2008 United States presidential election in West Virginia

none June 2025 September 2023 2008 United States presidential election 2008 United States presidential election in West Virginia West Virginia 2008 presidential no 2004 United States presidential election in West Virginia 2004 2012 United States presidential election in West Virginia 2012 November 4, 2008 57.92%2008 General https://sos.wv.gov/elections/Documents/HistVoteTurnoutDocs/2008General.pdf West Virginia Secretary of State x200px John McCain official portrait 2009 (cropped).jpg John McCain Republican Party (United States) Arizona Sarah Palin 5 397,466 55.60% Obama portrait crop.jpg Barack Obama Democratic Party (United States) Illinois Joe Biden 0 303,857 42.51% President George W. Bush Republican Party (United States) Barack Obama Democratic Party (United States) 300px County results 300px Congressional district results 300px Precinct results McCain #f2b3be 40–50% #e27f90 50–60% #cc2f4a 60–70% #d40000 70–80% #aa0000 80–90% Obama #b9d7ff 40–50% #86b6f2 50–60% #4389e3 60–70% #1666CB 70–80% #0645B4 80–90% #002B84 90–100% Tie/No Data #D4C4DC #808080 The 2008 United States presidential election in West Virginia took place on November 4, 2008, and was part of the 2008 United States presidential election. Voters chose 5 representatives, or electors to the Electoral College, who voted for president and vice president. West Virginia was won by Republican nominee John McCain by a 13.1% margin of victory. Prior to the election, all 17 news organizations considered this a state McCain would win, or otherwise considered as a safe red state. Despite its past voting record of heavily favoring Democratic presidential nominees, the state had since 2000 been trending more Republican in presidential elections. Obama became the first Democratic presidential nominee since Woodrow Wilson in 1916 to win the nationwide presidential election without carrying West Virginia, and in that election Wilson had managed to win a single electoral vote, making Obama the first Democrat to win without carrying any electoral votes from the state. Obama also became the first Democrat since 1928 to lose Logan County, a strongly unionized coal-dependent county that was the only county in West Virginia to vote for George McGovern in his landslide 1972 loss. In contrast to West Virginia, Virginia voted for Obama, marking the first time Virginia voted for the Democratic nominee since 1964. Starting in 2008, West Virginia has always voted for the Republican nominee and Virginia has always voted for the Democratic nominee.Woodruff Betsy October 29, 2014 Goodbye West Virginia http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/politics/2014/10/republicans_are_turning_west_virginia_red_how_the_democrats_lost_control.html live https://web.archive.org/web/20170721085311/http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/politics/2014/10/republicans_are_turning_west_virginia_red_how_the_democrats_lost_control.html July 21, 2017 Slate But by 2000, tectonic changes in the state's politics were underway. West Virginians tended to be economically liberal but socially conservative, and as social issues like abortion came to the forefront in national politics, the state started looking better for Republicans. The leftward tilt of the national Democratic Party helped matters, too. In 2008, West Virginia was one of five states where Obama underperformed 2004 Democratic presidential nominee John Kerry, the others being Arkansas, Louisiana, Oklahoma, and Tennessee. As of the 2024 presidential election, this is the last time that the Democratic presidential nominee won any county in West Virginia, including Boone, Braxton, Jefferson, Marion, McDowell, Monongalia and Webster, and the last presidential election in which the Democratic nominee received more than 40% of the vote in West Virginia. Primaries 2008 West Virginia Democratic primary 2008 West Virginia Republican caucuses and 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 RCook Political Report2015-05-05 Presidential http://cookpolitical.com/presidential 2021-08-23 https://web.archive.org/web/20150505003043/http://cookpolitical.com/presidential 2015-05-05Lean RThe 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/ 2009-04-22Lean RElectoral-vote.comElectoral-vote.com: President, Senate, House Updated Daily https://electoral-vote.com/evp2008/Pres/Maps/Dec31.html 2021-08-23 electoral-vote.comLean RWashington PostBased on TakeawayLean RPoliticoPOLITICO's 2008 Swing State Map - POLITICO.com https://www.politico.com/convention/swingstate.html 2016-09-22 www.politico.comSolid RRealClearPolitics 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 MapLean RFiveThirtyEightLean RCQ 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 PoliticsLean RThe 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, 2010Lean RCNN2008-10-31 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/ deadLean RNPRLean RMSNBCLean RFox NewsApril 27, 2010 Winning The Electoral College Fox News http://www.foxnews.com/oreilly/winning-the-electoral-college/Likely RAssociated 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 RRasmussen ReportsElection 2008: Electoral College Update - Rasmussen Reports https://www.rasmussenreports.com/public_content/politics/elections2/election_20082/2008_presidential_election/election_2008_electoral_college_update 2016-09-22 www.rasmussenreports.comSafe R Polling Statewide opinion polling for the United States presidential election, 2008#West Virginia Statewide opinion polling for the United States presidential election, 2008: West Virginia McCain lead in 16 of 17 pre-election polls. The final three polls showed McCain leading by an average of 53% to 41%.http://uselectionatlas.org/POLLS/PRESIDENT/2008/pollsa.php?fips=54 Election 2008 Polls - Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections David Leip 14 January 2015 Fundraising John McCain raised a total of $291,184 in the state. Barack Obama raised $713,231. Advertising and visits Obama and his interest groups spent $1,437,178. McCain and his interest groups spent $1,920,720.http://www.cnn.com/ELECTION/2008/map/ad.spending/ CNN Map: Campaign Ad Spending - Election Center 2008 from CNN.com May 26, 2010 Each ticket visited the state once.http://www.cnn.com/ELECTION/2008/map/candidate.visits/ CNN Map: Campaign Candidate Visits - Election Center 2008 from CNN.com May 26, 2010 Analysis More than any other state, West Virginia highlighted Obama's trouble in Appalachian America. It swung heavily to the Democrats during the days of Franklin D. Roosevelt and remained reliably Democratic for most of the next 68 years. During that time, it only voted Republican three times, all in national Republican landslides--1956, 1972 and 1984. It also voted for Democrats (such as Jimmy Carter and Michael Dukakis) who went on to big national defeats. This was largely due to its blue-collar, heavily unionized workers, especially coal miners, who favored Democratic economic policy. Starting with the campaign of Al Gore, however, the state's voters became more concerned with the national Democratic Party's perceived hostility toward the coal industry, which is a core part of the West Virginia economy. As a result, the state has been trending Republican in national elections. In 2008, neither presidential nominee campaigned heavily in the state. Election results On Election Day, McCain won West Virginia by 13.09 points while losing nationwide. McCain did well throughout the state, losing only a handful of counties. While his margins were best in the more conservative northern part of the state, he also improved significantly in Southern West Virginia. This coal-mining, union-heavy region was one of the most heavily Democratic places in the nation; Logan County, for example, cast 72% of its ballot for Bill Clinton.Election Results 2008 http://elections.nytimes.com/2008/results/president/map.html New York Times dead https://web.archive.org/web/20041103020223/http://usinfo.state.gov/products/pubs/history/ch13.htm November 3, 2004 In 2008, however, John McCain won the county by double digits, becoming the first Republican to win it since Herbert Hoover in 1928. On the other hand, Barack Obama did make gains in the area between Maryland and Virginia, counties which are a part of the Washington Metropolitan Area. Obama also ran close in Central West Virginia (the counties around the capital Charleston). Despite the recent Republican success nationally, Democrats still dominated at the state and local levels. After the 2008 election, Democrats held the governorship and every other statewide executive office, in addition to both U.S. Senate seats, two out of the state's three U.S. House seats, supermajorities in both chambers of the state legislature.Willis Derek Election Was Rough for Democrats. It Was Worse for West Virginia Democrats. https://www.nytimes.com/2014/11/25/upshot/election-was-rough-for-democrats-it-was-worse-for-west-virginia-democrats.html?_r=2&abt=0002&abg=1 November 24, 2014 The New York Times November 9, 2016 Other elections During the same election, popular incumbent Democratic Governor Joe Manchin III was soundly reelected to a second term with 69.79% of the vote over Republican Russ Weeks, who took in 25.75%, while Jesse Johnson of the Mountain Party received 4.46%. Incumbent Democratic U.S. Senator Jay Rockefeller IV won a fifth term with 63.71% of the vote over Republican Jay Wolfe, who took in 36.27%. At the state level, Democrats retained majorities in both state legislative chambers, picking up three seats in the State Senate while losing one seat in the House of Delegates. Results 2008 United States presidential election in West Virginiahttps://uselectionatlas.org/RESULTS/state.php?year=2012&fips=54&off=0&elect=0&f=0 2012 Presidential General Election Results - West Virginia Republican Party (United States) John McCain Arizona Sarah Palin Alaska 397,466 55.60% 5 100.00% 0.48% Democratic Party (United States) Barack Obama Illinois Joe Biden Delaware 303,857 42.51% 0 0.00% 0.71% Independent (politician) Ralph Nader Connecticut Matt Gonzalez California 7,219 1.01% 0 0.00% 0.47% Constitution Party (United States) Chuck Baldwin Florida Darrell Castle Tennessee 2,465 0.34% 0 0.00% 0.34% Mountain Party Cynthia McKinney Georgia Rosa Clemente North Carolina 2,355 0.33% 0 0.00% 0.33% |- class="vcard" | style="background-color: Write-in; width: 5px;" | | class="org" | Write-in | class="fn" colspan="2" | Various candidates | style="text-align: right; margin-right: 0.5em" | 1,761 | style="text-align: right; margin-right: 0.5em" | 0.25% | style="text-align: right; margin-right: 0.5em" | 0 | style="text-align: right; margin-right: 0.5em" | 0.00% | style="text-align: right; margin-right: 0.5em" | 0.24% |- 713,451 100.00% 5 100.00% By county CountyJohn McCainRepublicanBarack ObamaDemocraticVarious candidatesOther partiesMarginTotal#%#%#%#%Barbour3,68559.13%2,41938.82%1282.06%1,26620.31%6,232Berkeley20,84155.72%15,99442.76%5651.51%4,84712.96%37,400Boone3,63243.39%4,52954.11%2092.50%-897-10.72%8,370Braxton2,62948.55%2,70449.94%821.52%-75-1.39%5,415Brooke4,96150.33%4,71747.85%1791.81%2442.48%9,857Cabell18,79354.11%15,29244.03%6471.86%3,50110.08%34,732Calhoun1,36656.24%99340.88%702.88%37315.36%2,429Clay1,75553.75%1,42143.52%892.73%33410.23%3,265Doddridge2,21873.49%73524.35%652.16%1,48349.14%3,018Fayette7,65850.40%7,24247.66%2941.94%4162.74%15,194Gilmer1,44557.32%1,00439.83%722.85%44117.49%2,521Grant3,16675.06%99723.64%551.30%2,16951.42%4,218Greenbrier7,56755.10%5,88142.83%2842.07%1,68612.27%13,732Hampshire5,22262.56%2,98335.74%1421.70%2,23926.82%8,347Hancock7,51856.87%5,50441.63%1981.50%2,01415.24%13,220Hardy3,37662.44%1,90135.16%1302.40%1,47527.28%5,407Harrison17,82455.56%13,58242.34%6722.10%4,24213.22%32,078Jackson7,14858.42%4,86139.73%2271.85%2,28718.69%12,236Jefferson10,60046.78%11,68751.58%3721.64%-1,087-4.80%22,659Kanawha40,95249.41%40,59448.98%1,3411.61%3580.43%82,887Lewis4,33565.60%2,10931.92%1642.48%2,22633.68%6,608Lincoln3,63753.21%3,02944.32%1692.47%6088.89%6,835Logan7,32654.17%5,87343.43%3252.40%1,45310.74%13,524Marion11,50148.45%11,61848.94%6212.61%-117-0.49%23,740Marshall7,75955.42%5,99642.83%2461.75%1,76312.59%14,001Mason5,85355.20%4,48442.29%2662.51%1,36912.91%10,603McDowell2,88244.82%3,43053.34%1181.84%-548-8.52%6,430Mercer13,24662.81%7,45035.33%3931.86%5,79627.48%21,089Mineral7,61665.96%3,75032.48%1811.56%3,86633.48%11,547Mingo4,58755.01%3,58242.96%1692.03%1,00512.05%8,338Monongalia15,77546.99%17,06050.82%7342.19%-1,285-3.83%33,569Monroe3,39760.93%2,01436.13%1642.94%1,38324.80%5,575Morgan4,42860.86%2,72137.40%1271.74%1,70723.46%7,276Nicholas4,80451.32%4,35746.54%2002.14%4474.78%9,361Ohio10,69454.73%8,59343.98%2531.29%2,10110.75%19,540Pendleton2,03559.94%1,31038.59%501.47%72521.35%3,395Pleasants1,77259.56%1,14238.39%612.05%63021.17%2,975Pocahontas2,01155.22%1,54842.50%832.28%46312.72%3,642Preston7,32562.10%4,20535.65%2662.25%3,12026.45%11,796Putnam15,16260.92%9,33437.51%3911.57%5,82823.41%24,887Raleigh17,54862.10%10,23736.23%4741.67%7,31125.87%28,259Randolph6,06055.94%4,53941.90%2342.16%1,52114.04%10,833Ritchie2,78172.31%99825.95%671.74%1,78346.36%3,846Roane2,94352.78%2,51145.03%1222.19%4327.75%5,576Summers2,89154.38%2,29043.08%1352.54%60111.30%5,316Taylor3,60558.12%2,46239.69%1362.19%1,14318.43%6,203Tucker2,12360.54%1,28836.73%962.73%83523.81%3,507Tyler2,41564.55%1,24133.17%852.28%1,17431.38%3,741Upshur5,91165.89%2,92532.61%1351.50%2,98633.28%8,971Wayne8,94757.98%6,13739.77%3462.25%2,81018.21%15,430Webster1,38645.34%1,55250.77%1193.89%-166-5.43%3,057Wetzel3,34251.78%2,94245.58%1702.62%4006.20%6,454Wirt1,49664.32%78233.62%482.06%71430.70%2,326Wood22,89663.38%12,57334.80%6571.82%10,32328.58%36,126Wyoming4,62161.37%2,73536.32%1742.31%1,88625.05%7,530Totals397,46655.58%303,85742.49%13,8001.93%93,60913.09%715,123 Counties that flipped from Democratic to Republican right 300px Swing by countyLegend #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% #ffd5d5 Republican — +0–2.5% #ffaaaa Republican — +2.5–5% #ff8080 Republican — +5–7.5% #ff5555 Republican — +7.5–10% #ff2a2a Republican — +10–12.5% #d40000 Republican — +>15% 300px Trend relative to the state by countyLegend #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% #ffd5d5 Republican — +0–2.5% #ffaaaa Republican — +2.5–5% #ff8080 Republican — +5–7.5% #ff5555 Republican — +7.5–10% #ff2a2a Republican — +10–12.5% #d40000 Republican — +>15% 300px County flipsLegend Democratic #92c5de Hold #0671b0 Flip Republican #f48882 Hold #ca0120 Flip Brooke (largest borough: Wellsburg) Fayette (largest city: Fayetteville) Logan (largest borough: Logan) Mingo (largest borough: Williamson) Counties that flipped from Republican to Democratic Jefferson (largest borough: Charles Town) Monongalia (largest borough: Morgantown) By congressional district McCain swept all three of the state's three congressional districts, including the two districts held by Democrats. District McCain Obama RepresentativeWest Virginia 1 1st 56.77% 41.51%Alan MollohanWest Virginia 2 2nd 54.63% 43.77%Shelley Moore CapitoWest Virginia 3 3rd 55.76% 42.29%Nick Rahall Electors List of 2008 United States presidential electors Technically the voters of West Virginia cast their ballots for electors: representatives to the Electoral College. West Virginia is allocated 5 electors because it has 3 congressional districts and 2 senators. All candidates who appear on the ballot or qualify to receive write-in votes must submit a list of 5 electors, who pledge to vote for their candidate and their running mate. Whoever wins the majority of votes in the state is awarded all 5 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. All 5 were pledged to John McCain and Sarah Palin:https://www.archives.gov/federal-register/electoral-college/2008-certificates/index.html#wv U. S. Electoral College 2008 Election - Certificates 14 January 2015 Robert Fish Zane Lawhorn Catherine Sue McKinney Marti Riggall Theresa Waxman References expanded West Virginia Category:2008 West Virginia elections 2008