2008 United States presidential election in Wisconsin


The 2008 United States presidential election in Wisconsin took place on November 4, 2008, and was part of the 2008 United States presidential election. Voters chose 10 representatives, or electors to the Electoral College, who voted for president and vice president.
Wisconsin was won by Democratic nominee Barack Obama by a 13.91% 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, despite the extremely close margins of victory in the previous two presidential elections. Polling throughout the state began to show a sizable and widening lead for Democrat Barack Obama of neighboring Illinois over Republican John McCain of Arizona. Obama carried Wisconsin with over 56% of the vote, significantly improving upon John Kerry's margin of victory in 2004. No presidential candidate has ever received more votes in Wisconsin than Obama. Whether measured by raw vote margin, percentage of total votes, or two-party percentage, Obama's victory remains the strongest performance for any candidate in the state since the re-election of Democrat Lyndon B. Johnson in 1964. In fact, Obama carried two of three counties that voted for Barry Goldwater in that election, was the first Democrat since Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1936 to carry Waupaca County, and only the second Democratic nominee to carry that county since the Civil War.

Primaries

Predictions

There were 16 news organizations who made state-by-state predictions of the election. Here are their last predictions before election day:
Pre-election polling early on showed a tight race. Since May 18, Obama swept every single poll. Since September 21, Obama won every poll with at least 49% of the vote. The final 3 polls averaged Obama leading 53% to 40%.

Fundraising

John McCain raised a total of $1,728,185 in the state. Barack Obama raised $4,862,486.

Advertising and visits

Obama and his interest groups spent $13,586,634. McCain and his interest groups spent $9,240,899. Each ticket visited the state 7 times.

Analysis

Having voted for the Democratic presidential nominees by extremely narrow margins in 2000 and 2004, Wisconsin was originally considered to be a swing state in 2008. However, Obama took a wide lead in the polls in Wisconsin near the final weeks before the election and many pundits and news organizations labeled the state as a safe blue state.
Obama won Wisconsin by a comfortable 13.91% margin of victory. Obama carried the heavily Democratic cities of Milwaukee and Madison by large margins, winning above two-thirds of the vote, along with some traditionally Republican cities like Green Bay and Appleton. This was consistent with Obama's pattern of strong performances in the states bordering Illinois. The state's Republican base essentially melted; John McCain only carried 13 of the state's 72 counties. McCain did best in the Milwaukee suburbs like Waukesha and Ozaukee counties. Wisconsin would not vote for a Republican candidate for president until Donald Trump in 2016., this is the last election in which Chippewa County, Brown County, Outagamie County, Jefferson County, Wood County, Oneida County, Barron County, Manitowoc County, Washburn County, Monroe County, Marathon County, Kewaunee County, Clark County, Rusk County, Oconto County, Burnett County, Calumet County, Iron County, Pierce County, Marinette County, Langlade County, Waushara County, Shawano County, and Waupaca County voted for the Democratic candidate.

Results

The presidential race in Wisconsin in 2008 was not close, with McCain winning only 13 out of 72 counties.

Results breakdown

By county

By congressional district

Barack Obama swept the state, carrying seven of the state’s eight congressional districts, including two districts held by Republicans.
DistrictMcCainObamaRepresentative
47.45%51.40%Paul Ryan
29.78%69.00%Tammy Baldwin
40.80%57.76%Ron Kind
23.61%75.39%Gwen Moore
57.73%41.28%Jim Sensenbrenner
48.72%49.91%Tom Petri
42.52%55.91%David Obey
45.12%53.59%Steve Kagen

Electors

Technically the voters of Wisconsin cast their ballots for electors: representatives to the Electoral College. Wisconsin is allocated 10 electors because it has 8 congressional districts and 2 senators. All candidates who appear on the ballot or qualify to receive write-in votes must submit a list of 10 electors, who pledge to vote for their candidate and his or her running mate. Whoever wins the majority of votes in the state is awarded all 10 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. 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.
The following were the members of the Electoral College from the state. All 10 were pledged to Barack Obama and Joe Biden:
  1. Ray Rivera
  2. Fred Risser
  3. Rollie Hick
  4. Polly Williams
  5. Dean Palmer
  6. Gordon Hintz
  7. Christine Bremer-Muggli
  8. Donsia Strong Hill
  9. Jim Doyle
  10. Joe Wineke