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2008 United States presidential election in Illinois

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Main article: 2008 United States presidential election
2008 United States presidential election in Illinois
← 2004 November 4, 2008 2012 →
Turnout70.90%
 
Nominee Barack Obama John McCain
Party Democratic Republican
Home state Illinois Arizona
Running mate Joe Biden Sarah Palin
Electoral vote 21 0
Popular vote 3,419,348 2,031,179
Percentage 61.92% 36.78%
President before election

George W. Bush
Republican

Elected President

Barack Obama
Democratic

Elections in Illinois
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Secretary of State elections
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Chicago
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Cook County
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Rockford
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  • 2021

The 2008 United States presidential election in Illinois took place on November 4, 2008, and was part of the 2008 United States presidential election. Voters chose 21 representatives, or electors to the Electoral College, who voted for president and vice president.

Democratic nominee Barack Obama won his home state by a 25.1 percentage point margin over Republican nominee John McCain. Prior to the election, every major news organization considered Illinois a state Obama would win, or otherwise a safe blue state. One of the most reliably blue states in the nation, Illinois has not voted for a Republican presidential nominee since 1988, when George H. W. Bush narrowly carried the state. In 2008, continuing that trend, it appeared that a generic Democratic presidential nominee could have easily won Illinois; it was no surprise then that Obama, who represented Illinois in the U.S. Senate, won the state in a landslide victory, clinching near 62 percent of the total vote.

As of the 2020 presidential election, this is the last time a Democrat won the following counties: Boone, Bureau, Cass, Calhoun, Coles, Gallatin, Grundy, Kankakee, LaSalle, Macon, Macoupin, Madison, Mason, McDonough, McHenry, Montgomery, Pulaski, Sangamon, Schuyler, Stephenson, and Vermillion.

As of 2020, Obama is the only presidential candidate of either party to win the state with more than 60% of the vote since Warren G. Harding in 1920, and the only Democrat to do so since Andrew Jackson, the Democratic Party's first presidential nominee, in 1828 and 1832. McCain's 36.78% of the vote is the second-lowest of any major-party nominee since 1924, only surpassing George H. W. Bush in 1992, when a substantial amount of the vote went to Ross Perot’s candidacy as an independent.

Illinois was one of three states where Obama outperformed Franklin D. Roosevelt in all four of his runs, as well as Lyndon Johnson in his 1964 landslide. The others were rapidly Democratic-trending Vermont and Delaware, the latter being the home state of Joe Biden, Obama's running mate.

Primaries

[edit]

Turnout

[edit]
See also: 2008 Illinois elections § Turnout

For the state-run primaries (Democratic, Republican, and Green), turnout was 40.26%, with 2,940,708 votes cast.[1][2] For the general election, turnout was 70.90%, with 5,522,371 votes cast.[1][2]

State-run primaries were held for both major parties, as well as the Green Party, on February 5.

Democratic

[edit]
Main article: 2008 Illinois Democratic presidential primary

The 2008 Illinois Democratic presidential primary took place on Super Tuesday, February 5, 2008, with 153 delegates at stake. The winner in each of Illinois's 19 congressional districts was awarded all of that district's delegates, totaling 100. Another 53 delegates were awarded to the statewide winner, Barack Obama. The 153 delegates represented Illinois at the Democratic National Convention in Denver, Colorado. Thirty-two other unpledged delegates, known as superdelegates, also attended the convention and cast their votes as well.

Polls

[edit]
Main article: Statewide opinion polling for the 2008 Super Tuesday Democratic Party presidential primaries § Illinois

Polls indicated that then-U.S. Senator Barack Obama was leading then-U.S. Senator Hillary Clinton by double digits in the days before the contest in his home state of Illinois.[3]

Results

[edit]
See also: Results of the 2008 Democratic Party presidential primaries
2008 Illinois Democratic Presidential Primary Results
Party Candidate Votes Percentage Delegates
Democratic Barack Obama 1,318,234 64.66% 104
Democratic Hillary Clinton 667,930 32.76% 49
Democratic John Edwards 39,719 1.95% 0
Democratic Dennis Kucinich 4,234 0.21% 0
Democratic Joe Biden 3,788 0.19% 0
Democratic Bill Richardson 3,538 0.17% 0
Democratic Christopher Dodd 1,171 0.06% 0
Totals 2,038,614 100.00% 153
Voter turnout % —

Chicago Public Radio reported on March 13, 2008, that the delegate counts were recalculated and Obama won 106 delegates to 47 for Clinton.[4]

During the state by state roll-call at the Democratic National Convention, the Illinois delegation declined to cast their votes.[5]

Analysis

[edit]

It was no surprise that Barack Obama cruised to a landslide victory in Illinois, the state he had represented in the U.S. Senate since 2005. He enjoyed massive support in his state among all demographics. According to exit polls, 57% of voters in the Illinois Democratic Primary were white and they opted for Obama 57–41; 24% of voters were African American and they, too, backed Obama 93–5; and 17 percent of voters in the primary were Hispanic/Latino and they narrowly backed Obama 50–49. Obama won all age groups but tied Clinton among senior citizens aged 65 and over. He won all voters in the state of all educational attainment levels as well as income/socioeconomic classes. He won all ideological groups and voters from both parties as well as self-identified Independents. Regarding religion, Obama won every major denomination except Roman Catholics, who narrowly backed Clinton 50-48%. Obama won Protestants by a margin of 58–38, other Christians 79–19, other religions 82–17, and atheists/agnostics 78–21.

Obama performed extremely well statewide and racked up massive victories in his home city of Chicago as well as its suburbs and the metropolitan area. He also won Northern Illinois as well as the collar counties by substantial victories. Clinton's best performance was in Southern Illinois among the more rural and conservative counties that are majority white, although Obama still won the region as a whole.

Republican

[edit]
Main article: 2008 Illinois Republican presidential primary

The 2008 Illinois Republican presidential primary was held on February 5, 2008, in the U.S. state of Illinois as one of the Republican Party's state primaries ahead of the 2008 presidential election. Illinois was one of 24 States holding a primary or caucus on Super Tuesday. Delegates from each of Illinois' 19 congressional districts are selected by direct election. In addition, the primary ballot also contains a preference poll that lists the presidential candidates.

2008 Illinois Republican presidential primary[6][7]
Candidate Votes Percentage Delegates
John McCain 426,777 47.45% 54
Mitt Romney 257,265 28.60% 3
Mike Huckabee 148,053 16.46% 0
Ron Paul 45,055 5.01% 0
Rudy Giuliani* 11,837 1.32% 0
Fred Thompson* 7,259 0.81% 0
Alan Keyes 2,318 0.26% 0
Jim Mitchell, Jr. 483 0.05% 0
Tom Tancredo* 375 0.04% 0
Total 899,422 100% 57

*Candidate withdrew prior to the primary

Green

[edit]
2008 Illinois Green Party presidential primary
February 5, 2008 (2008-02-05) 2012 →
44 Green National Convention delegates
 
Candidate Cynthia McKinney Howie Hawkins
Party Green Green
Home state Georgia New York
Delegate count 25 8
Popular vote 1,513 464
Percentage 56.62% 17.37%
 
Candidate Kent Mesplay Jared A. Ball
Party Green Green
Home state California
Delegate count 6 5
Popular vote 384 311
Percentage 14.37% 11.64%

The 2008 Illinois Green Party presidential primary was held on February 5, 2008, in the U.S. state of Illinois as one of the Green Party's state primaries ahead of the 2008 presidential election.

By virtue of Green Party candidate Rich Whitney's performance in the 2006 Illinois gubernatorial election, the party had earned the right to have a state-run primary in 2008.

Illinois delegation at the 2008 Green Party National Convention
Illinois Green Party presidential primary, February 5, 2008[8][9][10][11][12]
Candidate Votes Percentage National delegates
Cynthia McKinney 1,513 56.62% 25
Howie Hawkins 464 17.37% 8
Kent Mesplay 384 14.37% 6
Jared A. Ball 311 11.64% 5
Total 2,672 100% 44

Campaign

[edit]

Predictions

[edit]

There were 16 news organizations who made state-by-state predictions of the election. Here are their last predictions before election day:

Source Ranking
D.C. Political Report[13] Likely D
Cook Political Report[14] Solid D
The Takeaway[15] Solid D
Electoral-vote.com[16] Solid D
Washington Post[17] Solid D
Politico[18] Solid D
RealClearPolitics[19] Solid D
FiveThirtyEight[17] Solid D
CQ Politics[20] Solid D
The New York Times[21] Solid D
CNN[22] Safe D
NPR[17] Solid D
MSNBC[17] Solid D
Fox News[23] Likely D
Associated Press[24] Likely D
Rasmussen Reports[25] Safe D

Polling

[edit]
Main article: Statewide opinion polling for the United States presidential election, 2008: Illinois

Obama won every single pre-election poll, and each by a double-digit margin and with at least 52% (with the exception of an ARG poll). The final 3 polls averaged Obama leading 60% to 35%.[26]

Fundraising

[edit]

Obama raised $35,307,625. McCain raised $7,207,428.[27]

Advertising and visits

[edit]

Obama spent $23,319. McCain and interest groups spent $52,865.[28] The Democratic ticket visited the state 13 times. McCain's ticket visited the state twice.[29]

Analysis

[edit]

For most of the second half of the 20th century, Illinois was reckoned as a Republican-leaning swing state. It voted Republican in every election from 1952 to 1988, save for 1960 and 1964. However, George H. W. Bush just barely won the state in 1988, and it swung heavily to Bill Clinton and the Democrats in 1992. Since then, Democrats have won the state by fairly comfortable margins, and it is now reckoned as the most solidly Democratic state in the Midwest.

The Democratic trend in Illinois can be largely attributed to Cook County, home to Chicago, which makes up about 41.2% of the state's total population.[30] While Chicago has been a Democratic stronghold for decades, the suburban areas of Cook County have historically tilted Republican. However, the brand of Republicanism in the suburbs has historically been moderate, and these areas swung Democratic as the national party moved more to the right. Democrats also do very well in the Illinois portions of the Quad Cities and St. Louis areas. Additionally, the historically Republican collar counties near Chicago – DuPage, Lake, McHenry, Kane, and Will – have become friendlier to Democrats at the national level.

Barack Obama, the junior U.S. senator from Illinois at the time of the election, carried the state handily, defeating John McCain of Arizona by a margin of 1.38 million votes. Obama carried his home county, Cook County, with roughly 76% of the vote, the highest percentage of any Democratic presidential candidate since its incorporation in 1831. He also swept all five collar counties, becoming the first Democratic candidate since Franklin Pierce in 1852 to do so, with DuPage, Kendall, Lake, and Will giving him double-digit margins. Notably, DuPage, Kane, Kendall, and McHenry had not supported a Democrat for president since that election.[31] Obama improved on Kerry's performance enough that he would have prevailed in the state even if the Democratic stronghold of Cook County had its votes excluded, albeit by a narrower margin of 1,790,324 votes to McCain's 1,543,443 or 53.7% - 46.3% of the two-party vote. This is the only time in the 21st century that the Democratic candidate has done so.

Obama also did very well in several rural counties that historically voted Republican. He became the first Democrat to win Carroll County since that county was created in 1839, in the process breaking the last remaining Republican streak stretching from initial GOP candidate John C. Frémont in 1856, and the first Democrat to win Boone County since James K. Polk in 1844. McCain did, however, win several of the more rural counties in Southern Illinois; Obama thus became the first-ever Democrat to win the White House without carrying Christian County. It was not nearly enough, however, to put a serious dent in Obama's 25-point margin in the state.[32] As of the 2020 presidential election, this is the last presidential election that a Democrat won all of Chicago's collar counties. This is also the last time a Democrat won Illinois outside of Cook County.

During the same election, senior U.S. Senator and Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin, a Democrat, was reelected to the U.S. Senate with 67.84% of the vote over Republican Dr. Steve Sauerberg who received 28.53%. At the state level, Democrats picked up three seats in the Illinois House of Representatives.

Results

[edit]
2008 United States presidential election in Illinois[2]
Party Candidate Running mate Votes Percentage Electoral votes
Democratic Barack Obama Joe Biden 3,419,348 61.92% 21
Republican John McCain Sarah Palin 2,031,179 36.78% 0
Independent Ralph Nader Matt Gonzalez 31,152 0.56% 0
Libertarian Bob Barr Wayne Allyn Root 19,642 0.36% 0
Green Cynthia McKinney Rosa Clemente 11,838 0.21% 0
Constitution Chuck Baldwin Darrell Castle 8,256 0.15% 0
New Party John Joseph Polachek 1,149 0.02% 0
Write-Ins Write-ins 11 0.00% 0
Totals 5,522,371 100.00% 21
Voter turnout 58.1%

Results by county

[edit]
County Barack Obama
Democratic 		John McCain
Republican 		Various candidates
Other parties 		Margin Total votes cast
# % # % # % # %
Adams 11,794 38.17% 18,711 60.55% 397 1.29% -6,917 -22.38% 30,902
Alexander 2,189 55.46% 1,692 42.87% 66 1.67% 497 12.59% 3,947
Bond 3,843 48.28% 3,947 49.59% 170 2.58% -104 -1.31% 7,960
Boone 11,333 50.96% 10,403 46.78% 502 2.25% 930 4.18% 22,238
Brown 986 38.26% 1,544 59.91% 47 1.82% -558 -21.65% 2,577
Bureau 8,889 51.82% 7,911 46.12% 353 2.05% 978 5.70% 17,153
Calhoun 1,423 52.59% 1,221 45.12% 62 2.29% 202 7.47% 2,706
Carroll 3,965 51.54% 3,596 46.74% 132 1.72% 369 4.80% 7,693
Cass 2,690 49.52% 2,617 48.18% 125 2.31% 73 1.34% 5,432
Champaign 48,597 57.57% 33,871 40.13% 1,940 2.29% 14,726 17.44% 84,408
Christian 6,918 45.65% 7,872 51.94% 365 2.41% -954 -6.29% 15,155
Clark 3,742 45.02% 4,409 53.04% 161 1.94% -667 -8.02% 8,312
Clay 2,425 37.50% 3,926 60.72% 115 1.79% -1,501 -23.22% 6,466
Clinton 7,657 44.22% 9,357 54.04% 300 1.74% -1,700 -9.82% 17,314
Coles 11,716 50.60% 10,978 47.42% 459 1.98% 738 3.18% 23,153
Cook 1,629,024 76.21% 487,736 22.82% 20,706 0.97% 1,141,288 53.39% 2,137,466
Crawford 3,883 42.42% 5,070 55.39% 200 2.19% -1,187 -12.97% 9,153
Cumberland 2,055 38.49% 3,156 59.11% 128 2.40% -1,101 -20.62% 5,339
DeKalb 25,784 57.33% 18,266 40.61% 924 2.05% 7,518 16.72% 44,974
DeWitt 3,308 42.24% 4,348 55.52% 175 2.23% -1,040 -13.28% 7,831
Douglas 3,228 38.52% 5,005 59.73% 146 1.74% -1,777 -21.21% 8,379
DuPage 228,698 54.72% 183,626 43.93% 5,649 1.35% 45,072 10.79% 417,973
Edgar 3,743 45.18% 4,398 53.09% 143 1.73% -655 -7.91% 8,284
Edwards 1,140 33.91% 2,137 63.56% 85 2.53% -997 -29.65% 3,362
Effingham 5,262 31.17% 11,323 67.08% 295 1.75% -6,061 -35.91% 16,880
Fayette 3,967 40.86% 5,499 56.64% 242 2.49% -1,532 -15.78% 9,708
Ford 2,227 34.80% 4,079 63.73% 94 1.47% -1,852 -28.93% 6,400
Franklin 8,880 47.45% 9,404 50.25% 430 2.30% -524 -2.80% 18,714
Fulton 9,732 59.45% 6,251 38.19% 386 2.36% 3,481 21.26% 16,369
Gallatin 1,587 55.26% 1,212 42.20% 73 2.54% 375 13.06% 2,872
Greene 2,619 44.95% 3,053 52.40% 154 2.64% -434 -7.45% 5,826
Grundy 11,063 49.76% 10,687 48.07% 482 2.17% 376 1.69% 22,232
Hamilton 1,796 41.92% 2,353 54.93% 135 3.15% -557 -13.01% 4,284
Hancock 4,141 43.73% 5,161 54.50% 167 1.76% -1,020 -10.77% 9,469
Hardin 892 39.43% 1,330 58.80% 40 1.77% -438 -19.37% 2,262
Henderson 2,215 57.85% 1,541 40.25% 73 1.91% 674 17.60% 3,829
Henry 13,181 53.04% 11,263 45.33% 405 1.63% 1,918 7.71% 24,849
Iroquois 4,643 34.08% 8,695 63.82% 286 2.10% -4,052 -29.74% 13,624
Jackson 15,248 59.52% 9,687 37.81% 682 2.66% 5,561 21.71% 25,617
Jasper 2,063 40.12% 2,964 57.64% 115 2.24% -901 -17.52% 5,142
Jefferson 7,462 43.33% 9,302 54.02% 457 2.65% -1,840 -10.69% 17,221
Jersey 5,042 47.50% 5,329 50.20% 244 2.30% -287 -2.70% 10,615
Jo Daviess 6,403 54.49% 5,170 44.00% 177 1.51% 1,233 10.49% 11,750
Johnson 1,871 31.64% 3,912 66.15% 131 2.22% -2,041 -34.51% 5,914
Kane 106,756 55.21% 83,963 43.42% 2,644 1.37% 22,793 11.79% 193,363
Kankakee 24,750 51.41% 22,527 46.80% 861 1.79% 2,223 4.61% 48,138
Kendall 24,742 52.95% 21,380 45.75% 609 1.30% 3,362 7.20% 46,731
Knox 14,191 58.89% 9,419 39.09% 488 2.03% 4,772 19.80% 24,098
Lake 177,242 59.10% 118,545 39.53% 4,113 1.37% 58,697 19.57% 299,900
LaSalle 27,443 54.55% 21,872 43.47% 995 1.98% 5,571 11.08% 50,310
Lawrence 3,016 45.99% 3,403 51.89% 139 2.12% -387 -5.90% 6,558
Lee 7,765 47.47% 8,258 50.49% 334 2.04% -493 -3.02% 16,357
Livingston 6,189 39.50% 9,191 58.66% 289 1.84% -3,002 -19.16% 15,669
Logan 5,250 40.57% 7,429 57.41% 262 2.02% -2,179 -16.84% 12,941
Macon 25,487 49.60% 24,948 48.55% 954 1.86% 539 1.05% 51,389
Macoupin 12,090 53.87% 9,891 44.07% 462 2.06% 2,199 9.80% 22,443
Madison 68,979 53.60% 57,177 44.43% 2,534 1.97% 11,802 9.17% 128,690
Marion 8,345 47.93% 8,691 49.92% 374 2.15% -346 -1.99% 17,410
Marshall 3,081 48.53% 3,145 49.54% 122 1.92% -64 -1.01% 6,348
Mason 3,542 51.85% 3,141 45.98% 148 2.17% 401 5.87% 6,831
Massac 2,693 37.36% 4,371 60.63% 145 2.01% -1,678 -23.27% 7,209
McDonough 6,783 51.89% 6,055 46.32% 234 1.79% 728 5.57% 13,072
McHenry 72,288 51.77% 64,845 46.44% 2,499 1.79% 7,443 5.33% 139,632
McLean 37,689 49.67% 36,767 48.46% 1,422 1.87% 922 1.21% 75,878
Menard 2,706 41.78% 3,672 56.69% 99 1.53% -966 -14.91% 6,477
Mercer 4,887 55.10% 3,833 43.21% 150 1.69% 1,054 11.89% 8,870
Monroe 7,953 43.87% 9,881 54.50% 295 1.63% -1,928 -10.63% 18,129
Montgomery 6,491 50.28% 6,150 47.64% 268 2.08% 341 2.64% 12,909
Morgan 7,467 48.51% 7,591 49.31% 336 2.18% -124 -0.80% 15,394
Moultrie 2,668 42.53% 3,471 55.33% 134 2.14% -803 -12.80% 6,273
Ogle 11,253 45.13% 13,144 52.72% 537 2.15% -1,891 -7.59% 24,934
Peoria 45,906 56.19% 34,579 42.32% 1,219 1.49% 11,327 13.87% 81,704
Perry 4,701 47.03% 5,086 50.89% 208 2.08% -385 -3.86% 9,995
Piatt 3,859 42.79% 4,991 55.34% 168 1.86% -1,132 -12.55% 9,018
Pike 3,024 39.57% 4,457 58.31% 162 2.12% -1,433 -18.74% 7,643
Pope 845 37.88% 1,343 60.20% 43 1.93% -498 -22.32% 2,231
Pulaski 1,638 50.09% 1,593 48.72% 39 1.19% 45 1.37% 3,270
Putnam 1,900 56.85% 1,378 41.23% 64 1.92% 522 15.62% 3,342
Randolph 7,395 48.64% 7,538 49.59% 269 1.77% -143 -0.95% 15,202
Richland 3,181 41.46% 4,329 56.42% 163 2.12% -1,148 -14.96% 7,673
Rock Island 42,210 61.52% 25,364 36.97% 1,034 1.51% 16,846 24.55% 68,608
Saline 5,083 44.29% 6,099 53.15% 294 2.56% -1,016 -8.86% 11,476
Sangamon 51,300 51.25% 46,945 46.90% 1,861 1.86% 4,355 4.35% 100,106
Schuyler 1,900 49.49% 1,833 47.75% 106 2.76% 67 1.74% 3,839
Scott 1,090 41.81% 1,455 55.81% 62 2.38% -365 -14.00% 2,607
Shelby 4,245 38.94% 6,396 58.67% 261 2.39% -2,151 -19.73% 10,902
St. Clair 76,160 60.42% 47,958 38.05% 1,936 1.54% 28,202 22.37% 126,054
Stark 1,357 46.49% 1,513 51.83% 49 1.68% -156 -5.34% 2,919
Stephenson 11,349 52.40% 9,909 45.75% 399 1.84% 1,440 6.65% 21,657
Tazewell 29,384 45.87% 33,247 51.90% 1,429 2.23% -3,863 -6.03% 64,060
Union 3,918 42.80% 5,003 54.65% 233 2.55% -1,085 -11.85% 9,154
Vermilion 16,246 49.21% 16,054 48.62% 716 2.17% 192 0.59% 33,016
Wabash 2,462 42.49% 3,254 56.16% 78 1.35% -792 -13.67% 5,794
Warren 4,286 53.17% 3,637 45.12% 138 1.71% 649 8.05% 8,061
Washington 3,342 42.13% 4,473 56.39% 117 1.48% -1,131 -14.26% 7,932
Wayne 2,547 31.56% 5,390 66.78% 134 1.66% -2,843 -35.22% 8,071
White 3,315 44.48% 3,987 53.50% 151 2.03% -672 -9.02% 7,453
Whiteside 15,607 57.82% 10,883 40.32% 504 1.87% 4,724 17.50% 26,994
Will 160,406 55.86% 122,597 42.69% 4,178 1.45% 37,809 13.17% 287,181
Williamson 12,589 41.59% 17,039 56.30% 638 2.11% -4,450 -14.71% 30,266
Winnebago 70,034 55.27% 53,886 42.53% 2,784 2.20% 16,148 12.74% 126,704
Woodford 6,999 35.82% 12,191 62.39% 350 1.79% -5,192 -26.57% 19,540
Totals 3,419,348 61.83% 2,031,179 36.73% 79,652 1.44% 1,388,169 25.10% 5,530,179
County Flips:

Counties that flipped from Republican to Democratic

[edit]

By congressional district

[edit]

Barack Obama won 16 of the state's 19 congressional districts, including four districts held by Republicans.

District Obama McCain Representative
1st 86.53% 12.93% Bobby Rush
2nd 89.68% 9.86% Jesse Jackson Jr.
3rd 63.60% 35.08% Dan Lipinski
4th 85.44% 13.22% Luis Gutierrez
5th 72.82% 26.22% Rahm Emanuel (110th Congress)
Mike Quigley (111th Congress)
6th 55.91% 42.76% Peter Roskam
7th 87.77% 11.57% Danny K. Davis
8th 55.74% 42.86% Melissa Bean
9th 72.34% 26.43% Jan Schakowsky
10th 60.92% 38.13% Mark Kirk
11th 53.32% 45.14% Jerry Weller (110th Congress)
Debbie Halvorson (111th Congress)
12th 55.49% 42.89% Jerry Costello
13th 54.21% 44.60% Judy Biggert
14th 54.83% 43.77% Dennis Hastert (110th Congress)
Bill Foster (111th Congress)
15th 47.82% 50.43% Timothy V. Johnson
16th 52.78% 45.52% Donald Manzullo
17th 56.39% 42.15% Philip Hare
18th 48.32% 50.03% Ray LaHood (110th Congress)
Aaron Schock (111th Congress)
19th 43.98% 54.25% John Shimkus

Electors

[edit]
Main article: List of 2008 United States presidential electors

Technically the voters of Illinois cast their ballots for electors: representatives to the Electoral College. Illinois is allocated 21 electors because it has 19 congressional districts and 2 senators. All candidates who appear on the ballot or qualify to receive write-in votes must submit a list of 21 electors, who pledge to vote for their candidate and the candidate's running mate. Whoever wins the majority of votes in the state is awarded all 21 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.[33] 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 21 were pledged to Barack Obama and Joe Biden:[34]

  1. Constance A. Howard
  2. Carrie Austin
  3. Shirley R. Madigan
  4. Ricardo Muñoz
  5. James DeLeo
  6. Marge Friedman
  7. Vera Davis
  8. Nancy Shepardson
  9. William Marovitz
  10. Lauren Beth Gash
  11. Debbie Halvorson
  12. Molly McKenzie
  13. Julia Kennedy Beckman
  14. Mark Guethle
  15. Lynn Foster
  16. John M. Nelson
  17. Mary Boland
  18. Shirley McCombs
  19. Don Johnston
  20. Barbara Flynn Currie
  21. John P. Daley

See also

[edit]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ a b "Voter Turnout". www.elections.il.gov. Illinois State Board of Elections. Archived from the original on May 30, 2021. Retrieved March 24, 2020.
  2. ^ a b c "Election Results". www.elections.il.gov. Illinois State Board of Elections. Archived from the original on February 22, 2020. Retrieved March 23, 2020.
  3. ^ "Illinois Democratic Primary". Real Clear Politics. Retrieved February 4, 2008.
  4. ^ "Clinton Loses Two Illinois Delegates". Chicago Public Radio (WBEZ). Archived from the original on March 14, 2008. Retrieved April 2, 2008.
  5. ^ "Roll Call Vote - 27 August 2008".
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