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2008 Romney Infobox

The 2008 United States presidential election was the 56th quadrennial presidential election, held on Tuesday, November 4, 2008. The Republican ticket of Mitt Romney, the Governor of Massachusetts, and John Sununu, the junior U.S. Senator from New Hampshire, defeated the Democratic ticket of Dennis Kucinich, U.S. Representative from Ohio and former Mayor of Cleveland, and Howard Dean, the former Governor of Vermont. Romney's victory ended a string of Democratic presidential wins that extended back to 1996.

Incumbent Democratic President Al Gore was ineligible to pursue a third term due to term limits established by the 22nd Amendment. Romney secured the Republican nomination by March 2008, defeating former Governors Mike Hucakbee and Jim Gilmore, former Mayor of New York City Rudy Giuliani, and former Senator Fred Thompson, among other challengers. With Vice−President Joe Lieberman declining to pursue the nomination, the Democratic primaries were marked by a sharp contest between Kucinich and Dean, each of whom considered themselves the standard−bearer of the liberal cause within the Party. After a long primary season, Kucinich secured the Democratic presidential nomination in June 2008, and in a bid to heal tensions from the primaries, selected Dean as his running mate.

Both major−party candidates focused primarily on domestic issues, such as the budget, tax relief, and reforms for federal social insurance programs, although foreign policy was not ignored, with Romney calling for a tougher line towards China and Russia. Romney highlighted his executive experience as Governor of Massachusetts, adopted a moderate tone on divisive social issues such as gay rights and abortion, and sought to frame himself as a "compassionate conservative", who could work across the aisle with Democrats and independents to get things done. Kucinich, on his part, called for universal healthcare, the elimination of student loan debt, and the creation of extensive new jobs and subsidy programs, geared at blue−collar workers and minority communities. Ultimately, Romney was able to capitalize on the country's desire for change, and Kucinich did not actively campaign with President Gore, with whom he had ideological disagreements, and who had opposed his nomination bid.

Romney won a decisive victory, winning the Electoral College and popular vote by landslide margins. He carried 49 of the 50 states. Kucinich won only Illinois and the District of Columbia. Romney's total popular vote count (78.4 million votes) and margin of victory (26.0 million votes) stood as the largest ever won by a presidential candidate until 2016. Republicans expanded their majority in the U.S. Senate and won control of the U.S. House.

Results[]

2008 Presidential Election Results by County (Tilden Map)

Election results by county.

  Mitt Romney
  Dennis Kucinich

The total vote exceeded that of 2004 by nine million, which was an increase of 35 million over the vote cast in 1996 and 50 million more than that of 1976. Every section in the Union increased its vote, with the fast−growing Sun Belt states of California, North Carolina, Florida, Texas, and Georgia recording the most significant increases. California, in fact, experienced an increase of more than one million votes.

United States presidential election results by congressional district, 2008 (Ferguson Scenario)

Results by congressional district.

Romney won the election by a landslide margin, carrying 49 states and winning an overwhelming 514 electoral votes. The 78,442,329 votes cast for Romney was the greatest number of votes ever won by a presidential candidate until then and constituted an increase of more than 29,640,759 over the Smith vote four years earlier. Romney's margin of victory – 26,020,128 – was the largest margin of victory for any presidential candidate in history. Kucinich carried Illinois and the District of Columbia with 24 electoral votes.

Romney's top 10 states were an interesting set of geographic disparities. They included Idaho, Utah, and Wyoming in the Mountain West; New Hampshire in the Northeast; Alabama and Georgia in the Deep South; and Kansas, Nebraska, North Dakota, and Oklahoma on the Great Plains. Kucinich's top 10 included the traditionally Democratic states of Hawaii, Rhode Island, and West Virginia. They also included three Midwestern states – Illinois (his only state victory), Michigan, and Minnesota, two additional Northeastern states - Maryland and New York, and two states on the West Coast - Oregon and Washington.

Kucinich's victory in Illinois made him the first losing Democrat to carry that state since Lewis Cass in 1848, and the first to do so against a Republican.

There was a nearly universal Republican trend throughout the country. Romney carried 1,537 counties that had gone for Gore in 2004. He flipped at least one county in every state. In eleven states, the Kucinich−Dean ticket failed to carry a single county.[lower-alpha 1] Not one county shifted from Smith in 2004 to Kucinich in 2008, although Kucinich did run ahead of Gore in a number of counties he failed to carry. Kucinich carried 234 counties (7.45%), the fewest number of counties carried by a major−party presidential candidate since George McGovern in 1972.[lower-alpha 2] The Republican total leaped to 2,909 counties (92.55%), the largest number of counties carried by a presidential candidate since that election. Romney won a majority of votes in 2,898 counties, while Kucinich won a majority in 230. Romney became the first Republican presidential candidate since George H.W. Bush in 1992 to win at least one county in every state.[lower-alpha 3] He carried all 26 counties which had voted for Donald Trump in 2000, and he won Trump's 2004 voters by a ratio of 3−1 over Kucinich.

In the nation's 23 most populous counties (metropolitan America), Romney beat Kucinich, amassing 11,526,513 votes (51.62%) to Kucinich's 10,714,385 (47.98%). Romney's margin of victory in these counties was 812,128 votes, or 3.64%. This was the first time a Republican had won the metropolitan vote since George H.W. Bush in 1992. Third parties received 89,313 votes (0.40%). In the remainder of the country, Romney routed Kucinich, amassing 66,915,816 votes (61.40%) to Kucinich's 41,707,816 (38.27%). Third parties received 359,977 votes (0.33%). Romney's margin of victory in non−metropolitan America was 25,208,000 votes, or 23.13%.

With two−time Reform Party nominee Donald Trump declining to mount a third presidential bid, third−party support sank almost to the vanishing point, as the election of 2008 proved to be the first genuinely two−party contest since Mario Cuomo's election in 1996. All "Other" votes totaled only 0.34% of the national vote, and in twenty-one states and the District of Columbia, there was no third−party vote.[lower-alpha 4]


Presidential candidate Party Home state Popular vote Electoral
vote
Running mate
Count Percentage Vice-presidential candidate Home state Electoral vote
Willard Mitt Romney Republican Massachusetts 78,442,329 59.74% 514 John Edward Sununu New Hampshire 514
Dennis John Kucinich Democratic Ohio 52,422,201 39.92% 24 Howard Brush Dean III Vermont 24
Robert Laurence "Bob" Barr Jr. Libertarian Georgia 244,371 0.19% 0 Wayne Allyn Root Nevada 0
Cynthia Ann McKinney Green Georgia 188,040 0.14% 0 Rosa Alicia Clemente New York 0
Other 16,879 0.01% Other
Total 131,313,820 100% 538 538
Needed to win 270 270
59.74% 39.92% 0.19% 0.14% 0.01%
Romney Kucinich Barr McKinney Others
Popular vote
Romney
  
59.74%
Kucinich
  
39.92%
Others
  
0.34%
514 24
Romney Kucinich
Electoral vote—President
Romney
  
95.54%
Kucinich
  
4.46%
Electoral vote—Vice President
Sununu
  
95.54%
Dean
  
4.46%

Geography of results[]

Romney 2008 States-Charts Map


Cartographic gallery[]

Results by state[]

The following table records the official vote tallies for each state for those presidential candidates who were listed on ballots in enough states to have a theoretical chance for a majority in the Electoral College. State popular vote results are from the Federal Election Commission report. The column labeled "Margin" shows Romney's margin of victory over Kucinich (the margin is negative for states and districts won by Kucinich).

Legend
States/districts won by Romney/Sununu
States/districts won by Kucinich/Dean
Mitt Romney
Republican
Dennis Kucinich
Democratic
Bob Barr
Libertarian
Cynthia McKinney
Green
Others Margin Total votes
State/district EV # % EV # % EV # % EV # % EV # % EV # % #
Alabama 9 1,444,046 68.77 9 655,773 31.23 788,273 37.54 2,099,819 AL
Alaska 3 199,339 61.11 3 126,858 38.89 72,481 22.22 326,197 AK
Arizona 10 1,457,503 63.55 10 835,972 36.45 621,531 27.10 2,293,475 AZ
Arkansas 6 657,838 60.54 6 416,392 38.32 12,387 1.14 241,446 22.22 1,086,617 AR
California 55 7,793,740 57.47 55 5,722,049 42.19 14,918 0.11 27,124 0.20 4,069 0.03 2,071,691 15.28 13,561,900 CA
Colorado 9 1,447,361 60.27 9 929,851 38.72 10,898 0.45 13,352 0.56 517,510 21.55 2,401,462 CO
Connecticut 7 1,003,229 60.92 7 640,344 38.88 3,224 0.20 362,885 22.04 1,646,797 CT
Delaware 3 235,611 57.13 3 175,692 42.60 1,109 0.27 59,919 14.53 412,412 DE
D.C. 3 40,835 15.36 225,018 84.64 3 −184,183 −69.28 265,853 DC
Florida 27 5,480,834 65.32 27 2,909,910 34.68 2,570,924 30.64 8,390,744 FL
Georgia 15 2,619,202 66.74 15 1,293,511 32.96 11,773 0.30 1,325,691 33.78 3,924,486 GA
Hawaii 4 234,313 51.66 4 219,255 48.34 15,058 3.32 453,568 HI
Idaho 4 472,736 72.16 4 182,386 27.84 290,350 44.32 655,122 ID
Illinois 21 2,747,932 49.76 2,774,439 50.24 21 −26,507 −0.48 5,522,371 IL
Indiana 11 1,696,025 61.65 11 1,044,025 37.95 9,078 0.33 1,926 0.07 652,000 23.70 2,751,054 IN
Iowa 7 907,825 59.06 7 616,694 40.12 4,590 0.30 8,014 0.52 291,131 18.94 1,537,123 IA
Kansas 6 854,605 69.15 6 376,941 30.50 4,326 0.35 477,664 38.65 1,235,872 KS
Kentucky 8 1,096,703 60.04 8 708,550 38.79 5,989 0.33 15,378 0.84 388,153 21.25 1,826,620 KY
Louisiana 9 1,199,398 61.17 9 754,366 38.47 6,997 0.36 445,032 22.70 1,960,761 LA
Maine 4 459,609 62.86 4 268,702 36.75 2,852 0.39 190,907 26.11 731,163 ME
Maryland 10 1,475,273 56.06 10 1,156,323 43.94 318,950 12.12 2,631,596 MD
Massachusetts 12 1,807,597 58.67 12 1,264,146 41.03 1,540 0.05 7,394 0.24 308 0.01 543,451 17.64 3,080,985 MA
Michigan 17 2,782,482 55.63 17 2,208,280 44.15 11,004 0.22 574,202 11.48 5,001,766 MI
Minnesota 10 1,562,286 53.68 10 1,341,098 46.08 4,657 0.16 2,328 0.08 221,188 7.60 2,910,369 MN
Mississippi 6 832,737 64.56 6 448,228 34.75 6,707 0.52 2,193 0.17 384,509 29.81 1,289,865 MS
Missouri 11 1,755,708 60.02 11 1,169,497 39.98 586,211 20.04 2,925,205 MO
Montana 3 303,497 61.90 3 175,184 35.73 1,912 0.39 6,717 1.37 2,992 0.61 128,313 26.17 490,302 MT
Nebraska 5 565,544 70.58 5 235,737 29.42 329,807 41.16 801,281 NE
Nevada 5 615,648 63.61 5 352,200 36.39 263,448 27.22 967,848 NV
New Hampshire 4 489,290 68.82 4 221,680 31.18 267,610 37.64 710,970 NH
New Jersey 15 2,327,518 60.17 15 1,495,847 38.67 10,444 0.27 34,428 0.89 831,671 21.50 3,868,237 NJ
New Mexico 5 506,811 61.05 5 319,935 38.54 3,412 0.41 186,876 22.51 830,158 NM
New York 31 4,113,877 53.84 31 3,507,952 45.91 8,405 0.11 6,112 0.08 4,585 0.06 605,925 7.93 7,640,931 NY
North Carolina 15 2,666,223 61.85 15 1,644,566 38.15 1,021,657 23.70 4,310,789 NC
North Dakota 3 209,318 66.11 3 106,701 33.70 602 0.19 102,617 32.41 316,621 ND
Ohio 20 3,333,106 58.39 20 2,375,244 41.61 957,862 16.78 5,708,350 OH
Oklahoma 7 974,864 66.65 7 487,797 33.35 487,067 33.30 1,462,661 OK
Oregon 7 1,012,454 55.39 7 813,216 44.49 2,194 0.12 199,238 10.90 1,827,864 OR
Pennsylvania 21 3,413,133 56.76 21 2,586,910 43.02 9,621 0.16 3,608 0.06 826,223 13.74 6,013,272 PA
Rhode Island 4 240,082 50.89 4 231,684 49.11 8,398 1.78 471,766 RI
South Carolina 8 1,256,506 65.41 8 647,559 33.71 6,915 0.36 8,644 0.45 1,345 0.07 608,947 31.70 1,920,969 SC
South Dakota 3 243,509 63.75 3 138,466 36.25 105,043 27.50 381,975 SD
Tennessee 11 1,630,563 62.72 11 968,926 37.27 260 0.01 661,637 25.45 2,599,749 TN
Texas 34 5,020,698 62.15 34 2,977,127 36.86 56,116 0.69 23,854 0.30 2,043,571 25.29 8,077,795 TX
Utah 5 717,420 75.33 5 234,950 24.67 482,470 50.66 952,370 UT
Vermont 3 193,142 59.42 3 131,904 40.58 61,238 18.84 325,046 VT
Virginia 13 2,390,333 64.20 13 1,309,843 35.18 23,084 0.62 1,080,490 29.02 3,723,260 VA
Washington 11 1,649,936 54.33 11 1,357,181 44.69 20,043 0.66 9,718 0.31 292,755 9.64 3,036,878 WA
West Virginia 5 396,536 55.58 5 316,915 44.42 79,621 11.16 713,451 WV
Wisconsin 10 1,727,995 57.92 10 1,245,278 41.74 2,387 0.08 4,177 0.14 3,580 0.12 482,717 16.18 2,983,417 WI
Wyoming 3 179,559 70.51 3 75,099 29.49 104,460 41.02 254,658 WY
U.S. Total 538 78,442,329 59.74 514 52,422,201 39.92 24 244,371 0.19 188,040 0.14 16,879 0.01 26,020,128 19.82 131,313,820 US


Close states[]

Margin of victory less than 5% (29 electoral votes):

  1. Illinois 0.48% (26,507 votes)
  2. Rhode Island 1.78% (8,398 votes)
  3. Hawaii 3.32% (15,058 votes)

Margin of victory over 5%, but less than 10% (52 electoral votes):

  1. Minnesota 7.60% (221,188 votes)
  2. New York 7.93% (605,925 votes)
  3. Washington 9.64% (292,755 votes)

Tipping point:

  1. Kentucky 21.25% (388,153 votes)

Statistics[]

Counties with highest percent of vote (Republican)

  1. Garfield County, Utah 96.53%
  2. Sioux County, Iowa 95.03%
  3. Madison County, Idaho 94.95%
  4. Arthur County, Nebraska 94.65%
  5. Pierce County, Georgia 94.00%

Counties with highest percent of vote (Democratic)

  1. District of Columbia, DC 84.64%
  2. Shannon County, South Dakota 83.68%
  3. Macon County, Alabama 79.43%
  4. Jefferson County, Mississippi 79.35%
  5. The Bronx, New York 75.93%

Ballot access[]

Presidential ticket Party Ballot access Votes
Romney / Sununu Republican 50+DC 78,442,329
Kucinich / Dean Democratic 50+DC 52,422,201
Barr / Root Libertarian 26 244,371
McKinney / Clemente Green 19 188,040

Voter demographics[]

The 2008 presidential vote by demographic subgroup
Demographic subgroup Romney Kucinich % of
total vote
Total vote 60 40 100
Ideology
Liberals 15 85 22
Moderates 61 39 44
Conservatives 86 14 34
Party
Democrats 25 75 39
Republicans 97 3 32
Independents 64 36 29
Gender
Men 61 39 47
Women 58 42 53
Marital status
Married 64 36 66
Non−married 50 50 34
Race
White 69 31 74
Black 13 87 12
Asian 43 57 2
Other 43 57 2
Hispanic 38 62 10
Religion
Protestant 68 32 54
Catholic 60 40 27
Jewish 41 59 2
Other 36 64 6
None 31 69 12
Religious service attendance
Weekly or more 69 31 39
Monthly 59 41 15
A few times a year 53 47 28
Never 48 52 16
White evangelical or born−again Christian?
White evangelical or born−again Christian 88 12 26
Everyone else 49 51 74
Age
18–29 years old 52 48 18
30−44 years old 59 41 35
45−64 years old 63 37 31
65 and older 61 39 16
Age by race
Whites 18–29 years old 60 40 11
Whites 30–44 years old 71 29 20
Whites 45–64 years old 70 30 30
Whites 65 and older 72 28 13
Blacks 18–29 years old 15 85 3
Blacks 30–44 years old 12 88 4
Blacks 45–64 years old 12 88 4
Blacks 65 and older 13 87 1
Others 48 52 14
First time voter?
First time voter 51 49 11
Everyone else 60 40 89
Sexual orientation
Gay, lesbian, or bisexual 42 58 4
Heterosexual 60 40 96
Education
High school or less 62 38 24
Some college education 61 39 31
College graduate 64 36 28
Postgraduate education 53 47 17
Family income
Under $50,000 53 47 37
$50,000–100,000 61 39 36
Over $100,000 66 34 26
Union households
Union 47 53 21
Non−union 63 37 79
Military service
Veterans 65 35 15
Non−veterans 58 42 85
Region
Northeast 58 42 21
Midwest 57 43 24
South 63 37 32
West 59 41 23
Community size
Urban 51 49 30
Suburban 63 37 49
Rural 63 37 21

Explanatory notes[]

  1. Kucinich failed to carry a single county in Connecticut, Delaware, Idaho, Maine, Nebraska, New Hampshire, Nevada, Oklahoma, Utah, Vermont, and Wyoming
  2. Donald Trump had carried 26 counties as the Reform Party nominee in 2000
  3. 2008 was the first election since 1992 in which any of the counties in Hawaii or Rhode Island voted Republican in a presidential election
  4. There were no third-party candidates on the ballot in Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Florida, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Maryland, Missouri, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Utah, Vermont, West Virginia, and Wyoming
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