United States presidential election in California, 2008
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The 2008 United States presidential election in California took place on November 4, 2008 in California as part of the 2008 United States presidential election. Voters chose 55 electors, the most out of any of the 50 states, to the Electoral College, who voted for President and Vice President. California was won by Democratic nominee Barack Obama with a 24.0% margin of victory. No Republican has carried the state in a presidential election since 1988.
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[edit] Primaries
On February 5, 2008 presidential primaries were held by all parties with ballot access in the state:
- California Democratic primary, 2008
- California Republican primary, 2008
- For other parties, see California state elections, February 2008.
[edit] Campaign
[edit] Predictions
There were at least ten news organizations, publications, Web sites, and radio and television shows that made state by state predictions of the election before election day:
| Name | Prediction |
|---|---|
| Associated Press | Democrat |
| CNN | Safe Democrat |
| The Cook Political Report | Solid Democrat |
| CQ Politics | Safe Democrat |
| D.C. Political Report | Democrat |
| Election Projection | Solid Obama |
| Electoral-vote.com | Strong Democrat |
| Fox News | Democrat |
| The New York Times | Solid Democrat |
| Politico | Solid Obama |
| Real Clear Politics | Solid Obama |
| Rasmussen Reports | Safe Democrat |
| The Takeaway | Solid Obama |
[edit] Polling
Obama won most opinion polls taken prior to the election. In the final three polls he averaged 59%, while McCain averaged 34%; which is close to the results on election day.[1]
[edit] Fundraising
Obama raised a total of $124,325,459 from the state. McCain raised a total of $26,802,024.[2]
[edit] Advertising and visits
The Obama campaign spent almost $5,570,641. The McCain campaign spent $1,885,142.[3] Obama visited the state six times. McCain visited the state eight times.[4]
[edit] Analysis
California was once a Republican stronghold, supporting Republican candidates in every election from 1952 through 1988, except in 1964. However, since the 1990s, California has become a reliably Democratic state with a diverse ethnic and Hispanic or Latino population and liberal regions such as the San Francisco Bay Area and Los Angeles County. The last time the state was won by a Republican candidate was in 1988 by George H. W. Bush. Bill Clinton won it handily in 1992, and the state has not been seriously contested since then.
Obama won by a historic margin, with 61.01% of the votes. The last time the margin was higher in the state was in 1936 when Franklin D. Roosevelt won by 66.95%.[5]
In San Francisco and Alameda County (which encompass Oakland and Berkeley), four out of five voters backed the Democratic candidate. Elsewhere in the Bay Area, Obama won every county by a three to two margin or greater.[6] In Los Angeles County, Obama won almost 70% of the votes.[6]
Obama also made considerable headway in historically Republican areas of the state. Fresno County, for example, a heavily populated county in the Central Valley, went from giving Bush a 16% margin to a 1% margin for Obama.[6] San Diego County moved from a six-percent margin for Bush to a 10-point margin for Obama--only the second time since World War II that a Democrat has carried this military-dominated county.[6] San Bernardino and Riverside went from double-digit Republican victories to narrow Democratic wins.[6] Ventura County also moved from Republican to Democratic. Voter turnout was also fairly higher in the election. The 79% turnout of registered voters was the highest since the 1976 presidential election.[7]
[edit] Results
The following are official results from the California Secretary of State.[8]
| United States presidential election in California, 2008 | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Running mate | Votes | Percentage | Electoral votes | |
| Democratic | Barack Obama | Joe Biden | 8,274,473 | 61.01% | 55 | |
| Republican | John McCain | Sarah Palin | 5,011,781 | 36.95% | 0 | |
| Peace and Freedom | Ralph Nader | Matt Gonzalez | 108,381 | 0.80% | 0 | |
| Libertarian | Bob Barr | Wayne Allyn Root | 67,582 | 0.50% | 0 | |
| American Independent | Alan Keyes | Brian Rohrbough | 40,673 | 0.30% | 0 | |
| Green | Cynthia McKinney | Rosa Clemente | 38,774 | 0.29% | 0 | |
| Independent | Ron Paul (write-in) | Gail Lightfoot | 17,006 | 0.13% | 0 | |
| Independent | Chuck Baldwin (write-in) | Darrell Castle | 3,145 | 0.02% | 0 | |
| Independent | James Harris (write-in) | Alyson Kennedy | 49 | 0.00% | 0 | |
| Independent | Frank Moore (write-in) | Susan Block | 36 | 0.00% | 0 | |
| Valid votes | 13,561,900 | 98.68% | — | |||
| Invalid or blank votes | 181,277 | 1.32% | — | |||
| Totals | 13,743,177 | 100.00% | 55 | |||
| Voter turnout | 79.42% | — | ||||
[edit] Results breakdown
[edit] By county
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The factual accuracy of part of this article is disputed. The dispute is about the accuracy of the vote numbers and percentages.
Please see the relevant discussion on the talk page before making changes.(January 2011) |
The results below are primarily compiled from the final reports available from the Secretary of State. The "others" category also includes write-in votes.[9]
| County | Obama | Votes | McCain | Votes | Others | Votes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| San Francisco | 84.2% | 322,220 | 13.7% | 52,292 | 2.2% | 8,353 |
| Alameda | 78.8% | 489,106 | 19.3% | 119,555 | 1.9% | 12,368 |
| Marin | 78.0% | 109,320 | 20.3% | 28,384 | 1.7% | 2,866 |
| Santa Cruz | 77.5% | 98,745 | 19.9% | 25,244 | 2.9% | 3,747 |
| Sonoma | 73.7% | 168,888 | 24.1% | 55,127 | 2.5% | 5,817 |
| San Mateo | 73.5% | 222,826 | 24.8% | 75,057 | 1.6% | 4,965 |
| Mendocino | 69.6% | 27,843 | 26.8% | 10,721 | 4.0% | 1,620 |
| Santa Clara | 69.5% | 462,241 | 28.6% | 190,039 | 1.8% | 12,255 |
| Los Angeles | 69.2% | 2,295,853 | 28.9% | 956,425 | 1.9% | 64,352 |
| Monterey | 68.2% | 88,453 | 29.9% | 38,797 | 2.0% | 2,533 |
| Contra Costa | 68.0% | 306,983 | 30.3% | 136,436 | 2.2% | 9,825 |
| Yolo | 67.1% | 53,488 | 30.9% | 24,592 | 2.1% | 1,669 |
| Napa | 65.2% | 38,849 | 32.7% | 19,484 | 2.0% | 1,214 |
| Solano | 63.5% | 102,095 | 34.9% | 56,035 | 2.1% | 3,458 |
| Humboldt | 62.3% | 39,692 | 34.1% | 21,713 | 4.0% | 2,559 |
| Imperial | 62.3% | 24,162 | 36.1% | 14,008 | 1.6% | 631 |
| Alpine | 61.0% | 422 | 36.4% | 252 | 2.6% | 18 |
| San Benito | 60.5% | 11,917 | 37.7% | 7,425 | 2.3% | 446 |
| Santa Barbara | 60.4% | 105,614 | 37.5% | 65,585 | 2.4% | 4,208 |
| Sacramento | 58.5% | 316,506 | 39.5% | 213,583 | 2.4% | 12,770 |
| Lake | 58.2% | 14,854 | 38.9% | 9,935 | 3.3% | 840 |
| Mono | 55.6% | 3,093 | 42.3% | 2,354 | 2.2% | 124 |
| Ventura | 55.3% | 187,601 | 43.0% | 145,853 | 2.2% | 7,587 |
| San Joaquin | 54.5% | 113,974 | 43.8% | 91,607 | 2.2% | 4,727 |
| San Diego | 54.2% | 666,581 | 44.0% | 541,032 | 2.3% | 27,890 |
| Merced | 53.4% | 34,031 | 45.0% | 28,704 | 2.1% | 1,316 |
| San Bernardino | 52.1% | 315,720 | 45.8% | 277,408' | 2.2% | 13,206 |
| Nevada | 51.5% | 28,617 | 46.2% | 25,663 | 2.1% | 1,138 |
| San Luis Obispo | 51.4% | 68,176 | 46.1% | 61,055 | 2.0% | 3,924 |
| Trinity | 50.8% | 3,233 | 46.2% | 2,940 | 4.0% | 257 |
| Riverside | 50.3% | 325,017 | 47.9% | 310,041 | 1.7% | 11,216 |
| Fresno | 50.3% | 136,706 | 48.2% | 131,015 | 2.1% | 5,727 |
| Butte | 49.9% | 49,013 | 47.6% | 46,706 | 2.7% | 2,606 |
| Stanislaus | 49.9% | 80,279 | 48.2% | 77,497 | 2.3% | 3,736 |
| Orange | 47.7% | 549,558 | 50.2% | 579,064 | 2.2% | 25,065 |
| Del Norte | 45.4% | 4,323 | 52.2% | 4,967 | 2.4% | 231 |
| Inyo | 43.9% | 3,743 | 53.1% | 4,523 | 2.9% | 243 |
| El Dorado | 43.7% | 40,529 | 54.2% | 50,314 | 2.6% | 2,466 |
| Placer | 43.4% | 75,112 | 54.7% | 94,647 | 2.3% | 4,053 |
| Siskiyou | 43.3% | 9,292 | 53.7% | 11,520 | 3.5% | 752 |
| Plumas | 42.8% | 4,715 | 54.8% | 6,035 | 3.1% | 343 |
| Mariposa | 42.5% | 4,100 | 54.9% | 5,298 | 2.9% | 279 |
| Tuolumne | 42.5% | 11,532 | 55.2% | 14,988 | 2.3% | 631 |
| Madera | 42.4% | 17,952 | 55.7% | 23,583 | 2.2% | 939 |
| Calaveras | 42.2% | 9,813 | 55.1% | 12,835 | 3.3% | 773 |
| Kings | 42.1% | 14,747 | 56.2% | 19,710 | 1.8% | 618 |
| Amador | 41.5% | 7,813 | 56.1% | 10,561 | 2.3% | 436 |
| Yuba | 41.5% | 8,866 | 56.2% | 12,007 | 2.3% | 492 |
| Tulare | 41.5% | 43,634 | 56.9% | 59,765 | 2.0% | 2,126 |
| Sutter | 40.8% | 13,412 | 57.5% | 18,911 | 2.1% | 698 |
| Kern | 40.2% | 93,457 | 57.9% | 134,793 | 1.8% | 4,111 |
| Colusa | 40.0% | 2,569 | 58.1% | 3,733 | 2.3% | 146 |
| Glenn | 37.8% | 3,734 | 59.9% | 5,910 | 2.3% | 225 |
| Sierra | 37.4% | 743 | 58.2% | 1,158 | 4.9% | 97 |
| Tehama | 36.7% | 8,945 | 60.8% | 14,843 | 3.1% | 772 |
| Shasta | 36.0% | 28,867 | 61.7% | 49,588 | 2.2% | 1,734 |
| Lassen | 31.5% | 3,586 | 65.8% | 7,483 | 3.2% | 364 |
| Modoc | 29.8% | 1,313 | 67.5% | 2,981 | 2.2% | 95 |
[edit] By congressional district
Obama carried 42 congressional districts in California, including all 34 districts held by Democrats and eight districts held by Republicans in the U.S. House of Representatives.
| District | McCain | Obama | Representative |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | 31.69% | 65.60% | Mike Thompson |
| 2nd | 56.10% | 41.43% | Wally Herger |
| 3rd | 48.81% | 49.28% | Dan Lungren |
| 4th | 53.98% | 43.83% | John Doolittle (110th Congress) |
| Tom McClintock (111th Congress) | |||
| 5th | 28.40% | 69.62% | Doris Matsui |
| 6th | 22.01% | 75.95% | Lynn Woolsey |
| 7th | 26.43% | 71.40% | George Miller |
| 8th | 12.38% | 85.22% | Nancy Pelosi |
| 9th | 9.87% | 88.13% | Barbara Lee |
| 10th | 33.14% | 64.66% | Ellen Tauscher |
| 11th | 44.47% | 53.79% | Jerry McNerney |
| 12th | 23.88% | 74.32% | Jackie Speier |
| 13th | 23.81% | 74.38% | Pete Stark |
| 14th | 24.88% | 73.11% | Anna Eshoo |
| 15th | 29.69% | 68.42% | Mike Honda |
| 16th | 28.83% | 69.55% | Zoe Lofgren |
| 17th | 25.78% | 72.14% | Sam Farr |
| 18th | 38.98% | 59.24% | Dennis Cardoza |
| 19th | 52.12% | 46.03% | George Radanovich |
| 20th | 38.70% | 59.55% | Jim Costa |
| 21st | 56.32% | 42.06% | Devin Nunes |
| 22nd | 59.67% | 38.30% | Kevin McCarthy |
| 23rd | 32.31% | 65.30% | Lois Capps |
| 24th | 47.65% | 50.49% | Elton Gallegly |
| 25th | 48.34% | 49.45% | Howard McKeon |
| 26th | 46.96% | 51.03% | David Dreier |
| 27th | 31.69% | 66.12% | Brad Sherman |
| 28th | 22.04% | 76.16% | Howard Berman |
| 29th | 30.37% | 67.59% | Adam Schiff |
| 30th | 27.90% | 70.44% | Henry Waxman |
| 31st | 17.83% | 79.87% | Xavier Becerra |
| 32nd | 29.81% | 68.17% | Hilda Solis |
| 33rd | 11.69% | 86.81% | Diane Watson |
| 34th | 23.15% | 74.73% | Lucille Roybal-Allard |
| 35th | 14.14% | 84.37% | Maxine Waters |
| 36th | 33.52% | 64.39% | Jane Harman |
| 37th | 18.70% | 79.59% | Laura Richardson |
| 38th | 26.62% | 71.27% | Grace Napolitano |
| 39th | 32.43% | 65.48% | Linda Sánchez |
| 40th | 51.14% | 46.63% | Ed Royce |
| 41st | 54.18% | 43.66% | Jerry Lewis |
| 42nd | 53.19% | 44.88% | Gary Miller |
| 43rd | 30.09% | 67.96% | Joe Baca |
| 44th | 48.57% | 49.51% | Ken Calvert |
| 45th | 46.94% | 51.52% | Mary Bono Mack |
| 46th | 49.77% | 47.94% | Dana Rohrabacher |
| 47th | 37.78% | 60.14% | Loretta Sanchez |
| 48th | 48.55% | 49.30% | John B. T. Campbell III |
| 49th | 53.01% | 45.14% | Darrell Issa |
| 50th | 47.08% | 51.26% | Brian Bilbray |
| 51st | 35.48% | 63.11% | Bob Filner |
| 52nd | 53.42% | 44.98% | Duncan Hunter |
| 53rd | 29.87% | 68.17% | Susan Davis |
[edit] Electors
Technically the voters of California cast their ballots for electors: representatives to the Electoral College. California is allocated 55 electors because it has 53 congressional districts and 2 senators. All candidates who appear on the ballot or qualify to receive write-in votes must submit a list of 55 electors, who pledge to vote for their candidate and his or her running mate, to the California Secretary of State. Whoever wins the majority of votes in the state is awarded all 55 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.[10] An elector who votes for someone other than his or her 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. In California the 55 electors meet in the State Capitol building in Sacramento to cast their ballots.[11]
The following were the members of the Electoral College from California. All were pledged to and voted for Barack Obama and Joe Biden.[12]
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[edit] Failed election reform
There was a proposed ballot proposition in the state to alter the way the state's electors would be distributed among presidential candidates, but the initiative failed to get onto the ballot.[13]
[edit] See also
- California state elections, February 2008
- California state elections, November 2008
- Opinion polling by state for the United States presidential election, 2008 (California)
[edit] References
- ^ "California: McCain vs. Obama". RealClearPolitics. http://www.realclearpolitics.com/epolls/2008/president/ca/california_mccain_vs_obama-558.html. Retrieved 2009-06-28.
- ^ "Presidential Campaign Finance: CA Contributions to All Candidates by 3 digit Zip Code". Federal Election Commission. http://www.fec.gov/DisclosureSearch/MapAppState.do?stateName=CA&cand_id=P00000001. Retrieved 2009-11-14.
- ^ "Election Tracker: Ad Spending". CNN. http://www.cnn.com/ELECTION/2008/map/ad.spending/. Retrieved 2009-06-28.
- ^ "Election Tracker: Candidate Visits". CNN. http://www.cnn.com/ELECTION/2008/map/candidate.visits/. Retrieved 2009-06-28.
- ^ Ewers, Justin (2008-11-05). "Obama Wins by Historic Margin in California". U.S. News & World Report. http://www.usnews.com/articles/news/campaign-2008/2008/11/05/obama-wins-by-historic-margin-in-california.html. Retrieved 2009-06-28.
- ^ a b c d e Leip, Dave. "2008 Presidential General Election Results: 2008". http://www.uselectionatlas.org/RESULTS/state.php?year=2008&fips=6&f=0&off=0&elect=0. Retrieved 2009-06-18.
- ^ "Historical Voter Registration and Participation in Statewide General Elections 1910-2008" (PDF). California Secretary of State. 2008-05-28. http://www.sos.ca.gov/elections/sov/historical-voter-reg/hist-voter-reg-and-part-general-elections-1910-2008.pdf. Retrieved 2009-06-28.
- ^ "Statement of Vote: 2008 General Election" (PDF). California Secretary of State. 2008-12-13. http://www.sos.ca.gov/elections/sov/2008_general/sov_complete.pdf. Retrieved 2008-12-13.
- ^ "Supplement to the Statement of Vote: Statewide Summary by County for United States President" (PDF). California Secretary of State. 2009-04-10. http://www.sos.ca.gov/elections/sov/2008_general/ssov/4-pres-statewide-summary-by-county.pdf. Retrieved 2009-06-13.
- ^ "Electoral College". California Secretary of State. http://www.sos.ca.gov/elections/elections_ec.htm. Retrieved 2008-11-01.
- ^ "Duly Appointed Presidential Electors". The Green Papers. 2008-10-11. http://www.thegreenpapers.com/G08/EC-Electors.phtml. Retrieved 2008-11-07.
- ^ "2008 Presidential Election: California Certificate of Ascertainment". National Archives and Records Administration. http://www.archives.gov/federal-register/electoral-college/2008-certificates/ascertainment-california-01.html. Retrieved 2009-01-05.
- ^ Goldmacher, Shane (2008-02-05). "Electoral college measure falls short". The Sacramento Bee. Archived from the original on 2008-04-16. http://web.archive.org/web/20080416125840/http://sacbee.com/static/weblogs/capitolalertlatest/010429.html. Retrieved 2008-06-09.
[edit] External links
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