2008 United States presidential election in Wisconsin

none June 2025 September 2023 2008 United States presidential election in Wisconsin Wisconsin presidential no 2004 United States presidential election in Wisconsin 2004 2012 United States presidential election in Wisconsin 2012 69.2% ( 3.7%)Wisconsin Voter Turnout Statistics https://elections.wi.gov/elections-voting/statistics/turnout Wisconsin Election Commission 25 September 2020 November 4, 2008 x200px Obama portrait crop.jpg Barack Obama Democratic Party (United States) Illinois Joe Biden 10 1,677,211 56.22% John McCain official portrait 2009 (cropped).jpg John McCain Republican Party (United States) Arizona Sarah Palin 0 1,262,393 42.31% 300px County results 300px Congressional district results 300px Precinct results Obama #B9D7FF 40–50% #86B6F2 50–60% #4389E3 60–70% #1666CB 70–80% #0645B4 80–90% #002B84 90–100% McCain #F2B3BE 40–50% #E27F90 50–60% #CC2F4A 60–70% #D40000 70–80% #AA0000 80–90% #800000 90–100% Tie/No Data #D4C4DC #FFFFFF President George W. Bush Republican Party (United States) Barack Obama Democratic Party (United States) The 2008 United States presidential election in Wisconsin took place on November 4, 2008, as part of the 2008 United States presidential election in which all 50 states plus the District of Columbia participated. State voters chose 10 electors to represent them in the Electoral College via a popular vote pitting Democratic U.S. Senator from Illinois Barack Obama, and his running mate U.S. Senator from Delaware Joe Biden, against Republican challenger and U.S. Senator from Arizona John McCain and his running mate, Alaska Governor Sarah Palin. Also on the ballot were four third parties: activist and former presidential candidate Ralph Nader ran as an independent with his running mate, President of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors Matt Gonzalez. The Libertarian Party nominated former Representative from Georgia Bob Barr for president and conservative author Wayne Allyn Root for vice president. Pastor Chuck Baldwin and attorney Darrell Castle were nominated by the right-wing Constitution Party, and the left-wing Green Party nominated former Representative from Georgia Cynthia McKinney and community organizer Rosa Clemente. Wisconsin was won by Democratic nominee Barack Obama by a 13.91% 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, despite the extremely close margins of victory in the previous two presidential elections. Polling throughout the state began to show a sizable and widening lead for Democrat Barack Obama of neighboring Illinois over Republican John McCain of Arizona. Obama carried Wisconsin with over 56% of the vote, significantly improving upon John Kerry's very narrow margin of victory in 2004. Obama is the only candidate since 1988 to win the state with the majority of the vote, and the only candidate since 1996 to win by a margin of more than 1%, both of which he would go on to do again in 2012. Whether measured by raw vote margin, percentage of total votes, or two-party percentage, Obama's victory remains the strongest performance for any candidate in the state since the landslide re-election of Democrat Lyndon B. Johnson in 1964. In fact, Obama carried two of three counties that voted for Barry Goldwater in that election and became the first Democrat since Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1936 to carry Waupaca County, and only the second Democratic nominee to carry that county since the Civil War. This is also the most recent election where Wisconsin was decided by double digits, the first time since 1936 that Wisconsin voted more Democratic than its neighboring state of Minnesota, as well as the last in which the Democratic candidate won a majority of counties in the state. As of 2024, this is the last time that Barron, Brown, Burnett, Calumet, Chippewa, Clark, Iron, Jefferson, Kewaunee, Langlade, Manitowoc, Marathon, Marinette, Monroe, Oconto, Oneida, Outagamie, Pierce, Rusk, Shawano, Washburn, Waupaca, Waushara, and Wood counties voted Democratic. Primaries 2008 Wisconsin Republican presidential primary 2008 Wisconsin Democratic 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, 2010Lean 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/ deadLean 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#Wisconsin Statewide opinion polling for the 2008 United States presidential election: Wisconsin Pre-election polling early on showed a tight race. However, after May 18, Obama swept every single poll. Since September 21, Obama won every poll with at least 49% of the vote. The final 3 polls averaged Obama leading 53% to 40%.http://uselectionatlas.org/POLLS/PRESIDENT/2008/pollsa.php?fips=55 Election 2008 Polls - Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections 19 December 2022 Fundraising John McCain raised a total of $1,728,185 in the state. Barack Obama raised $4,862,486.http://www.fec.gov/DisclosureSearch/MapAppState.do?stateName=WI&cand_id=P00000001 Presidential Campaign Finance 2009-08-18 https://web.archive.org/web/20090324090126/http://www.fec.gov/DisclosureSearch/MapAppState.do?stateName=WI&cand_id=P00000001 2009-03-24 dead Advertising and visits Obama and his interest groups spent $13,586,634. McCain and his interest groups spent $9,240,899.http://www.cnn.com/ELECTION/2008/map/ad.spending/ CNN Map: Campaign Ad Spending - Election Center 2008 from CNN.com 2010-05-26 Each ticket 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 Having voted for the Democratic presidential nominees by comfortable margins in 1988, 1992, and 1996, but extremely narrow margins in 2000 and 2004, Wisconsin was originally considered to be a swing state in 2008.http://www.channel3000.com/politics/17194590/detail.html Reality Check: Wisconsin Still Considered A Swing State 2008-11-12 https://web.archive.org/web/20080916165828/http://www.channel3000.com/politics/17194590/detail.html 2008-09-16 dead However, Obama took a wide lead in the polls in Wisconsin in the final weeks before the election and many pundits and news organizations labeled the state as a safe blue state.http://www.realclearpolitics.com/epolls/2008/president/wisconsin.html RealClearPolitics: Wisconsin Head-to-Head Polls 2008-11-12 Obama won Wisconsin by a comfortable 13.91% margin of victory. Obama carried the heavily Democratic cities of Milwaukee and Madison by large margins, winning above two-thirds of the vote, along with some traditionally Republican cities like Green Bay and Appleton.http://www.cnn.com/ELECTION/2008/results/individual/#mapPWI Local and National Election Results 2008-11-12 CNN In Dane County, he won almost 73% of the vote, and carried 67.3% in Milwaukee County. This was consistent with Obama's pattern of strong performances in the states bordering Illinois. Obama's best performance, at 86.81%, was in the small county of Menominee, which is 87% Native American.U.S. Census Bureau QuickFacts: Menominee County, Wisconsin; Wisconsin https://www.census.gov/quickfacts/fact/table/menomineecountywisconsin,WI/PST045219 2020-11-18 www.census.gov en The state's Republican base essentially melted; John McCain only carried 13 of the state's 72 counties, a devastating defeat. McCain did best in the Milwaukee suburbs like Waukesha and Ozaukee counties, with his best performance in Washington County where he received 64.14% of the vote. He only won five counties in the Northern part of the state, all of which by rather narrow margins. Results 2008 United States presidential election in WisconsinOFFICIAL GENERAL ELECTION RESULTS FOR UNITED STATES PRESIDENT - NOVEMBER 4, 2008 https://www.fec.gov/resources/cms-content/documents/2008pres.pdf live https://web.archive.org/web/20231103203227/http://www.fec.gov/resources/cms-content/documents/2008pres.pdf 2023-11-03 pdf 2023-12-30 Federal Election Commission pdfParty Candidate Running mate Votes Percentage Electoral votes Democratic Barack Obama Joe Biden 1,677,211 56.22% 10 Republican John McCain Sarah Palin 1,262,393 42.31% 0 Independent Ralph Nader Matt Gonzalez 17,605 0.59% 0 Libertarian Bob Barr Wayne Allyn Root 8,858 0.30% 0 Write-ins 6,521 0.22% 0 IndependentRan as the national Constitution Party nominee, listed as an Independent on the ballot Chuck Baldwin Darrell Castle 5,072 0.17% 0 Green Cynthia McKinney Rosa Clemente 4,216 0.14% 0 IndependentRan as a national nominee of the We the People Foundation, listed as an Independent on the ballot Jeffrey Wamboldt 764 0.03% 0 IndependentRan as the national Socialist Party USA nominee, listed as an Independent on the ballot Brian Moore Stewart Alexander 540 0.02% 0 IndependentRan as the national Party for Socialism and Liberation nominee, listed as an Independent on the ballot Gloria La Riva 237 0.01% 0 Totals 2,983,417 100.00% 10 Voter turnout (Voting age population) 70.8% By county County Barack ObamaDemocratic John McCainRepublican Various candidatesOther parties Margin Total votes cast#%#%#%#% Adams 5,806 58.14% 3,974 39.80% 206 2.06% 1,832 18.34% 9,986 Ashland 5,818 67.86% 2,634 30.72% 122 1.42% 3,184 37.14% 8,574 Barron 12,078 52.77% 10,457 45.69% 351 1.54% 1,621 7.08% 22,886 Bayfield 5,972 63.08% 3,365 35.54% 131 1.38% 2,607 27.54% 9,468 Brown 67,269 53.92% 55,854 44.77% 1,631 1.31% 11,415 9.15% 124,754 Buffalo 3,949 56.41% 2,923 41.76% 128 1.83% 1,026 14.65% 7,000 Burnett 4,337 49.92% 4,200 48.34% 151 1.74% 137 1.58% 8,688 Calumet 13,295 50.22% 12,722 48.05% 457 1.73% 573 2.17% 26,474 Chippewa 16,239 53.72% 13,492 44.63% 500 1.65% 2,747 9.09% 30,231 Clark 7,454 52.54% 6,383 44.99% 350 2.47% 1,071 7.55% 14,187 Columbia 16,661 56.92% 12,193 41.65% 418 1.43% 4,468 15.27% 29,272 Crawford 4,987 62.49% 2,830 35.46% 164 2.05% 2,157 27.03% 7,981 Dane 205,984 72.80% 73,065 25.82% 3,890 1.37% 132,919 46.98% 282,939 Dodge 19,183 44.80% 23,015 53.74% 625 1.46% -3,832 -8.94% 42,823 Door 10,142 58.02% 7,112 40.68% 227 1.30% 3,030 17.34% 17,481 Douglas 15,830 65.78% 7,835 32.56% 401 1.66% 7,995 33.22% 24,066 Dunn 13,002 56.56% 9,566 41.61% 421 1.83% 3,436 14.95% 22,989 Eau Claire 33,146 60.25% 20,959 38.10% 905 1.65% 12,187 22.15% 55,010 Florence 1,134 42.23% 1,512 56.31% 39 1.46% -378 -14.08% 2,685 Fond du Lac 23,463 44.84% 28,164 53.83% 696 1.33% -4,701 -8.99% 52,323 Forest 2,673 57.08% 1,963 41.92% 47 1.00% 710 15.16% 4,683 Grant 14,875 61.16% 9,068 37.29% 377 1.55% 5,807 23.87% 24,320 Green 11,502 62.06% 6,730 36.31% 302 1.63% 4,772 25.75% 18,534 Green Lake 4,000 41.95% 5,393 56.55% 143 1.50% -1,393 -14.60% 9,536 Iowa 7,987 66.73% 3,829 31.99% 153 1.28% 4,158 34.74% 11,969 Iron 1,914 55.77% 1,464 42.66% 54 1.57% 450 13.11% 3,432 Jackson 5,572 60.23% 3,552 38.40% 127 1.37% 2,020 21.83% 9,251 Jefferson 21,448 49.69% 21,096 48.87% 622 1.44% 352 0.82% 43,166 Juneau 6,186 53.65% 5,148 44.65% 196 1.70% 1,038 9.00% 11,530 Kenosha 45,836 58.18% 31,609 40.12% 1,344 1.70% 14,227 18.06% 78,789 Kewaunee 5,902 54.71% 4,711 43.67% 174 1.62% 1,191 11.04% 10,787 La Crosse 38,524 60.94% 23,701 37.49% 993 1.57% 14,823 23.45% 63,218 Lafayette 4,732 60.43% 2,984 38.10% 115 1.47% 1,748 22.33% 7,831 Langlade 5,182 49.82% 5,081 48.85% 139 1.33% 101 0.97% 10,402 Lincoln 8,424 55.17% 6,519 42.70% 325 2.13% 1,905 12.47% 15,268 Manitowoc 22,428 52.88% 19,234 45.35% 752 1.77% 3,194 7.53% 42,414 Marathon 36,367 53.53% 30,345 44.66% 1,228 1.81% 6,022 8.87% 67,940 Marinette 11,195 52.67% 9,726 45.76% 334 1.57% 1,469 6.91% 21,255 Marquette 4,068 51.85% 3,654 46.57% 124 1.58% 414 5.28% 7,846 Menominee 1,257 86.81% 185 12.78% 6 0.41% 1,072 74.03% 1,448 Milwaukee 319,819 67.30% 149,445 31.45% 5,928 1.25% 170,374 35.85% 475,192 Monroe 10,198 53.25% 8,666 45.25% 288 1.50% 1,532 8.00% 19,152 Oconto 9,927 52.34% 8,755 46.16% 286 1.50% 1,172 6.18% 18,968 Oneida 11,907 54.30% 9,630 43.92% 390 1.78% 2,277 10.38% 21,927 Outagamie 50,294 54.93% 39,677 43.33% 1,592 1.74% 10,617 11.60% 91,563 Ozaukee 20,579 38.56% 32,172 60.29% 614 1.15% -11,593 -21.73% 53,365 Pepin 2,102 55.74% 1,616 42.85% 53 1.41% 486 12.89% 3,771 Pierce 11,803 53.39% 9,812 44.38% 492 2.23% 1,991 9.01% 22,107 Polk 10,876 48.03% 11,282 49.83% 485 2.14% -406 -1.80% 22,643 Portage 24,817 62.95% 13,810 35.03% 795 2.02% 11,007 27.92% 39,422 Price 4,559 55.64% 3,461 42.24% 174 2.12% 1,098 13.40% 8,194 Racine 53,408 53.07% 45,954 45.66% 1,280 1.27% 7,454 7.41% 100,642 Richland 5,041 59.66% 3,298 39.03% 111 1.31% 1,743 20.63% 8,450 Rock 50,529 63.82% 27,364 34.56% 1,276 1.62% 23,165 29.26% 79,169 Rusk 3,855 53.01% 3,253 44.73% 164 2.26% 602 8.28% 7,272 St. Croix 21,177 47.25% 22,837 50.95% 807 1.80% -1,660 -3.70% 44,821 Sauk 18,617 60.79% 11,562 37.75% 447 1.46% 7,055 23.04% 30,626 Sawyer 4,765 52.45% 4,199 46.22% 121 1.33% 566 6.23% 9,085 Shawano 10,259 51.07% 9,538 47.48% 292 1.45% 721 3.59% 20,089 Sheboygan 30,395 48.94% 30,801 49.59% 911 1.47% -406 -0.65% 62,107 Taylor 4,563 48.82% 4,586 49.07% 197 2.11% -23 -0.25% 9,346 Trempealeau 8,321 62.50% 4,808 36.11% 185 1.39% 3,513 26.39% 13,314 Vernon 8,463 60.13% 5,367 38.13% 245 1.74% 3,096 22.00% 14,075 Vilas 6,491 47.21% 7,055 51.31% 204 1.48% -564 -4.10% 13,750 Walworth 24,177 47.95% 25,485 50.54% 760 1.51% -1,308 -2.59% 50,422 Washburn 4,693 51.50% 4,303 47.22% 116 1.28% 390 4.28% 9,112 Washington 25,719 34.56% 47,729 64.14% 963 1.30% -22,010 -29.58% 74,411 Waukesha 85,339 36.64% 145,152 62.32% 2,406 1.04% -59,813 -25.68% 232,897 Waupaca 12,952 50.77% 12,232 47.95% 327 1.28% 720 2.82% 25,511 Waushara 5,868 49.52% 5,770 48.70% 211 1.78% 98 0.82% 11,849 Winnebago 48,167 54.94% 37,946 43.28% 1,564 1.78% 10,221 11.66% 87,677 Wood 21,710 55.59% 16,581 42.46% 761 1.95% 5,129 13.13% 39,052Totals1,677,21156.22%1,262,39342.31%43,8131.47%414,81813.91%2,983,417 Counties that flipped from Republican to DemocraticWisconsin en-US The New York Times https://www.nytimes.com/elections/2012/results/states/wisconsin.html 2020-11-18 0362-4331 20em Barron (largest city: Rice Lake) Brown (largest city: Green Bay) Burnett (largest village: Grantsburg) Calumet (largest city: Chilton) Chippewa (largest city: Chippewa Falls) Clark (largest city: Neillsville) Columbia (largest city: Portage) Door (largest city: Sturgeon Bay) Forest (largest city: Crandon) Jefferson (largest city: Watertown) Juneau (largest city: Mauston) Kewaunee (largest city: Algoma) Langlade (largest city: Antigo) Lincoln (largest city: Merrill) Manitowoc (largest city: Manitowoc) Marathon (largest city: Wausau) Marinette (largest city: Marinette) Marquette (largest city: Montello) Monroe (largest city: Sparta) Oconto (largest city: Oconto) Oneida (largest city: Rhinelander) Outagamie (largest city: Appleton) Racine (largest city: Racine) Richland (largest city: Richland Center) Rusk (largest city: Ladysmith) Sawyer (largest city: Hayward) Shawano (largest city: Shawano) Washburn (largest city: Spooner) Waupaca (largest city: New London) Waushara (largest city: Berlin) Winnebago (largest city: Oshkosh) Wood (largest city: Marshfield) 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 #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% 260px County flips Legend Democratic #92c5de Hold #0671b0 Flip Republican #f48882 Hold By congressional district Barack Obama swept the state, carrying seven of the state's eight congressional districts, including two districts held by Republicans.Presidential Results by Congressional District, 2000-2008 – Swing State Project https://swingstateproject.com/diary/4161/presidential-results-by-congressional-district-20002008 2020-11-18 en-US District McCain Obama RepresentativeWisconsin 1 1st 47.45% 51.40%Paul RyanWisconsin 2 2nd 29.78% 69.00%Tammy BaldwinWisconsin 3 3rd 40.80% 57.76%Ron KindWisconsin 4 4th 23.61% 75.39%Gwen MooreWisconsin 5 5th 57.73% 41.28%Jim SensenbrennerWisconsin 6 6th 48.72% 49.91%Tom PetriWisconsin 7 7th 42.52% 55.91%David ObeyWisconsin 8 8th 45.12% 53.59%Steve Kagen Electors List of 2008 United States presidential electors Technically the voters of Wisconsin cast their ballots for electors: representatives to the Electoral College. Wisconsin is allocated 10 electors because it has 8 congressional districts and 2 senators. All candidates who appear on the ballot or qualify to receive write-in votes must submit a list of 10 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 10 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 The following were the members of the Electoral College from the state. All 10 were pledged to Barack Obama and Joe Biden:https://www.archives.gov/federal-register/electoral-college/2008-certificates/index.html#wi The Electoral College 20 May 2019 Ray Rivera Fred Risser Rollie Hick Polly Williams Dean Palmer Gordon Hintz Christine Bremer-Muggli Donsia Strong Hill Jim Doyle Joe Wineke See also United States presidential elections in Wisconsin Notes References Wisconsin President 2008