2008 United States presidential election in New Jersey

none June 2025 March 2013 2008 United States presidential election 2008 United States presidential election in New Jersey New Jersey presidential no 2004 United States presidential election in New Jersey 2004 2012 United States presidential election in New Jersey 2012 November 4, 2008 72.69%https://nj.gov/state/elections/assets/pdf/election-results/other/2022-1925-general-election-data.pdf General Election Data - 1924 to 2022 NJ.gov ( 0.06%) x200px Obama portrait crop.jpg Barack Obama Democratic Party (United States) Illinois Joe Biden 15 2,215,422 57.14% John McCain official portrait 2009 (cropped).jpg John McCain Republican Party (United States) Arizona Sarah Palin 0 1,613,207 41.61% 350px County results 350px Congressional district results 350px Municipality 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% #800000 90–100% Tie #D4C4DC President George W. Bush Republican Party (United States) Barack Obama Democratic Party (United States) The 2008 United States presidential election in New Jersey took place on November 4, 2008, and was part of the 2008 United States presidential election. Voters chose 15 representatives, or electors to the Electoral College, who voted for president and vice president. New Jersey was won by Democratic nominee Barack Obama with a 15.53% 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. No fundraising money was spent by either campaign, as the state has trended towards the Democratic Party in recent years. A highly affluent and predominantly urban state with an ethnically diverse population, New Jersey has become a reliably blue state, and this was evident again when Democrat Barack Obama comfortably won the state's 15 electoral votes with 57.14% of the vote. New Jersey weighed in for this election as 8.3% more Democratic than the national average. Primary elections Democratic primary 2008 New Jersey Democratic presidential primary Statewide opinion polling for the 2008 Super Tuesday Democratic Party presidential primaries#New_Jersey The Democratic primary took place February 5, 2008, also known as Super Tuesday. Hillary Clinton won this primary. Results of the 2008 Democratic Party presidential primaries Key: Withdrewprior to contest 2008 New Jersey Democratic presidential primaryhttps://www.thegreenpapers.com/P08/NJ-D.phtml New Jersey Democratic Delegation 2008 www.thegreenpapers.com March 23, 2018CandidateVotesPercentageNational delegateshttp://politics.nytimes.com/election-guide/2008/results/states/NJ.html New Jersey Primary Election Results - Election Guide 2008 - Results - The New York Times politics.nytimes.com March 23, 2018 Hillary Clinton 613,500 53.76% 59 Barack Obama 501,372 43.93% 48 John Edwards 15,728 1.38% 0 Joe Biden 4,081 0.36% 0 Bill Richardson 3,366 0.29% 0 Dennis Kucinich 3,152 0.28% 0 Totals1,141,199100.00%107 Republican primary 2008 New Jersey Republican presidential primary The Republican primary took place on February 5, 2008, with 52 national delegates who were allocated on a winner takes all basis.https://www.thegreenpapers.com/P08/NJ-R.phtml New Jersey Republican Delegation 2008 2008-01-28 The Green Papers +Official ResultsOfficial Presidential Primary Election Results http://www.njelections.org/2008results/08primary-election/2008-presidential-official-primary-results-032808.pdf New Jersey Department of State 2008-05-24 https://web.archive.org/web/20080611202048/http://www.njelections.org/2008results/08primary-election/2008-presidential-official-primary-results-032808.pdf June 11, 2008 dead mdy-all Candidate Votes Percentage Delegates John McCain 313,459 55.36% 52 Mitt Romney 160,388 28.33% 0 Mike Huckabee 46,284 8.17% 0 Ron Paul 27,184 4.06% 0 Rudy Giuliani* 15,516 2.74% 0 Fred Thompson* 3,253 0.57% 0 Total 566,201 100% 52 * Candidate dropped out of the race before the 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 January 1, 2009Likely DCook Political Report2015-05-05 Presidential http://cookpolitical.com/presidential 2021-08-23 https://web.archive.org/web/20150505003043/http://cookpolitical.com/presidential May 5, 2015Solid 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/ April 22, 2009Solid 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 June 19, 2010 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 https://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#New Jersey Statewide opinion polling for the 2008 United States presidential election: New Jersey Pre-election polling was tight early on. However, since October 12, Obama won each poll with a double-digit margin of victory and with at least 52%. McCain didn't reach over 42% in that stretch. The final 3 polls found Obama leading with 55% to 39%.https://uselectionatlas.org/POLLS/PRESIDENT/2008/pollsa.php?fips=34 Election 2008 Polls - Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections uselectionatlas.org March 23, 2018 Fundraising John McCain raised a total of $4,761,251 in the state. Barack Obama raised $13,624,081.http://www.fec.gov/DisclosureSearch/MapAppState.do?stateName=NJ&cand_id=P00000001 Presidential Campaign Finance fec.gov March 23, 2018 https://web.archive.org/web/20090324085851/http://www.fec.gov/DisclosureSearch/MapAppState.do?stateName=NJ&cand_id=P00000001 March 24, 2009 dead Advertising and visits Neither candidate spent anything here.http://www.cnn.com/ELECTION/2008/map/ad.spending/ CNN Map: Campaign Ad Spending - Election Center 2008 from CNN.com May 26, 2010 The Republican ticket visited the state twice. Obama 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 New Jersey was once one of the most reliably Republican states in the Northeast. From 1948 to 1988, it voted Republican in all but two elections: John F. Kennedy in his narrow victory over Richard Nixon in 1960, and Lyndon Johnson's 44-state landslide of 1964. However, the brand of Republicanism practiced in New Jersey has historically been a moderate one. As the national party tilted more to the right, the state's voters became more friendly to Democrats. The state narrowly went for Bill Clinton in 1992 and has voted Democratic in every election since then. In all but two elections since 1996, the Democrats have carried it by double digits. While Republicans remain competitive at the state and local level, at the presidential level New Jersey is now reckoned as part of the solid bloc of blue states in the Northeast. Democrats have several structural advantages in New Jersey during presidential elections. The northeastern portion, including Newark, Jersey City, Elizabeth and Paterson, contains more than half the state's population and is heavily Democratic. The southwestern portion, including Camden, Cherry Hill, and Atlantic City is also heavily Democratic. These regions have a total of over 2,000,000 voters between them, making it extremely difficult for a Republican to carry the state. For instance, in 2004 George W. Bush held John Kerry to only a 7-point margin of victory, but was completely shut out in the northeast and southwest. Additionally, the state is split almost down the middle between the largest and fourth-largest markets in the country, New York City and Philadelphia. As a result, statewide races often feature some of the most expensive advertising budgets in the country. Unlike in 2004, New Jersey was called for Obama almost as soon as the polls closed.2008 Election Night Events Timeline US Election Atlas https://uselectionatlas.org/INFORMATION/ARTICLES/ElectionNight2008/pe2008elecnighttime.php Obama dominated the urban areas of the state, winning Essex County by over 50%, Hudson County by 47%, Camden and Mercer counties by 35%. Obama also won Somerset County, which had voted Republican in every election from 1968 to 2004. Most of the southern portion of the state voted Democratic. McCain won most of Northwestern New Jersey, winning in Republican strongholds like Morris County and Sussex County (which McCain won by 21%). McCain also won most of the Jersey Shore counties. At the same time, incumbent Democratic U.S. Senator Frank Lautenberg was reelected over Republican Dick Zimmer by a 14.08% margin of victory. Lautenberg received 56.03% of the total vote while Zimmer took in 41.95%. Democrats also picked up a vacant U.S. House seat in New Jersey's 3rd congressional district that was previously held by a Republican; Democrat John Adler defeated Republican Chris Myers by a 3.30% margin of victory. Adler received 51.65% of the vote while Myers took in 48.35%. Results 2008 United States presidential election in New JerseyPartyCandidateRunning mateVotesPercentageElectoral votes Democratic Barack Obama Joe Biden 2,215,422 57.14%15 Republican John McCain Sarah Palin 1,613,207 41.61% 0 Independent Ralph Nader Matt Gonzalez 21,298 0.55% 0 Libertarian Bob Barr Wayne Allyn Root 8,441 0.22% 0 Write-ins Write-ins 7,718 0.20% 0 Constitution Chuck Baldwin Darrell Castle 3,956 0.10% 0 Green Cynthia McKinney Rosa Clemente 3,636 0.09% 0 Socialist Brian Moore Stewart Alexander 669 0.02% 0 Vote Here Jeffrey Boss Andrea Maria Boss 639 0.02% 0 Socialist Workers Róger Calero Alyson Kennedy 523 0.01% 0 Socialism and Liberation Gloria La Riva Eugene Puryear 416 0.01% 0 Totals 3,877,323 100.00% 15 Voter Turnout (Voting age/Registered) 60%/73% By county thumb|right|234px|Sample ballot for the general election, showing the presidential candidates running in New Jersey County Barack ObamaDemocratic John McCainRepublican Various candidatesOther parties Margin Total votes cast # % # % # % # % Atlantic 67,830 56.88% 49,902 41.85% 1,517 1.27% 17,928 15.03% 119,249 Bergen 225,367 54.19% 186,118 44.75% 4,424 1.06% 39,249 9.44% 415,909 Burlington 131,219 58.64% 89,626 40.05% 2,930 1.31% 41,593 18.59% 223,775 Camden 159,259 67.37% 73,819 31.23% 3,304 1.40% 85,440 36.14% 236,382 Cape May 22,893 44.90% 27,288 53.52% 802 1.58% -4,395 -8.62% 50,983 Cumberland 34,919 60.00% 22,360 38.42% 915 1.58% 12,559 21.58% 58,194 Essex 240,306 75.91% 74,063 23.40% 2,181 0.69% 166,243 52.51% 316,550 Gloucester 77,267 55.21% 60,315 43.10% 2,364 1.69% 16,952 12.11% 139,946 Hudson 154,140 72.84% 55,360 26.16% 2,116 1.00% 98,780 46.68% 211,616 Hunterdon 29,776 42.53% 39,092 55.83% 1,147 1.64% -9,316 -13.30% 70,015 Mercer 107,926 67.29% 50,223 31.32% 2,229 1.39% 57,703 35.97% 160,378 Middlesex 193,812 60.21% 123,695 38.43% 4,367 1.36% 70,117 21.78% 321,874 Monmouth 148,737 47.46% 160,433 51.19% 4,244 1.35% -11,696 -3.73% 313,414 Morris 112,275 45.36% 132,331 53.46% 2,913 1.18% -20,056 -8.10% 247,519 Ocean 110,189 40.07% 160,677 58.43% 4,111 1.50% -50,488 -18.36% 274,977 Passaic 113,257 60.34% 72,552 38.65% 1,904 1.01% 40,705 21.69% 187,713 Salem 16,044 50.88% 14,816 46.99% 672 2.13% 1,228 3.89% 31,532 Somerset 79,321 52.38% 70,085 46.28% 2,024 1.34% 9,236 6.10% 151,430 Sussex 28,840 38.75% 44,184 59.37% 1,393 1.88% -15,344 -20.62% 74,417 Union 141,417 63.58% 78,768 35.41% 2,241 1.01% 62,649 28.17% 222,426 Warren 20,628 42.01% 27,500 56.00% 980 1.99% -6,872 -13.99% 49,108Totals2,215,42257.14%1,613,20741.61%48,7781.26%602,21515.53%3,877,407 Counties that flipped from Republican to Democratic Salem (largest municipality: Pennsville Township) Somerset (largest municipality: Franklin Township) right 280px Swing by county 280px Trend relative to the state by county Legend #ff8080 Republican — +5−7.5% #ffaaaa Republican — +2.5−5% #ffd5d5 Republican — +0−2.5% #d5f6ff Democratic — +0−2.5% #aaeeff Democratic — +2.5−5% #77e3ff Democratic — +5−7.5% #4bdbff Democratic — +7.5-10% #09ceff Democratic — +10−12.5% #00bdec Democratic — +12.5−15% 280px County flips Legend Democratic #92c5de Hold #0671b0 Flip Republican #f48882 Hold By congressional district Barack Obama carried ten of New Jersey's 13 congressional districts, including two that elected Republicans. District Obama McCain RepresentativeNew Jersey 1 1st 65% 34%Rob AndrewsNew Jersey 2 2nd 54% 45%Frank LoBiondoNew Jersey 3 3rd52%47%Jim Saxton (110th Congress)John Adler (111th Congress)New Jersey 4 4th 46% 52%Chris SmithNew Jersey 5 5th 45% 54%Scott GarrettNew Jersey 6 6th 59% 39%Frank Pallone Jr.New Jersey 7 7th51%48%Mike Ferguson (110th Congress)Leonard Lance (111th Congress)New Jersey 8 8th 63% 36%Bill PascrellNew Jersey 9 9th 61% 38%Steve RothmanNew Jersey 10 10th 87% 13%Donald M. PayneNew Jersey 11 11th 45% 54%Rodney FrelinghuysenNew Jersey 12 12th 58% 41%Rush Holt Jr.New Jersey 13 13th 75% 24%Albio Sires Electors List of 2008 United States presidential electors Technically the voters of NJ cast their ballots for electors: representatives to the Electoral College. NJ is allocated 15 electors because it has 13 congressional districts and 2 senators. All candidates who appear on the ballot or qualify to receive write-in votes must submit a list of 15 electors, who pledge to vote for their candidate and their running mate. Whoever wins the majority of votes in the state is awarded all 15 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 November 1, 2008 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 15 were pledged to Barack Obama and Joe Biden:https://www.archives.gov/federal-register/electoral-college/2008-certificates/index.html#nj U. S. Electoral College 2008 Election - Certificates www.archives.gov March 23, 2018 Jose Colon William Fontanez Gina Genovese Wilma Grey Kevin Halpern Victor Herlinsky Stacy Lubrecht Salaheddin Mustafa Peter Nichols William W. Northgrave Ken Saunders Ginger Gold Schnitzer Carl Styles Shavonda Sumter Stephen Weinstein See also United States presidential elections in New Jersey Presidency of Barack Obama 2008 Democratic Party presidential primaries 2008 New Jersey Republican presidential primary References 30em External links Official state totals (not yet fully updated) Election 2008 CNN Official Results (New Jersey Division of Elections) Official Results by municipality New Jersey United States president 2008