2008 United States presidential election in Nevada

none June 2025 August 2022 2008 United States presidential election 2008 United States presidential election in Nevada Nevada presidential no 2004 United States presidential election in Nevada 2004 2012 United States presidential election in Nevada 2012 November 4, 2008 x200px Obama portrait crop.jpg Barack Obama Democratic Party (United States) Illinois Joe Biden 5 533,736 55.15% John McCain official portrait 2009 (cropped).jpg John McCain Republican Party (United States) Arizona Sarah Palin 0 412,827 42.65% 275px County results 275px Congressional district results Obama #b9d7ff 40–50% #86b6f2 50–60% #4389E3 60–70% 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 Nevada was part of the 2008 United States presidential election, which took place on November 4, 2008, throughout all 50 states and D.C. Voters chose five representatives, or electors to the Electoral College, who voted for president and vice president. Democrat Barack Obama defeated Republican John McCain by 12.5 percentage points. Both candidates heavily campaigned in the state. Although Obama almost always led in polls, some argued that McCain, a nationally prominent senator from neighboring Arizona, had a legitimate chance of pulling off an upset in Nevada. Most news organizations considered Obama to be the favorite in the state, while many still viewed it as a relative swing state.Vote 2008 – The Takeaway – Track the Electoral College vote predictions https://web.archive.org/web/20090422070127/http://vote2008.thetakeaway.org/2008/09/20/track-the-electoral-college-vote-predictions/ April 22, 2009 In the previous four presidential elections, the margin of victory in Nevada had always been below 5 percentage points. George W. Bush carried the state twice in 2000 and 2004 while Bill Clinton narrowly won it in 1992 and in 1996. This was the first time since 1964 where a Democrat won an outright majority of the vote in Nevada. As of 2026, it is also the last time where the state was won by a double-digit margin. As of the 2024 presidential election, this is the last time a Democratic candidate won Carson City, as well as the last time that a presidential candidate has carried the state by a double-digit margin. Obama's winning margin of over 120,000 votes is the largest in history for a presidential candidate in Nevada, with no one else ever winning by six figures. Primaries 2008 Nevada Republican caucuses 2008 Nevada Democratic caucuses 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 D flipThe 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 D flipElectoral-vote.comElectoral-vote.com: President, Senate, House Updated Daily https://electoral-vote.com/evp2008/Pres/Maps/Dec31.html 2021-08-23 electoral-vote.comLean D flipWashington PostBased on TakeawayLean D flipPoliticoPOLITICO's 2008 Swing State Map - POLITICO.com https://www.politico.com/convention/swingstate.html 2016-09-22 www.politico.comLean D flipRealClearPolitics 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 D flipFiveThirtyEightLean D flipCQ 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 D flipThe 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 D flipCNN2008-10-31 October – 2008 – CNN Political Ticker – CNN.com Blogs CNN http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2008/10/ May 26, 2010 June 19, 2010 https://web.archive.org/web/20100619013250/http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2008/10/ deadLean D flipNPRLean D flipMSNBCToss-upFox NewsApril 27, 2010 Winning The Electoral College Fox News http://www.foxnews.com/oreilly/winning-the-electoral-college/Toss-upAssociated 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/ deadToss-upRasmussen 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.comToss-up Polling Statewide opinion polling for the United States presidential election, 2008#Nevada Statewide opinion polling for the United States presidential election, 2008: Nevada In the beginning of the general election, it was a dead heat. McCain did win several polls. However, since September 30, Obama swept every other poll taken in the state and tied one poll. The final 3 polls averaged 50% to 44% in favor of Obama.http://uselectionatlas.org/POLLS/PRESIDENT/2008/pollsa.php?fips=32 Election 2008 Polls – Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections 14 December 2022 On election day, Obama won the state with 55% and by a double-digit margin of victory, a much better performance than polls showed. Fundraising John McCain raised a total of $1,980,771 in the state. Barack Obama raised $2,328,659.http://www.fec.gov/DisclosureSearch/MapAppState.do?stateName=NV&cand_id=P00000001 Presidential Campaign Finance 2009-08-19 https://web.archive.org/web/20090324090038/http://www.fec.gov/DisclosureSearch/MapAppState.do?stateName=NV&cand_id=P00000001 2009-03-24 dead Advertising and visits Obama and his interest groups spent $9,622,022. McCain and his interest groups spent $6,184,427.http://www.cnn.com/ELECTION/2008/map/ad.spending/ CNN Map: Campaign Ad Spending - Election Center 2008 from CNN.com 2010-05-26 Each campaign visited the state 7 times.http://www.cnn.com/ELECTION/2008/map/candidate.visits/ CNN Map: Campaign Candidate Visits - Election Center 2008 from CNN.com 2010-05-26 Analysis Nevada is historically somewhat of a bellwether state, having voted for the winner of every presidential election since 1912 except in 1976 and 2016. In 2008, McCain of neighboring Arizona was leading most polls taken March until the end of September (around the time of the 2008 financial crisis), when Obama of Illinois started taking the lead in almost every poll conducted from the beginning of October on, some in double digits.http://www.realclearpolitics.com/epolls/2008/president/nv/nevada_mccain_vs_obama-252.html RealClearPolitics – Election 2008 – Nevada 2008-11-26 The subprime mortgage crisis was particularly catastrophic in Nevada, and McCain's statement that "the fundamentals of the economy are strong" soured his chances in a state devastated by the economic meltdown. Obama ultimately carried Nevada by a 12.5-point margin, larger than most polls anticipated. His victory rested almost entirely on winning the state's three largest jurisdictions: Clark County, home to Las Vegas; Washoe County, which contains Reno; and the independent city of Carson City,http://www.cnn.com/ELECTION/2008/results/individual/#mapPNV CNN Election Center 2008 – Nevada Results 2008-11-26 which combine for 88% of Nevada's total population. Hispanics also played a large role in Obama's landslide victory. According to exit polling, they composed 15% of voters in Nevada and broke for Obama by a three-to-one margin.Cost Jay Sean Trende Sean Trende Election Review, Part 3: The West http://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2009/01/election_review_part_3_the_wes.html RealClearPolitics 2009-01-18 2009-04-19 With their support, Obama carried Washoe County by a comfortable 12-point margin and a somewhat narrower one-point margin in Carson City. These two areas hadn't gone Democratic since Lyndon B. Johnson won them in 1964. Obama also won Clark County by double digits, the first time a Democrat did so since 1964. McCain ran up huge margins in most of the more rural counties, which have been solidly Republican ever since Richard Nixon's 1968 win.Sullivan, Robert David; 'How the Red and Blue Map Evolved Over the Past Century'; America Magazine in The National Catholic Review; June 29, 2016 However, it was not nearly enough to overcome his deficit in Clark, Washoe and Carson City. Indeed, Obama's 122,000-vote margin in Clark County would have been enough by itself to carry the state, and Nevada voted more Democratic than the nation as a whole for the first time since 1960 and second since 1944.Counting the Votes; Nevada At the same time, Democrats picked up a U.S. House seat in Nevada's 3rd Congressional District, which is based in Clark County and consists of most of the Las Vegas suburbs. Democratic State Senator Dina Titus defeated incumbent Republican Jon Porter by 5.14 points with several third parties receiving a small but significant proportion of the total statewide vote. At the state level, Democrats picked up one seat in the Nevada Assembly and picked up two seats in the Nevada Senate, giving the Democrats control of both chambers of the Nevada Legislature for the first time in decades. As of the 2024 presidential election, this is the last time that Carson City voted for the Democratic candidate. This is the most recent election that Nevada trended more Democratic than the previous one. Results 2008 United States presidential election in NevadaPartyCandidateRunning mateVotesPercentageElectoral votes Democratic Barack Obama Joe Biden 533,736 55.15%5 Republican John McCain Sarah Palin 412,827 42.65% 0 None of these Candidates None of these Candidates 6,267 0.65% 0 Independent Ralph Nader Matt Gonzalez 6,150 0.64% 0 Libertarian Bob Barr Wayne Allyn Root 4,263 0.44% 0 Constitution Chuck Baldwin Darrell Castle 3,194 0.33% 0 Green Cynthia McKinney Rosa Clemente 1,411 0.15% 0 Totals 967,848 100.00% 5 Voter turnout (Voting age population) 49.7% By county County Barack ObamaDemocratic John McCainRepublican Various candidatesOther parties Margin Total votes cast # % # % # % # % Carson City 11,623 49.08% 11,419 48.22% 638 2.70% 204 0.86% 23,680 Churchill 3,494 32.95% 6,832 64.42% 279 2.63% -3,338 -31.47% 10,605 Clark 380,765 58.47% 257,078 39.48% 13,329 2.05% 123,687 18.99% 651,172 Douglas 10,672 41.20% 14,648 56.55% 584 2.25% -3,976 -15.35% 25,904 Elko 4,541 28.35% 10,969 68.47% 509 3.18% -6,428 -40.12% 16,019 Esmeralda 104 23.69% 303 69.02% 32 7.29% -199 -45.33% 439 Eureka 144 19.33% 564 75.70% 37 4.97% -420 -56.37% 745 Humboldt 1,909 33.70% 3,586 63.31% 169 2.99% -1,677 -29.61% 5,664 Lander 577 27.45% 1,466 69.74% 59 2.81% -889 -42.29% 2,102 Lincoln 518 24.58% 1,498 71.10% 91 4.32% -980 -46.52% 2,107 Lyon 8,405 39.83% 12,154 57.59% 544 2.58% -3,749 -17.76% 21,103 Mineral 1,082 46.90% 1,131 49.02% 94 4.08% -49 -2.12% 2,307 Nye 7,226 41.31% 9,537 54.53% 728 4.16% -2,311 -13.22% 17,491 Pershing 673 36.66% 1,075 58.55% 88 4.79% -402 -21.89% 1,836 Storey 1,102 45.57% 1,247 51.57% 69 2.86% -145 -6.00% 2,418 Washoe 99,671 55.25% 76,880 42.61% 3,863 2.14% 22,791 12.64% 180,414 White Pine 1,230 32.01% 2,440 63.51% 172 4.48% -1,210 -31.50% 3,842Totals533,73655.15%412,82742.65%21,2852.20%120,90912.50%967,848 Counties and independent cities that flipped from Republican to Democratic Carson City Washoe (largest municipality: Reno) right 250px 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% #d5f6ff Democratic — +0-2.5% 250px 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% #ff0000 Republican — +12.5-15% 250px County flips Legend Democratic #92c5de Hold #0671b0 Flip Republican #f48882 Hold By congressional district Barack Obama carried two of the state's three congressional districts. District McCain Obama RepresentativeNevada 1 1st 34.25% 63.68%Shelley BerkleyNevada 2 2nd 48.79% 48.76%Dean HellerNevada 3 3rd42.59%55.35%Jon Porter (110th Congress)Dina Titus (111th Congress) Electors List of 2008 United States presidential electors Technically the voters of Nevada cast their ballots for electors: representatives to the Electoral College. Nevada 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. The following were the members of the Electoral College from the state. All 5 were pledged to Barack Obama and Joe Biden:Reno Gazette Journal December 2022 Maggie Carlton Tahis Castro Ruby Duncan Ron Hibble Theresa Navarro See also United States presidential elections in Nevada References 2 Nevada 2008 Category:2008 Nevada elections