info/Eligible_Voters_10-04-08.pdf Rhode Island Board of Elections October 4, 2008 February 6, 2018 November 3, 2010 https://web.archive.org/web/20101103175227/http://www.elections.ri.gov/publications/Election_Publications/Election_Info/Eligible_Voters_10-04-08.pdf dead 4.8 pp November 4, 2008 File:Obama portrait crop.jpg 200x200px Barack Obama Democratic Party (United States) Illinois Joe Biden 4 296,571 62.86% File:John McCain official portrait 2009 (cropped).jpg John McCain Republican Party (United States) Arizona Sarah Palin 0 165,391 35.06% 250px County results 250px Municipality results 250px Congressional district results Obama #b9d7ff 40–50% #86b6f2 50–60% #4389e3 60–70% #1666cb 70–80% #0645b4 80–90% McCain #e27f90 50–60% President George W. Bush Republican Party (United States) Barack Obama Democratic Party (United States) The 2008 United States presidential election in Rhode Island took place on November 4, 2008, and was part of the 2008 United States presidential election. Voters chose four representatives, or electors to the Electoral College, who voted for president and vice president. Rhode Island was won by Democratic nominee Barack Obama with a 27.8% 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. At the time, the last time a Republican had carried this state or any county in it was in 1984, when Ronald Reagan won with about 52% of the vote, largely due to the support of Reagan Democrats. To date, this is the last time that the town of West Greenwich voted Democratic. Primaries 2008 Rhode Island Democratic presidential primary 2008 Rhode Island 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#Rhode Island Statewide opinion polling for the 2008 United States presidential election: Rhode Island Obama won every single pre-election poll, and each by a double-digit margin of victory. The final 3 polls averaged Obama leading with 51% to 33%.http://uselectionatlas.org/POLLS/PRESIDENT/2008/pollsa.php?fips=44 Election 2008 Polls - Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections 19 December 2022 Fundraising John McCain raised a total of $343,965 in the state. Barack Obama raised $1,563,473.http://www.fec.gov/DisclosureSearch/MapAppState.do?stateName=RI&cand_id=P00000001 Presidential Campaign Finance www.fec.gov https://web.archive.org/web/20090118034741/http://www.fec.gov/DisclosureSearch/MapAppState.do?stateName=RI&cand_id=P00000001 January 18, 2009 Advertising and visits Obama and his interest groups spent $671,623. McCain spent nothing.http://www.cnn.com/ELECTION/2008/map/ad.spending/ CNN Map: Campaign Ad Spending - Election Center 2008 from CNN.com May 26, 2010 The Democratic ticket visited the state once, while the Republican ticket didn't visit the state at all.http://www.cnn.com/ELECTION/2008/map/candidate.visits/ CNN Map: Campaign Candidate Visits - Election Center 2008 from CNN.com May 26, 2010 Analysis Rhode Island had historically supported a Republican candidate until 1928 with the exception of 1912, but has supported Democrats all but four times in the 24 elections that have followed.March 2021 In 1980, Rhode Island was one of only six states to vote against Ronald Reagan. Reagan did carry Rhode Island in his 49-state victory in 1984—only the third time since Eisenhower that a Republican won the state. However, Reagan's 3.6% margin was his second-closest in the nation, ahead of only his 2.8% margin in neighboring Massachusetts. Despite George H. W. Bush aggressively contesting the state in 1988, Michael Dukakis won it by a fairly convincing 13 points, his best performance. The state has not been seriously contested since then, often giving Democratic presidential nominees their biggest margins. It was Bill Clinton's second-best state in 1996 (behind only Massachusetts) and Al Gore's best state in 2000. In 2004, Rhode Island gave John Kerry more than a 20% margin of victory (the third-highest of any state), with 59.4% of its vote. All but three of Rhode Island's 39 cities and towns voted for the Democratic candidate. The only exceptions were East Greenwich, West Greenwich and Scituate. This pattern continued in 2008. Rhode Island gave Barack Obama a 27.80% margin of victory with 62.86% of its vote. Rhode Island was Obama's third-strongest state nationwide, only outperforming in Hawaii and Vermont. Every single county in Rhode Island, along with Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Vermont, Connecticut, and Hawaii, voted for the former U.S. Senator from Illinois in 2008. Obama also won every town in Rhode Island with the exception of Scituate along with both congressional districts. Independent Ralph Nader had one of his best performances here in 2008 obtaining over 1% of the vote. Having some of the highest taxes in the nation, Rhode Island is considered to be a liberal bastion. In addition, Rhode Island has abolished capital punishment, making it one of 15 states that have done so. Rhode Island abolished the death penalty very early, just after Michigan (the first state to abolish it), and carried out its last execution in the 1840s. At the time of the 2008 presidential election, Rhode Island was one of two states (along with Nevada) in which prostitution was legal (provided it took place indoors). During the same election, incumbent Democratic U.S. Senator Jack Reed was soundly reelected over Republican Bob Tingle in a landslide three-to-one margin and won every town in the state including Scituate. Reed received 73.07% of the vote while Tingle took in 26.47% (with write-ins obtaining the remaining 0.45%). At the state level, Democrats picked up nine seats in the Rhode Island House of Representatives to augment their supermajority in that chamber. Results 2008 United States presidential election in Rhode IslandPartyCandidateRunning mateVotesPercentageElectoral votes Democratic Barack Obama Joe Biden 296,571 62.86% 4 Republican John McCain Sarah Palin 165,391 35.06% 0 Independent Ralph Nader Matt Gonzalez 4,829 1.02% 0 Libertarian Bob Barr Wayne Allyn Root 1,382 0.29% 0 Green Cynthia McKinney Rosa Clemente 797 0.17% 0 Constitution Chuck Baldwin Darrell Castle 675 0.14% 0 Others Others 2,121 0.45% 0 Totals 471,766 100.00% 4 Voter turnout (Voting age population) 58.7% right 300px Swing by county Legend #4bdbff Democratic — +7.5-10% #77e3ff Democratic — +5-7.5% 300px Trend relative to the state by county Legend #d5f6ff Democratic — +0-2.5% #ffd5d5 Republican — +0-2.5% By county County Barack ObamaDemocratic John McCainRepublican Various candidatesOther parties Margin Total votes cast # % # % # % # % Bristol 16,162 62.39% 9,260 35.75% 483 1.86% 6,902 26.64% 25,905 Kent 48,406 57.58% 33,780 40.18% 1,888 2.24% 14,626 17.40% 84,074 Newport 25,479 60.67% 15,717 37.42% 801 1.91% 9,762 23.25% 41,997 Providence 167,442 66.02% 81,010 31.94% 5,178 2.04% 86,432 34.08% 253,630 Washington 39,082 59.07% 25,624 38.73% 1,454 2.20% 13,458 20.34% 66,160Totals296,57162.86%165,39135.06%9,8042.08%131,18027.80%471,766 By congressional district Obama carried both congressional districts in the state. District McCain Obama RepresentativeRhode Island 1 1st 33.28% 65.10%Patrick J. KennedyRhode Island 2 2nd 37.02% 61.28%James Langevin Electors List of 2008 United States presidential electors Technically the voters of Rhode Island cast their ballots for electors: representatives to the Electoral College. Rhode Island is allocated 4 electors because it has 2 congressional districts and 2 senators. All candidates who appear on the ballot or qualify to receive write-in votes must submit a list of 4 electors, who pledge to vote for their candidate and their running mate. Whoever wins the majority of votes in the state is awarded all 4 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 their 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 4 were pledged to Barack Obama and Joe Biden:U. S. Electoral College 2008 Election - Certificates Maryellen Goodwin Charlene Lima John McConnell Mark Weiner See also United States presidential elections in Rhode Island References Rhode Island 2008 Category:2008 Rhode Island elections