2008 United States presidential election in Ohio

none June 2025 September 2023 2008 United States presidential election 2008 United States presidential election in Ohio Ohio presidential no 2004 United States presidential election in Ohio 2004 2012 United States presidential election in Ohio 2012 November 4, 2008 69.97%https://www.ohiosos.gov/elections/election-results-and-data/historical-election-comparisons/voter-turnout-in-general-elections/ Voter Turnout in General Elections Ohio Secretary of State x200px Obama portrait crop.jpg Barack Obama Democratic Party (United States) Illinois Joe Biden 20 2,940,044 51.50% John McCain official portrait 2009 (cropped).jpg John McCain Republican Party (United States) Arizona Sarah Palin 0 2,677,820 46.91% 250px County results 250px Congressional district results 250px 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% President George W. Bush Republican Party (United States) Barack Obama Democratic Party (United States) The 2008 United States presidential election in Ohio took place on November 4, 2008, which was part of the 2008 United States presidential election. Voters chose 20 representatives, or electors to the Electoral College, who voted for president and vice president. Ohio was won by Democratic nominee Barack Obama with a 4.59% margin of victory. Prior to the election, most news organizations considered this state as a major swing state and bellwether. Both major party candidates visited Ohio extensively and campaigned throughout the state, trying to sway moderates and independent voters to their side. The polls in Ohio were fairly even throughout the campaign but Obama had a slight lead as Election Day drew closer. In the end, Obama flipped Ohio into the Democratic column. Obama's 2,940,044 votes are the most received by a Democratic presidential candidate in the state's history. Despite this fact, Obama became the first Democrat ever to win the White House without carrying Pike County. On the other hand, Obama became the first Democrat to win Hamilton County since 1964. 2024 11 As of the 2024 presidential election, this is the last election in which Lake County, Monroe County, Belmont County, Tuscarawas County, and Jefferson County voted for a Democratic presidential candidate.Sullivan, Robert David; ‘How the Red and Blue Map Evolved Over the Past Century’; America Magazine in The National Catholic Review; June 29, 2016 Ohio is also one of only three states that backed Obama twice that would go on to vote against his vice president Joe Biden in 2020, the other two being Florida and Iowa. Primaries 2008 Ohio Republican presidential primary 2008 Ohio 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 RCook Political Report2015-05-05 Presidential http://cookpolitical.com/presidential 2021-08-23 https://web.archive.org/web/20150505003043/http://cookpolitical.com/presidential 2015-05-05Toss-upThe 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/ 2009-04-22Toss-upElectoral-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 MapToss-upFiveThirtyEightLean 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, 2010Toss-upCNN2008-10-31 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/ deadToss-upNPRToss-upMSNBCLean RFox 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 2008 United States presidential election#Ohio Statewide opinion polling for the 2008 United States presidential election: Ohio During most of the summer and September, McCain led many state polls, many by 50% or more. Rasmussen had McCain leading with as high as 51% in September.http://www.rasmussenreports.com/public_content/politics/election_20082/2008_presidential_election/ohio/obama_takes_49_to_45_lead_in_ohio Rasmussen Reports: The Most Comprehensive Public Opinion Data Anywhere 2009-06-28 https://web.archive.org/web/20090314080428/http://www.rasmussenreports.com/public_content/politics/election_20082/2008_presidential_election/ohio/obama_takes_49_to_45_lead_in_ohio 2009-03-14 dead But many voters in the state changed their minds as Obama later gained a steady lead in most polls taken starting in the beginning of October (around the time of the 2008 financial crisis).http://www.realclearpolitics.com/epolls/2008/president/oh/ohio_mccain_vs_obama-400.html RealClearPolitics - Election 2008 - Ohio 2008-11-28Election 2008 Polls - Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections Fundraising Obama raised $7,218,801. McCain raised $5,682,839.http://www.fec.gov/DisclosureSearch/MapAppState.do?stateName=OH&cand_id=P00000001 Presidential Campaign Finance 2009-08-18 https://web.archive.org/web/20090324090220/http://www.fec.gov/DisclosureSearch/MapAppState.do?stateName=OH&cand_id=P00000001 2009-03-24 dead Advertising and visits In a major swing state, Obama spent over $28 million to McCain's $24 million.http://www.cnn.com/ELECTION/2008/map/ad.spending/ CNN Map: Campaign Ad Spending - Election Center 2008 from CNN.com 2010-05-26 The Republican ticket visited the state 28 times, compared to the Obama ticket's 22 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 Going into the election, both McCain and Obama knew that Ohio was a crucial state. Earlier in the primary season, Ohio had given a major comeback victory to Hillary Clinton. Both candidates campaigned heavily throughout the state in hopes of winning its 20 electoral votes. As no Republican has ever won the presidency without winning Ohio, it was seen in particular as a "must-win" state for McCain. George W. Bush's narrow wins in 2000 (by 3.51% against Al Gore) and 2004 (2.10% against John Kerry) proved critical in Bush's narrow wins nationally. Obama won Ohio's 20 electoral votes by a margin of 4.59%. Obama's win in heavily populated areas such as Cuyahoga County (Cleveland), Franklin County (Columbus), Lucas County (Toledo), Montgomery County (Dayton), Summit County (Akron), Stark County (Canton), Mahoning County (Youngstown) and the traditionally Republican Hamilton County (Cincinnati) greatly contributed to his victory in the state. McCain did best in the Republican base in the center and western regions, composed of relatively rural areas combined with Cincinnati and Columbus' heavily Republican suburbs. In addition, McCain won all but four counties in the Appalachian southeast, mirroring the troubles Obama had throughout this region. On the other hand, Obama did best in the Democratic base—Cleveland (where he won almost 70% of the vote), Youngstown and the heavily unionized counties next to Pennsylvania. However, he was unable to significantly improve upon John Kerry's performance in these areas. More surprisingly, the cities of Cincinnati and Columbus gave Obama strong support. Cincinnati, the only major city that didn't vote for Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1940, voted Democratic for the first time since 1964. Columbus, a city shifting to the Democrats, also voted for Obama by a three-to-two margin. In addition, Obama won several northern counties along the shore of Lake Erie that John Kerry had lost in 2004. As polls closed and results were coming in on Election Night, Republican strategist and adviser Karl Rove joined Brit Hume on Fox News offering analysis. Rove was discussing the impact an Ohio loss would have on McCain's chances of winning the election. "If he loses Ohio," Rove stated of McCain, "he goes from 286, which the Republicans carried in 2004, down to 266, and that puts him below the 270 threshold needed to win the White House. So he'd not only need to sweep the rest of these states which were won by the Republicans in 2004, he'd also need to pick up something as well." In an untimely moment, Hume broke in. "Guess what Karl," Hume interrupted, "I've just received word that the state of Ohio has gone for Barack Obama."http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/11/04/fox-news-calls-ohio-for-o_n_141190.html Fox News Calls Ohio For Obama As Rove Says McCain Needs Ohio To Win 4 November 2008 Huffington Post Danny Shea Results 2008 United States presidential election in OhioPartyCandidateRunning mateVotesPercentageElectoral votes Democratic Barack Obama Joe Biden 2,940,044 51.50% 20 Republican John McCain Sarah Palin 2,677,820 46.91% 0 Independent Ralph Nader Matt Gonzalez 42,337 0.74% 0 Libertarian Bob Barr Wayne Allyn Root 19,917 0.35% 0 Write-ins Write-ins 13,698 0.24% 0 Constitution Chuck Baldwin Darrell Castle 12,565 0.22% 0 Green Cynthia McKinney Rosa Clemente 8,518 0.15% 0 Others Others 6,932 0.12% 0 Totals 5,721,831 100.00% 20 Voter turnout (Voting age population) 67.3% By county CountyBarack ObamaDemocraticJohn McCainRepublicanRalph Naderhttps://www.ourcampaigns.com/RaceDetail.html?RaceID=191885 OH US President November 04, 2008 Our CampaignsIndependentVarious candidatesOther partiesMarginTotal#%#%#%#%#%Adams4,17036.53%6,91460.57%1311.15%1991.74%-2,744-24.04%11,414Allen19,52238.66%29,94059.29%3620.72%6711.33%-10,418-20.63%50,495Ashland9,30036.93%15,15860.19%2250.89%5021.98%-5,858-23.26%25,185Ashtabula25,02755.52%18,94942.04%4561.01%6441.44%6,07813.48%45,076Athens20,72266.29%9,74231.17%2630.84%5321.70%10,98035.12%31,259Auglaize6,73828.60%16,41469.67%1690.72%2381.01%-9,676-41.07%23,559Belmont16,30250.10%15,42247.40%4021.24%4101.26%8802.70%32,536Brown7,50337.21%12,19260.46%2201.09%2511.25%-4,689-23.25%20,166Butler66,03037.94%105,34160.52%1,0390.60%1,6490.95%-39,311-22.58%174,059Carroll6,42345.93%7,09750.75%2131.52%2521.80%-674-4.82%13,985Champaign7,38539.00%11,14158.84%1961.04%2141.13%-3,756-19.84%18,936Clark31,95847.71%33,63450.21%6610.99%7341.09%-1,676-2.50%66,987Clermont31,61133.02%62,55965.35%5990.63%9651.01%-30,948-32.33%95,734Clinton6,55833.91%12,40964.16%1971.02%1780.92%-5,851-30.25%19,342Columbiana21,88244.93%25,58552.54%5451.12%6871.41%-3,703-7.61%48,699Coshocton7,68945.39%8,67551.22%2211.30%3532.08%-986-5.83%16,938Crawford8,28939.05%12,31658.03%2421.14%3781.77%-4,027-18.98%21,225Cuyahoga458,42268.70%199,88029.95%3,6160.54%5,3810.81%258,54238.75%667,299Darke7,96430.82%17,29066.92%2731.06%3111.21%-9,326-36.10%25,838Defiance8,39943.67%10,40754.11%1540.80%2721.41%-2,008-10.44%19,232Delaware36,65339.59%54,77859.17%3590.39%7910.86%-18,125-19.58%92,581Erie23,14855.95%17,43242.13%3490.84%4461.07%5,71613.82%41,375Fairfield29,25040.54%41,58057.63%4930.68%8241.14%-12,330-17.09%72,147Fayette4,40137.56%7,10260.61%1030.88%1120.96%-2,701-23.05%11,718Franklin334,70959.58%218,48638.89%2,9930.53%5,5751.00%116,22320.69%561,763Fulton9,90044.97%11,68953.10%1670.76%2571.17%-1,789-8.13%22,013Gallia4,77735.73%8,24761.68%1320.99%2151.62%-3,470-25.95%13,371Geauga21,25041.47%29,09656.78%3790.74%5201.01%-7,846-15.31%51,245Greene33,54040.06%48,93658.45%5100.61%7430.88%-15,396-18.39%83,729Guernsey7,62543.88%9,19752.93%2281.31%3251.87%-1,572-9.05%17,375Hamilton225,21352.98%195,53046.00%1,9030.45%2,4400.58%29,6836.98%425,086Hancock13,87037.43%22,42060.50%3090.83%4561.23%-8,550-23.07%37,055Hardin5,01338.12%7,74958.93%1391.06%2481.90%-2,736-20.81%13,149Harrison3,68347.12%3,87249.53%1041.33%1582.03%-189-2.41%7,817Henry6,32042.55%8,23955.47%1150.77%1781.19%-1,919-12.92%14,852Highland6,85635.65%11,90761.92%2041.06%2641.38%-5,051-26.27%19,231Hocking6,25948.09%6,36448.89%1541.18%2391.83%-95-0.80%13,016Holmes3,14128.21%7,72069.34%1131.01%1601.44%-4,579-41.13%11,134Huron12,07647.21%12,88450.36%2120.83%4101.61%-808-3.15%25,582Jackson5,39738.42%8,21958.51%1791.27%2521.79%-2,822-20.09%14,047Jefferson17,63548.89%17,55948.68%3951.10%4821.33%760.21%36,071Knox11,01438.94%16,64058.83%2330.82%3981.40%-5,626-19.89%28,285Lake60,15549.45%59,14248.62%1,0860.89%1,2591.04%1,0130.83%121,642Lawrence11,26241.12%15,41556.28%2821.03%4311.57%-4,153-15.16%27,390Licking33,93241.09%46,91856.82%6850.83%1,0351.25%-12,986-15.73%82,570Logan7,93635.61%13,84862.15%2080.93%2911.32%-5,912-26.54%22,283Lorain85,27658.07%59,06840.22%1,2730.87%1,2420.85%26,20817.85%146,859Lucas142,85264.80%73,70633.43%1,4880.67%2,4111.10%69,14631.37%220,457Madison6,53237.30%10,60660.57%1420.81%2301.32%-4,074-23.27%17,510Mahoning79,17362.02%45,31935.50%1,3001.02%1,8671.46%33,85426.52%127,659Marion12,87044.24%15,45453.12%3011.03%3671.61%-2,584-8.88%29,092Medina40,92445.14%48,18953.16%6380.70%9011.00%-7,265-8.02%90,652Meigs4,09439.34%6,01557.80%1111.07%1871.80%-1,921-18.46%10,407Mercer5,85327.48%15,10070.90%1270.60%2191.03%-9,247-43.42%21,299Miami18,37234.72%33,41763.15%4260.81%7001.33%-15,045-28.43%52,915Monroe3,70553.07%3,06643.91%1161.66%951.36%6399.16%6,982Montgomery145,99752.32%128,67946.12%1,7340.62%2,6210.94%17,3186.20%279,031Morgan2,96644.80%3,44051.96%1061.60%1081.63%-474-7.16%6,620Morrow6,17737.03%10,06760.36%1791.07%2561.53%-3,890-23.33%16,679Muskingum17,73045.20%20,54952.39%3640.93%5821.48%-2,819-7.19%39,225Noble2,47439.98%3,45055.75%1412.28%1231.99%-976-15.77%6,188Ottawa12,06452.25%10,62446.01%1940.84%2080.90%1,4406.24%23,090Paulding4,16542.57%5,31754.34%1271.30%1761.80%-1,152-11.77%9,785Perry7,26147.04%7,72150.02%2061.33%2491.62%-460-2.98%15,437Pickaway9,07738.16%14,22859.81%2100.88%2721.14%-5,151-21.65%23,787Pike6,03348.24%6,16249.27%1431.14%1681.35%-129-1.03%12,506Portage41,85653.39%34,82244.41%6640.85%1,0601.35%7,0348.98%78,402Preble6,99933.25%13,56264.43%2271.08%2611.24%-6,563-31.18%21,049Putnam5,28128.27%13,07269.98%1630.87%1640.88%-7,791-41.71%18,680Richland25,72742.01%34,03455.58%5790.95%8991.47%-8,307-13.57%61,239Ross14,45545.28%16,75952.49%2890.91%4221.33%-2,304-7.21%31,925Sandusky15,60251.36%14,19246.72%3000.99%2830.93%1,4104.64%30,377Scioto14,92645.61%16,99451.93%3481.06%4551.39%-2,068-6.32%32,723Seneca13,08747.50%13,82350.17%2891.05%3541.29%-736-2.67%27,553Shelby7,31630.85%15,92467.14%2300.97%2481.04%-8,608-36.29%23,718Stark96,99051.59%86,74346.14%1,7840.95%2,4931.32%10,2475.45%188,010Summit160,85857.73%113,28440.66%1,7580.63%2,7290.98%47,57417.07%278,629Trumbull64,14559.80%40,16437.44%1,2851.20%1,6771.57%23,98122.36%107,271Tuscarawas21,49849.93%20,45447.50%4651.08%6401.48%1,0442.43%43,057Union8,76135.07%15,74463.02%1730.69%3061.22%-6,983-27.95%24,984Van Wert5,17835.22%9,16862.36%1390.95%2161.47%-3,990-27.14%14,701Vinton2,46343.62%3,02153.51%941.66%681.20%-558-9.89%5,646Warren33,39831.38%71,69167.36%4880.46%8490.80%-38,293-35.98%106,426Washington12,36841.32%17,01956.86%2850.95%2600.86%-4,651-15.54%29,932Wayne21,71241.53%29,34256.13%4330.83%7891.51%-7,630-14.60%52,276Williams8,17444.43%9,87953.70%1530.83%1901.03%-1,705-9.27%18,396Wood34,28552.61%29,64845.50%5130.79%7181.10%4,6377.11%65,164Wyandot4,46140.55%6,27056.99%1341.22%1371.24%-1,809-16.44%11,002Totals2,940,04451.38%2,677,82046.80%42,3370.74%61,6301.08%262,2244.58%5,721,831 right 210px Swing by county 210px Trend relative to the state 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% #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% 210px County flips Legend Democratic #92c5de Hold #0671b0 Flip Republican #f48882 Hold http://www.sos.state.oh.us/SOS/elections/boeDirectory.aspx County Boards of Elections Directory 28 November 2008 https://web.archive.org/web/20081126212252/http://www.sos.state.oh.us/SOS/elections/boeDirectory.aspx 26 November 2008 dead http://www.sos.state.oh.us/SOS/elections/electResultsMain/2008ElectionResults/pres110408.aspx President / Vice-President : Unofficial Results 28 November 2008 https://web.archive.org/web/20090511162300/http://www.sos.state.oh.us/SOS/elections/electResultsMain/2008ElectionResults/pres110408.aspx 11 May 2009 dead dmy-all Counties that flipped from Republican to Democratic Hamilton (largest municipality: Cincinnati) Lake (largest municipality: Mentor) Ottawa (largest municipality: Port Clinton) Sandusky (largest municipality: Fremont) Tuscarawas (largest municipality: New Philadelphia) Wood (largest municipality: Bowling Green) By congressional district Although Barack Obama won the state, John McCain carried ten of the state's 18 congressional districts, including three districts that simultaneously elected a Democrat. Obama carried eight districts, including one district held by a Republican. District Obama McCain RepresentativeOhio 1 1st54.66%44.30%Steve Chabot (110th Congress)Steve Driehaus (111th Congress)Ohio 2 2nd 40.02% 58.61%Jean SchmidtOhio 3 3rd 47.39% 51.14%Mike TurnerOhio 4 4th 38.16% 59.84%Jim JordanOhio 5 5th45.05%52.95%Paul Gillmor (110th Congress)Bob Latta (111th Congress)Ohio 6 6th 47.60% 50.30%Charlie WilsonOhio 7 7th44.57%53.80%Dave Hobson (110th Congress)Steve Austria (111th Congress)Ohio 8 8th 37.87% 60.38%John BoehnerOhio 9 9th62.26% 36.17%Marcy KapturOhio 10 10th59.16% 38.98%Dennis KucinichOhio 11 11th84.76%14.39%Stephanie Tubbs Jones (110th Congress)Marcia Fudge (111th Congress)Ohio 12 12th54.15% 44.62%Pat TiberiOhio 13 13th54.15% 44.62%Betty SuttonOhio 14 14th 49.13% 49.35%Steven LaTouretteOhio 15 15th53.61%44.64%Deborah Pryce (110th Congress)Mary Jo Kilroy (111th Congress)Ohio 16 16th47.69%50.32%Ralph Regula (110th Congress)John Boccieri (111th Congress)Ohio 17 17th61.84% 36.09%Tim RyanOhio 18 18th 44.79% 52.81%Zack Space Electors List of 2008 United States presidential electors Technically, the voters of Ohio cast their ballots for electors: representatives to the Electoral College. Ohio is allocated 20 electors because it has 18 congressional districts and 2 senators. All candidates who appear on the ballot or qualify to receive write-in votes must submit a list of 20 electors, who pledge to vote for their candidate and their running mate. Whoever wins the majority of votes in the state is awarded all 20 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 20 were pledged to Barack Obama and Joe Biden:U. S. Electoral College 2008 Election - Certificates Catherine Barrett Barbara Tuckerman Wade Kapszukiewicz Tamela Lee Renee Cafaro Victoria Wells Wulsin Craig Brown Jimmy Cotner Janet Carson Bruce Johnson Nannette Whaley Martha Jane Brooks Eugene Miller Fran Alberty Chris Redfern John Kosty Kelly Gillis Charleta Tavares Michael Todd Ted Strickland See also United States presidential elections in Ohio Presidency of Barack Obama References Ohio 2008 Category:2008 Ohio elections