2008 United States presidential election in Illinois

none June 2025 September 2023 2008 United States presidential election in Illinois Illinois presidential no 2004 United States presidential election in Illinois 2004 2012 United States presidential election in Illinois 2012 November 4, 2008 x200px Obama portrait crop.jpg Barack Obama Democratic Party (United States) Illinois Joe Biden 21 3,419,348 61.92% John McCain official portrait 2009 (cropped).jpg John McCain Republican Party (United States) Arizona Sarah Palin 0 2,031,179 36.78% 180px County results 180px Congressional district results 350px Precinct results Obama #b9d7ff 40–50% #86b6f2 50–60% #4389e3 60–70% #1666cb 70–80% #0645B4 80–90% McCain #f2b3be 40–50% #e27f90 50–60% #cc2f4a 60–70% President George W. Bush Republican Party (United States) Barack Obama Democratic Party (United States) 70.90% The 2008 United States presidential election in Illinois took place on November 4, 2008, and was part of the 2008 United States presidential election. Voters chose 21 representatives, or electors, to the Electoral College, who voted for president and vice president. Democratic nominee Barack Obama won his home state by a 25.1 percentage point margin over Republican nominee John McCain. Prior to the election, every major news organization considered Illinois a state Obama would win, or otherwise a safe blue state. One of the most reliably blue states in the nation, Illinois has not voted for a Republican presidential nominee since 1988, when George H. W. Bush narrowly carried the state. In 2008, continuing that trend, it appeared that a generic Democratic presidential nominee could have easily won Illinois; it was no surprise then that Obama, who represented Illinois in the U.S. Senate, won the state in a landslide victory, clinching near 62 percent of the total vote. 2024 11 As of the 2024 presidential election, this is the last time a Democrat won the following counties: Boone, Bureau, Cass, Calhoun, Coles, Gallatin, Grundy, Kankakee, LaSalle, Macon, Macoupin, Madison, Mason, McDonough, McHenry, Montgomery, Pulaski, Sangamon, Schuyler, Stephenson, and Vermillion. McLean County, the home of Bloomington, would not vote for a Democrat again until 2020. As of 2024, Obama in 2008 is the only presidential candidate of either major party to win the state with more than 60% of the vote since Warren G. Harding in 1920, and the only Democrat to do so since Andrew Jackson, the Democratic Party's first presidential nominee, in 1828 and 1832. McCain's 36.78% of the vote is the second-lowest of any major-party nominee since 1924, only surpassing George H. W. Bush in 1992, when a substantial amount of the vote went to Ross Perot’s candidacy as an independent. Illinois was one of three states where Obama outperformed Franklin D. Roosevelt in all four of his runs, as well as Lyndon Johnson in his 1964 landslide. The others were rapidly Democratic-trending Vermont and Delaware, the latter being the home state of Joe Biden, Obama's running mate. This would be the last election in which the margin in Cook County was not the deciding factor in a statewide victory. Obama's victory in Illinois is the largest ever for a Democrat since the Republican Party became a major party. Primaries Turnout 2008 Illinois elections#Turnout For the state-run primaries (Democratic, Republican, and Green), turnout was 40.26%, with 2,940,708 votes cast.Voter Turnout https://www.elections.il.gov/ElectionOperations/VoterTurnout.aspx www.elections.il.gov Illinois State Board of Elections 24 March 2020 30 May 2021 https://web.archive.org/web/20210530142655/https://www.elections.il.gov/ElectionOperations/VoterTurnout.aspx dead Election Results https://www.elections.il.gov/ElectionOperations/ElectionVoteTotals.aspx www.elections.il.gov Illinois State Board of Elections 23 March 2020 22 February 2020 https://web.archive.org/web/20200222093629/https://www.elections.il.gov/ElectionOperations/ElectionVoteTotals.aspx dead For the general election, turnout was 70.90%, with 5,522,371 votes cast. State-run primaries were held for both major parties, as well as the Green Party, on February 5. Democratic 2008 Illinois Democratic presidential primary The 2008 Illinois Democratic presidential primary took place on Super Tuesday, February 5, 2008, with 153 delegates at stake. The winner in each of Illinois's 19 congressional districts was awarded all of that district's delegates, totaling 100. Another 53 delegates were awarded to the statewide winner, Barack Obama. The 153 delegates represented Illinois at the Democratic National Convention in Denver, Colorado. Thirty-two other unpledged delegates, known as superdelegates, also attended the convention and cast their votes as well. Polls Statewide opinion polling for the 2008 Super Tuesday Democratic Party presidential primaries#Illinois Polls indicated that then-U.S. Senator Barack Obama was leading then-U.S. Senator Hillary Clinton by double digits in the days before the contest in his home state of Illinois.Illinois Democratic Primary http://www.realclearpolitics.com/epolls/2008/president/il/illinois_democratic_primary-351.html Real Clear Politics 2008-02-04 Results Results of the 2008 Democratic Party presidential primaries 2008 Illinois Democratic presidential primary resultsPartyCandidateVotesPercentageDelegates Democratic Barack Obama 1,318,234 64.66% 104 Democratic Hillary Clinton 667,930 32.76% 49 Democratic John Edwards 39,719 1.95% 0 Democratic Dennis Kucinich 4,234 0.21% 0 Democratic Joe Biden 3,788 0.19% 0 Democratic Bill Richardson 3,538 0.17% 0 Democratic Christopher Dodd 1,171 0.06% 0 Totals 2,038,614 100.00% 153 Voter turnout % — Chicago Public Radio reported on March 13, 2008, that the delegate counts had been recalculated and Obama won 106 delegates to 47 for Clinton.Clinton Loses Two Illinois Delegates http://www.wbez.org/Content.aspx?audioID=19503 Chicago Public Radio (WBEZ) 2008-04-02 https://web.archive.org/web/20080314121045/http://www.wbez.org/Content.aspx?audioID=19503 2008-03-14 dead During the state by state roll call at the Democratic National Convention, the Illinois delegation declined to cast their votes.Roll Call Vote - 27 August 2008 http://www.thegreenpapers.com/P08/D.phtml Analysis It was no surprise that Barack Obama cruised to a landslide victory in Illinois, the state he had represented in the U.S. Senate since 2005. He enjoyed massive support in his state among all demographics. According to exit polls, 57% of voters in the Illinois Democratic Primary were white and they opted for Obama 57–41; 24% of voters were African American and they, too, backed Obama 93–5; and 17 percent of voters in the primary were Hispanic/Latino and they narrowly backed Obama 50–49. Obama won all age groups but tied Clinton among senior citizens aged 65 and over. He won all voters in the state of all educational attainment levels as well as income/socioeconomic classes. He won all ideological groups and voters from both parties as well as self-identified Independents. Regarding religion, Obama won every major denomination except Roman Catholics, who narrowly backed Clinton 50-48%. Obama won Protestants by a margin of 58–38, other Christians 79–19, other religions 82–17, and atheists/agnostics 78–21. Obama performed extremely well statewide and racked up massive victories in his home city of Chicago as well as its suburbs and the metropolitan area. He also won Northern Illinois as well as the collar counties by substantial victories. Clinton's best performance was in Southern Illinois among the more rural and conservative counties that are majority white, although Obama still won the region as a whole. Republican 2008 Illinois Republican presidential primary The 2008 Illinois Republican presidential primary was held on February 5, 2008, in the U.S. state of Illinois as one of the Republican Party's state primaries ahead of the 2008 presidential election. Illinois was one of 24 States holding a primary or caucus on Super Tuesday. Delegates from each of Illinois' 19 congressional districts are selected by direct election. In addition, the primary ballot also contains a preference poll that lists the presidential candidates. +2008 Illinois Republican presidential primaryGeneral Primary - 2/5/2008 http://www.elections.state.il.us/ElectionInformation/VoteTotalsList.aspx?officeid=4265 2008-02-05 2008-05-24 https://web.archive.org/web/20081006195014/http://www.elections.state.il.us/ElectionInformation/VoteTotalsList.aspx?officeid=4265 2008-10-06 dead http://www.thegreenpapers.com/P08/IL-R.phtml 2009-07-05 Illinois Republican Delegation 2008 Candidate Votes Percentage Delegates John McCain 426,777 47.45% 54 Mitt Romney 257,265 28.60% 3 Mike Huckabee 148,053 16.46% 0 Ron Paul 45,055 5.01% 0 Rudy Giuliani* 11,837 1.32% 0 Fred Thompson* 7,259 0.81% 0 Alan Keyes 2,318 0.26% 0 Jim Mitchell, Jr. 483 0.05% 0 Tom Tancredo* 375 0.04% 0 Total 899,422 100% 57 *Candidate withdrew prior to the primary. Green 2008 Illinois Green Party presidential primary Illinois presidential no 44 Green National Convention delegates 2012 Illinois Green Party presidential primary 2012 2008 02 05 File:Cynthia McKinney (1).jpg 150x150px Cynthia McKinney Green Party of the United States Georgia 25 1,513 56.62% File:Hawkins 2010 (1).jpg Howie Hawkins Green Party of the United States New York 8 464 17.37% File:Kent Mesplay by Gage Skidmore (1).jpg Kent Mesplay Green Party of the United States California 6 384 14.37% File:3x4.svg Jared A. Ball Green Party of the United States 5 311 11.64% 150px The 2008 Illinois Green Party presidential primary was held on February 5, 2008, in the U.S. state of Illinois as one of the Green Party's state primaries ahead of the 2008 presidential election. By virtue of Green Party candidate Rich Whitney's performance in the 2006 Illinois gubernatorial election, the party had earned the right to have a state-run primary in 2008. thumb|left|Illinois delegation at the 2008 Green Party National Convention + Illinois Green Party presidential primary, February 5, 2008http://www.thegreenpapers.com/T08/events.phtml Major Third Party 2008 Presidential Primary 2008 www.thegreenpapers.com The Green Papers February 25, 2017Election Vote Totals Results https://www.elections.il.gov/ElectionOperations/ElectionVoteTotals.aspx www.elections.il.gov 7 August 2020 22 February 2020 https://web.archive.org/web/20200222093629/https://www.elections.il.gov/ElectionOperations/ElectionVoteTotals.aspx dead http://www.gp.org/2008-elections/Delegate-Vote-Count.php 2008 Green Party Presidential Nomination Delegate Count 2018-05-11 https://web.archive.org/web/20080716191207/http://www.gp.org/2008-elections/Delegate-Vote-Count.php 2008-07-16http://www.fec.gov/pubrec/fe2008/2008pres.xls#search=Federal%20Elections%20%2208:%22%20Presidential%20Primary%20Election%20Results FEDERAL ELECTIONS 2008: ELECTION RESULTS FOR THE U.S. PRESIDENT, THE U.S. SENATE AND THE U.S. HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES www.fec.gov Federal Election Commission April 6, 2017http://dissidentvoice.org/2008/06/the-green-party’s-internal-democracy-problem-presidential-politics/#identifier_1_2210 The Green Party's Internal Democracy Problem: Presidential Politics Giese Chuck June 20, 2008 www.dissedentvoice.org Dissident Voice April 7, 2008CandidateVotesPercentageNational delegates Cynthia McKinney 1,513 56.62% 25Howie Hawkins 464 17.37% 8Kent Mesplay 384 14.37% 6Jared A. Ball 311 11.64% 5Total2,672100%44 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#Illinois Statewide opinion polling for the United States presidential election, 2008: Illinois Obama won every single pre-election poll, and each by a double-digit margin and with at least 52% (with the exception of an ARG poll). The final 3 polls averaged Obama leading 60% to 35%.Election 2008 Polls - Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections Fundraising Obama raised $35,307,625. McCain raised $7,207,428.http://www.fec.gov/DisclosureSearch/MapAppState.do?stateName=IL&cand_id=P00000001 Presidential Campaign Finance 2009-08-20 https://web.archive.org/web/20090324090043/http://www.fec.gov/DisclosureSearch/MapAppState.do?stateName=IL&cand_id=P00000001 2009-03-24 dead Advertising and visits Obama spent $23,319. McCain and interest groups spent $52,865.http://www.cnn.com/ELECTION/2008/map/ad.spending/ CNN Map: Campaign Ad Spending - Election Center 2008 from CNN.com 2010-05-26 The Democratic ticket visited the state 13 times. McCain's ticket visited the state twice.http://www.cnn.com/ELECTION/2008/map/candidate.visits/ CNN Map: Campaign Candidate Visits - Election Center 2008 from CNN.com 2010-05-26 Analysis For most of the second half of the 20th century, Illinois was reckoned as a Republican-leaning swing state. It voted Republican in every election from 1952 to 1988, save for 1960 and 1964. However, George H. W. Bush just barely won the state in 1988, and it swung heavily to Bill Clinton and the Democrats in 1992. Since then, Democrats have won the state by fairly comfortable margins, and it is now reckoned as the most solidly Democratic state in the Midwest. The Democratic trend in Illinois can be largely attributed to Cook County, home to Chicago, which makes up about 41.2% of the state's total population.http://quickfacts.census.gov/qfd/states/17/17031.html Cook County QuickFacts from the US Census Bureau 2008-12-13 https://web.archive.org/web/20150717092519/http://quickfacts.census.gov/qfd/states/17/17031.html 2015-07-17 dead While Chicago has been a Democratic stronghold for decades, the suburban areas of Cook County have historically tilted Republican. However, the brand of Republicanism in the suburbs has historically been moderate, and these areas swung Democratic as the national party moved more to the right. Democrats also do very well in the Illinois portions of the Quad Cities and St. Louis areas. Additionally, the historically Republican collar counties near Chicago – DuPage, Lake, McHenry, Kane, and Will – have become friendlier to Democrats at the national level. Barack Obama, the junior U.S. senator from Illinois at the time of the election, carried the state handily, defeating John McCain of Arizona by a margin of 1.38 million votes. Obama carried his home county, Cook County, with roughly 76% of the vote, the highest percentage of any Democratic presidential candidate since its incorporation in 1831. He also swept all five collar counties, becoming the first Democratic candidate since Franklin Pierce in 1852 to do so, with DuPage, Kendall, Lake, and Will giving him double-digit margins. Notably, DuPage, Kane, Kendall, and McHenry had not supported a Democrat for president since that election. McLean County voted Democratic for the first time since 1964.Todd, Chuck and Gawiser, Sheldon. How Barack Obama Won. New York City: Vintage, 2009. Obama improved on Kerry's performance enough that he would have prevailed in the state even if the Democratic stronghold of Cook County had its votes excluded, albeit by a narrower margin of 1,790,324 votes to McCain's 1,543,443 or 53.7% - 46.3% of the two-party vote. This is the only time in the 21st century that the Democratic candidate has done so. Obama also did very well in several rural counties that had historically voted Republican. He became the first Democrat to win Carroll County since that county was created in 1839, in the process breaking the last remaining Republican streak stretching from initial GOP candidate John C. Frémont in 1856, and the first Democrat to win Boone County since James K. Polk in 1844. McCain did, however, win several of the more rural counties in Southern Illinois; Obama thus became the first-ever Democrat to win the White House without carrying Christian County. It was not nearly enough, however, to put a serious dent in Obama's 25-point margin in the state.http://www.elections.il.gov/Downloads/ElectionInformation/VoteTotals/GE2008Tot.txt Illinois State Board of Elections - 2008 General Election - Comma delimited text 2008-12-01 June 22, 2010 https://web.archive.org/web/20100622045718/http://www.elections.il.gov/Downloads/ElectionInformation/VoteTotals/GE2008Tot.txt dead As of the 2024 presidential election, this is the last presidential election that a Democrat won all of Chicago's collar counties. During the same election, senior U.S. Senator and Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin, a Democrat, was reelected to the U.S. Senate with 67.84% of the vote over Republican Dr. Steve Sauerberg who received 28.53%. At the state level, Democrats picked up three seats in the Illinois House of Representatives. Results 2008 United States presidential election in IllinoisPartyCandidateRunning mateVotesPercentageElectoral votes Democratic Barack Obama Joe Biden 3,419,348 61.92% 21 Republican John McCain Sarah Palin 2,031,179 36.78% 0 Independent Ralph Nader Matt Gonzalez 31,152 0.56% 0 Libertarian Bob Barr Wayne Allyn Root 19,642 0.36% 0 Green Cynthia McKinney Rosa Clemente 11,838 0.21% 0 Constitution Chuck Baldwin Darrell Castle 8,256 0.15% 0 New Party John Joseph Polachek 1,149 0.02% 0 Write-Ins Write-ins 11 0.00% 0 Totals 5,522,371 100.00% 21 Voter turnout 58.1% By county CountyBarack ObamaDemocraticJohn McCainRepublicanVarious candidatesOther partiesMarginTotal votes cast#%#%#%#%Adams11,79438.17%18,71160.55%3971.29% -6,917 -22.38%30,902Alexander2,18955.46%1,69242.87%661.67% 497 12.59%3,947Bond3,84348.28%3,94749.59%1702.58% -104 -1.31%7,960Boone11,33350.96%10,40346.78%5022.25% 930 4.18%22,238Brown98638.26%1,54459.91%471.82% -558 -21.65%2,577Bureau8,88951.82%7,91146.12%3532.05% 978 5.70%17,153Calhoun1,42352.59%1,22145.12%622.29% 202 7.47%2,706Carroll3,96551.54%3,59646.74%1321.72% 369 4.80%7,693Cass2,69049.52%2,61748.18%1252.31% 73 1.34%5,432Champaign48,59757.57%33,87140.13%1,9402.29%14,72617.44%84,408Christian6,91845.65%7,87251.94%3652.41% -954 -6.29%15,155Clark3,74245.02%4,40953.04%1611.94% -667 -8.02%8,312Clay2,42537.50%3,92660.72%1151.79% -1,501 -23.22%6,466Clinton7,65744.22%9,35754.04%3001.74% -1,700 -9.82%17,314Coles11,71650.60%10,97847.42%4591.98% 738 3.18%23,153Cook1,629,02476.21%487,73622.82%20,7060.97%1,141,28853.39%2,137,466Crawford3,88342.42%5,07055.39%2002.19% -1,187 -12.97%9,153Cumberland2,05538.49%3,15659.11%1282.40% -1,101 -20.62%5,339DeKalb25,78457.33%18,26640.61%9242.05%7,51816.72%44,974DeWitt3,30842.24%4,34855.52%1752.23% -1,040 -13.28%7,831Douglas3,22838.52%5,00559.73%1461.74% -1,777 -21.21%8,379DuPage228,69854.72%183,62643.93%5,6491.35%45,07210.79%417,973Edgar3,74345.18%4,39853.09%1431.73% -655 -7.91%8,284Edwards1,14033.91%2,13763.56%852.53% -997 -29.65%3,362Effingham5,26231.17%11,32367.08%2951.75% -6,061 -35.91%16,880Fayette3,96740.86%5,49956.64%2422.49% -1,532 -15.78%9,708Ford2,22734.80%4,07963.73%941.47% -1,852 -28.93%6,400Franklin8,88047.45%9,40450.25%4302.30% -524 -2.80%18,714Fulton9,73259.45%6,25138.19%3862.36% 3,481 21.26%16,369Gallatin1,58755.26%1,21242.20%732.54% 375 13.06%2,872Greene2,61944.95%3,05352.40%1542.64% -434 -7.45%5,826Grundy11,06349.76%10,68748.07%4822.17% 376 1.69%22,232Hamilton1,79641.92%2,35354.93%1353.15% -557 -13.01%4,284Hancock4,14143.73%5,16154.50%1671.76% -1,020 -10.77%9,469Hardin89239.43%1,33058.80%401.77% -438 -19.37%2,262Henderson2,21557.85%1,54140.25%731.91% 674 17.60%3,829Henry13,18153.04%11,26345.33%4051.63% 1,918 7.71%24,849Iroquois4,64334.08%8,69563.82%2862.10% -4,052 -29.74%13,624Jackson15,24859.52%9,68737.81%6822.66%5,56121.71%25,617Jasper2,06340.12%2,96457.64%1152.24% -901 -17.52%5,142Jefferson7,46243.33%9,30254.02%4572.65% -1,840 -10.69%17,221Jersey5,04247.50%5,32950.20%2442.30% -287 -2.70%10,615Jo Daviess6,40354.49%5,17044.00%1771.51% 1,233 10.49%11,750Johnson1,87131.64%3,91266.15%1312.22% -2,041 -34.51%5,914Kane106,75655.21%83,96343.42%2,6441.37%22,79311.79%193,363Kankakee24,75051.41%22,52746.80%8611.79% 2,223 4.61%48,138Kendall24,74252.95%21,38045.75%6091.30% 3,362 7.20%46,731Knox14,19158.89%9,41939.09%4882.03% 4,772 19.80%24,098Lake177,24259.10%118,54539.53%4,1131.37%58,69719.57%299,900LaSalle27,44354.55%21,87243.47%9951.98% 5,571 11.08%50,310Lawrence3,01645.99%3,40351.89%1392.12% -387 -5.90%6,558Lee7,76547.47%8,25850.49%3342.04% -493 -3.02%16,357Livingston6,18939.50%9,19158.66%2891.84% -3,002 -19.16%15,669Logan5,25040.57%7,42957.41%2622.02% -2,179 -16.84%12,941Macon25,48749.60%24,94848.55%9541.86% 539 1.05%51,389Macoupin12,09053.87%9,89144.07%4622.06% 2,199 9.80%22,443Madison68,97953.60%57,17744.43%2,5341.97% 11,802 9.17%128,690Marion8,34547.93%8,69149.92%3742.15% -346 -1.99%17,410Marshall3,08148.53%3,14549.54%1221.92% -64 -1.01%6,348Mason3,54251.85%3,14145.98%1482.17% 401 5.87%6,831Massac2,69337.36%4,37160.63%1452.01% -1,678 -23.27%7,209McDonough6,78351.89%6,05546.32%2341.79% 728 5.57%13,072McHenry72,28851.77%64,84546.44%2,4991.79% 7,443 5.33%139,632McLean37,68949.67%36,76748.46%1,4221.87% 922 1.21%75,878Menard2,70641.78%3,67256.69%991.53% -966 -14.91%6,477Mercer4,88755.10%3,83343.21%1501.69% 1,054 11.89%8,870Monroe7,95343.87%9,88154.50%2951.63% -1,928 -10.63%18,129Montgomery6,49150.28%6,15047.64%2682.08% 341 2.64%12,909Morgan7,46748.51%7,59149.31%3362.18% -124 -0.80%15,394Moultrie2,66842.53%3,47155.33%1342.14% -803 -12.80%6,273Ogle11,25345.13%13,14452.72%5372.15% -1,891 -7.59%24,934Peoria45,90656.19%34,57942.32%1,2191.49%11,32713.87%81,704Perry4,70147.03%5,08650.89%2082.08% -385 -3.86%9,995Piatt3,85942.79%4,99155.34%1681.86% -1,132 -12.55%9,018Pike3,02439.57%4,45758.31%1622.12% -1,433 -18.74%7,643Pope84537.88%1,34360.20%431.93% -498 -22.32%2,231Pulaski1,63850.09%1,59348.72%391.19% 45 1.37%3,270Putnam1,90056.85%1,37841.23%641.92% 522 15.62%3,342Randolph7,39548.64%7,53849.59%2691.77% -143 -0.95%15,202Richland3,18141.46%4,32956.42%1632.12% -1,148 -14.96%7,673Rock Island42,21061.52%25,36436.97%1,0341.51%16,84624.55%68,608Saline5,08344.29%6,09953.15%2942.56% -1,016 -8.86%11,476Sangamon51,30051.25%46,94546.90%1,8611.86% 4,355 4.35%100,106Schuyler1,90049.49%1,83347.75%1062.76% 67 1.74%3,839Scott1,09041.81%1,45555.81%622.38% -365 -14.00%2,607Shelby4,24538.94%6,39658.67%2612.39% -2,151 -19.73%10,902St. Clair76,16060.42%47,95838.05%1,9361.54%28,20222.37%126,054Stark1,35746.49%1,51351.83%491.68% -156 -5.34%2,919Stephenson11,34952.40%9,90945.75%3991.84% 1,440 6.65%21,657Tazewell29,38445.87%33,24751.90%1,4292.23% -3,863 -6.03%64,060Union3,91842.80%5,00354.65%2332.55% -1,085 -11.85%9,154Vermilion16,24649.21%16,05448.62%7162.17% 192 0.59%33,016Wabash2,46242.49%3,25456.16%781.35% -792 -13.67%5,794Warren4,28653.17%3,63745.12%1381.71% 649 8.05%8,061Washington3,34242.13%4,47356.39%1171.48% -1,131 -14.26%7,932Wayne2,54731.56%5,39066.78%1341.66% -2,843 -35.22%8,071White3,31544.48%3,98753.50%1512.03% -672 -9.02%7,453Whiteside15,60757.82%10,88340.32%5041.87% 4,724 17.50%26,994Will160,40655.86%122,59742.69%4,1781.45%37,80913.17%287,181Williamson12,58941.59%17,03956.30%6382.11% -4,450 -14.71%30,266Winnebago70,03455.27%53,88642.53%2,7842.20%16,14812.74%126,704Woodford6,99935.82%12,19162.39%3501.79% -5,192 -26.57%19,540Totals3,419,34861.83%2,031,17936.73%79,6521.44%1,388,16925.10%5,530,179 right 300px 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% 300px Trend relative to the state by county Legend #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% #ff0000 Republican — +12.5-15% 150px County flips Legend Democratic #92c5de Hold #0671b0 Flip Republican #f48882 Hold Counties that flipped from Republican to Democratic 20em Boone (largest city: Belvidere) Bureau (largest city: Princeton) Carroll (largest city: Savanna) Cass (largest city: Beardstown) Coles (largest city: Charleston) DeKalb (largest city: DeKalb) DuPage (largest city: Aurora) Gallatin (largest city: Shawneetown) Grundy (largest city: Morris) Henry (largest city: Kewanee) Kane (largest city: Aurora) Jo Daviess (largest city: Galena) Kankakee (largest city: Kankakee) Kendall (largest village: Oswego) Lake (largest city: Waukegan) LaSalle (largest city: Ottawa) Macon (largest city: Decatur) Macoupin (largest city: Carlinville) Mason (largest city: Havana) McDonough (largest city: Macomb) McHenry (largest city: Crystal Lake) McLean (largest city: Bloomington) Montgomery (largest city: Litchfield) Pulaski (largest city: Mounds) Sangamon (largest city: Springfield) Schuyler (largest city: Rushville) Stephenson (largest city: Freeport) Vermilion (largest city: Danville) Warren (largest city: Monmouth) Will (largest city: Joliet) Winnebago (largest city: Rockford) By congressional district Barack Obama won 16 of the state's 19 congressional districts, including four districts held by Republicans. District Obama McCain RepresentativeIllinois 1 1st86.53% 12.93%Bobby RushIllinois 2 2nd89.68% 9.86%Jesse Jackson Jr.Illinois 3 3rd63.60% 35.08%Dan LipinskiIllinois 4 4th85.44% 13.22%Luis GutierrezIllinois 5 5th72.82%26.22%Rahm Emanuel (110th Congress)Mike Quigley (111th Congress)Illinois 6 6th55.91% 42.76%Peter RoskamIllinois 7 7th87.77% 11.57%Danny K. DavisIllinois 8 8th55.74% 42.86%Melissa BeanIllinois 9 9th72.34% 26.43%Jan SchakowskyIllinois 10 10th60.92% 38.13%Mark KirkIllinois 11 11th53.32%45.14%Jerry Weller (110th Congress)Debbie Halvorson (111th Congress)Illinois 12 12th55.49% 42.89%Jerry CostelloIllinois 13 13th54.21% 44.60%Judy BiggertIllinois 14 14th54.83%43.77%Dennis Hastert (110th Congress)Bill Foster (111th Congress)Illinois 15 15th 47.82% 50.43%Timothy V. JohnsonIllinois 16 16th52.78% 45.52%Donald ManzulloIllinois 17 17th56.39% 42.15%Phil HareIllinois 18 18th48.32%50.03%Ray LaHood (110th Congress)Aaron Schock (111th Congress)Illinois 19 19th 43.98% 54.25%John Shimkus Electors List of 2008 United States presidential electors Technically the voters of Illinois cast their ballots for electors: representatives to the Electoral College. Illinois is allocated 21 electors because it has 19 congressional districts and 2 senators. All candidates who appear on the ballot or qualify to receive write-in votes must submit a list of 21 electors, who pledge to vote for their candidate and the candidate's running mate. Whoever wins the majority of votes in the state is awarded all 21 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 21 were pledged to Barack Obama and Joe Biden:U. S. Electoral College 2008 Election - Certificates Constance A. Howard Carrie Austin Shirley R. Madigan Ricardo Muñoz James DeLeo Marge Friedman Vera Davis Nancy Shepardson William Marovitz Lauren Beth Gash Debbie Halvorson Molly McKenzie Julia Kennedy Beckman Mark Guethle Lynn Foster John M. Nelson Mary Boland Shirley McCombs Don Johnston Barbara Flynn Currie John P. Daley See also United States presidential elections in Illinois 2008 Republican Party presidential primaries 2008 Democratic Party presidential primaries References United States president Illinois 2008 es:Primaria demócrata de Illinois, 2008