The 2008 United States presidential election in Texas took place on November 4, 2008, and was part of the
2008 United States presidential election
The 2008 United States presidential election was the 56th quadrennial presidential election, held on Tuesday, November 4, 2008. The Democratic ticket of Barack Obama, the junior senator from Illinois, and Joe Biden, the senior senator f ...
. Voters chose 34 representatives, or electors to the
Electoral College, who voted for
president
President most commonly refers to:
*President (corporate title)
* President (education), a leader of a college or university
* President (government title)
President may also refer to:
Automobiles
* Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ...
and
vice president
A vice president, also director in British English, is an officer in government or business who is below the president (chief executive officer) in rank. It can also refer to executive vice presidents, signifying that the vice president is on ...
.
Texas
Texas (, ; Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2020, it is the second-largest U.S. state by ...
was won by Republican nominee
John McCain by an 11.8% margin of victory despite "failing to deliver written certification of their nominations" on time to appear on the ballot.
Barack Obama
Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, Obama was the first African-American president of the ...
, the Democratic nominee and eventual President, made a similar error.
Prior to the election, all 17 news organizations considered this a state McCain would win, or a safe
red state
Starting with the 2000 United States presidential election, the terms "red state" and "blue state" have referred to U.S. states whose voters vote predominantly for one party — the Republican Party in red states and the Democratic Party in b ...
. Although the state is very diverse and has a huge
Latino
Latino or Latinos most often refers to:
* Latino (demonym), a term used in the United States for people with cultural ties to Latin America
* Hispanic and Latino Americans in the United States
* The people or cultures of Latin America;
** Latin A ...
population, Latinos in Texas, despite being fairly
Democratic, make up only 20% of the electorate. Polling throughout the state showed McCain consistently and substantially leading Obama. On Election Day, McCain easily won the state, although his margin of victory was significantly less than that of
George W. Bush
George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Republican Party, Bush family, and son of the 41st president George H. W. Bush, he ...
in
2000
File:2000 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Protests against Bush v. Gore after the 2000 United States presidential election; Heads of state meet for the Millennium Summit; The International Space Station in its infant form as seen from S ...
or
2004. This was the first election since
1996 in which the margin of victory was less than one million votes. Regardless, with its 34 electoral votes, Texas was the largest prize for McCain in 2008. This was the first time since
1924
Events
January
* January 12 – Gopinath Saha shoots Ernest Day, whom he has mistaken for Sir Charles Tegart, the police commissioner of Calcutta, and is arrested soon after.
* January 20– 30 – Kuomintang in China holds ...
that Texas gave a majority of the vote to a losing candidate.
, this is the last time the Democratic candidate won
Brewster County
Brewster County is a county located in the U.S. state of Texas. It is in West Texas and its county seat (and only city) is Alpine. It is one of the nine counties that comprise the Trans-Pecos region, and borders Mexico. Brewster County is th ...
and the last in which
Kenedy County voted for the winning candidate.
Primaries
*
2008 Texas Democratic presidential primary and caucuses
*
2008 Texas Republican presidential primary
The 2008 Texas Republican presidential primary took place on March 4, 2008. John McCain won the primary election, giving him enough delegate votes to guarantee his nomination at the 2008 Republican National Convention.
Process
The Texas Republic ...
Campaign
Predictions
There were 16 news organizations who made state-by-state predictions of the election. Here are their last predictions before election day:
Polling
McCain won every single pre-election poll. The final 3 polls averaged McCain leading 52% to 41%.
Fundraising
Obama raised $20,424,500. McCain raised $17,990,153.
Advertising and visits
Obama and his interest groups spent $9,917,565. McCain and his interest groups spent $33,983. Both campaigns visited the state twice.
Analysis
![Larsz - US election 08 (by-sa)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/4e/Larsz_-_US_election_08_%28by-sa%29.jpg)
Texas, split between the south and southwest regions of the United States, has become a consistently Republican state at all levels and is the home state of then President
George W. Bush
George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Republican Party, Bush family, and son of the 41st president George H. W. Bush, he ...
. Economically and racially diverse, Texas includes a very large swath of the
Bible Belt
The Bible Belt is a region of the Southern United States in which socially conservative Protestant Christianity plays a strong role in society and politics, and church attendance across the denominations is generally higher than the nation's a ...
, a region in which many voters, especially those in rural areas, identify as born-again or evangelical Christians, and tend to vote Republican due to their
socially conservative
Social conservatism is a political philosophy and variety of conservatism which places emphasis on traditional power structures over social pluralism. Social conservatives organize in favor of duty, traditional values and social institution ...
views. Although once part of the
Solid South
The Solid South or Southern bloc was the electoral voting bloc of the states of the Southern United States for issues that were regarded as particularly important to the interests of Democrats in those states. The Southern bloc existed especial ...
, Texas has not voted for a Democratic presidential nominee since
Jimmy Carter
James Earl Carter Jr. (born October 1, 1924) is an American politician who served as the 39th president of the United States from 1977 to 1981. A member of the Democratic Party, he previously served as the 76th governor of Georgia from 1 ...
in
1976
Events January
* January 3 – The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights enters into force.
* January 5 – The Pol Pot regime proclaims a new constitution for Democratic Kampuchea.
* January 11 – The 1976 ...
.
McCain did well throughout the state, winning the vast majority of counties by double digits. He took aknots every county in Eastern Texas, including many traditionally-Democratic areas. All the suburbs of the major cities voted Republican by large margins. He also dominated the
Texas Panhandle
The Texas Panhandle is a region of the U.S. state of Texas consisting of the northernmost 26 counties in the state. The panhandle is a square-shaped area bordered by New Mexico to the west and Oklahoma to the north and east. It is adjacent to ...
(including
Amarillo
Amarillo ( ; Spanish for " yellow") is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the seat of Potter County. It is the 14th-most populous city in Texas and the largest city in the Texas Panhandle. A portion of the city extends into Randall Cou ...
), the
Permian Basin (including
Midland and
Odessa) and the
South Plains
The South Plains is a region in northwest Texas, consisting of 24 counties. The main crop is cotton.
Counties
The South Plains region includes 24 counties:
The northernmost four (Parmer, Castro, Swisher, and Briscoe) are also considered to be p ...
(including
Lubbock
Lubbock ( )
is the 10th-most populous city in the U.S. state of Texas and the seat of government of Lubbock County. With a population of 260,993 in 2021, the city is also the 85th-most populous in the United States. The city is in the northw ...
), three of the most conservative regions in the country. He won these three regions by margins of three-to-one—his largest margin of victory in the entire country. These areas had been among the first in Texas where the old-line conservative Democrats started splitting their tickets and voting Republican nationally; some counties in this region haven't supported a Democrat since
Harry S. Truman
Harry S. Truman (May 8, 1884December 26, 1972) was the 33rd president of the United States, serving from 1945 to 1953. A leader of the Democratic Party, he previously served as the 34th vice president from January to April 1945 under Franklin ...
in
1948.
King County, a thinly populated county near the Panhandle, gave McCain 92.64% of the vote to Obama's 4.91%, McCain's best margin in any county in the nation.
Despite the expected loss, Obama improved substantially upon John Kerry's performance in
2004, narrowing the margin of victory from 22.83% down to 11.77%. He was able to flip major
urban
Urban means "related to a city". In that sense, the term may refer to:
* Urban area, geographical area distinct from rural areas
* Urban culture, the culture of towns and cities
Urban may also refer to:
General
* Urban (name), a list of people ...
counties such as
Dallas
Dallas () is the List of municipalities in Texas, third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of metropolitan statistical areas, fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 ...
,
Bexar and
Harris
Harris may refer to:
Places Canada
* Harris, Ontario
* Northland Pyrite Mine (also known as Harris Mine)
* Harris, Saskatchewan
* Rural Municipality of Harris No. 316, Saskatchewan
Scotland
* Harris, Outer Hebrides (sometimes called the Isle of ...
counties—home to the cities of
Dallas
Dallas () is the List of municipalities in Texas, third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of metropolitan statistical areas, fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 ...
,
San Antonio
("Cradle of Freedom")
, image_map =
, mapsize = 220px
, map_caption = Interactive map of San Antonio
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdivision_name = United States
, subdivision_type1= State
, subdivision_name1 = Texas
, subdivision_t ...
, and
Houston
Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 i ...
respectively. Dallas and Harris had been among the first areas of the state to turn Republican, largely due to an influx of Northern expatriates in the 1940s and 1950s. Neither county had supported a Democrat for president since
1964
Events January
* January 1 – The Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland is dissolved.
* January 5 - In the first meeting between leaders of the Roman Catholic and Orthodox churches since the fifteenth century, Pope Paul VI and Patriarc ...
. Bexar had last gone Democratic in 1996. A strong turnout of minority voters gave Obama the edge in these three counties. Obama also performed strongly in
Travis County
Travis County is located in south central Texas. As of the 2020 census, the population was 1,290,188. It is the fifth-most populous county in Texas. Its county seat is Austin, the capital of Texas. The county was established in 1840 and is n ...
, which contains the state capital and liberal bastion of
Austin;
El Paso County, which contains the city of
El Paso
El Paso (; "the pass") is a city in and the seat of El Paso County in the western corner of the U.S. state of Texas. The 2020 population of the city from the U.S. Census Bureau was 678,815, making it the 23rd-largest city in the U.S., the s ...
, due in large part to heavy support by
Hispanic
The term ''Hispanic'' ( es, hispano) refers to people, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or Hispanidad.
The term commonly applies to countries with a cultural and historical link to Spain and to viceroyalties forme ...
s; and many of the Latino-majority counties in the
Rio Grande Valley
The Lower Rio Grande Valley ( es, Valle del Río Grande), commonly known as the Rio Grande Valley or locally as the Valley or RGV, is a region spanning the border of Texas and Mexico located in a floodplain of the Rio Grande near its mouth. Th ...
along the border with
Mexico
Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...
, which have strongly supported Democrats for decades. Although Obama lost
Tarrant county, he did do well in the southern and eastern parts of
Fort Worth and the eastern part of
Arlington.
During the same election, incumbent Republican
U.S. Senator
The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States.
The composition and powe ...
John Cornyn
John Cornyn III ( ; born February 2, 1952) is an American politician and attorney serving as the senior United States senator from Texas, a seat he has held since 2002. A member of the Republican Party, he served as the Senate majority whip for ...
was reelected with 54.82% of the vote to Democrat
Rick Noriega
Richard Joel Noriega (born January 8, 1958) is a former American politician and retired major general in the Texas Army National Guard who is currently director of Harris County Universal Services (HCUS). From 1998 to 2009, Noriega was a Democr ...
’s 42.84%.
Libertarian Yvonne Adams Schick received the remaining 2.34%. Republicans also knocked off a
Democratic incumbent from Texas in the
U.S. House of Representatives
The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they ...
. At the state level, however, Democrats picked up three seats in the
Texas House of Representatives
The Texas House of Representatives is the lower house of the bicameral Texas Legislature. It consists of 150 members who are elected from single-member districts for two-year terms. As of the 2010 United States census, each member represents abo ...
and one seat in the
Texas Senate
The Texas Senate ( es, Senado de Texas) is the upper house of the Texas State Legislature. There are 31 members of the Senate, representing single-member districts across the U.S. state of Texas, with populations of approximately 806,000 per co ...
.
Results
By county
Counties that flipped from Republican to Democratic
*
Bexar (largest city:
San Antonio
("Cradle of Freedom")
, image_map =
, mapsize = 220px
, map_caption = Interactive map of San Antonio
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdivision_name = United States
, subdivision_type1= State
, subdivision_name1 = Texas
, subdivision_t ...
)
*
Brewster (largest city:
Alpine
Alpine may refer to any mountainous region. It may also refer to:
Places Europe
* Alps, a European mountain range
** Alpine states, which overlap with the European range
Australia
* Alpine, New South Wales, a Northern Village
* Alpine National Pa ...
)
*
Cameron (largest community:
Brownsville)
*
Culberson (largest municipality:
Van Horn)
*
Dallas
Dallas () is the List of municipalities in Texas, third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of metropolitan statistical areas, fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 ...
(largest city:
Dallas
Dallas () is the List of municipalities in Texas, third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of metropolitan statistical areas, fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 ...
)
*
Frio
Frío or Frio may refer to:
__NOTOC__ Places
* Frio River, Texas, United States
* Frio County, Texas, United States
* Frio Town, Texas, United States, known as Frio City
Music
* Frio (musician), stage name of Edwin Rojas Restrepo, a Colombian ...
(largest municipality:
Pearsall)
*
Harris
Harris may refer to:
Places Canada
* Harris, Ontario
* Northland Pyrite Mine (also known as Harris Mine)
* Harris, Saskatchewan
* Rural Municipality of Harris No. 316, Saskatchewan
Scotland
* Harris, Outer Hebrides (sometimes called the Isle of ...
(largest community:
Houston
Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 i ...
)
*
Kleberg (largest municipality:
Kingsville)
*
Reeves
Reeves may refer to:
People
* Reeves (surname)
* B. Reeves Eason (1886–1956), American director, actor and screenwriter
* Reeves Nelson (born 1991), American basketball player
Places
;Ireland
* Reeves, County Kildare, townland in County K ...
(largest municipality:
Pecos)
*
Val Verde (largest municipality:
Del Rio)
By congressional district
John McCain carried 21 of the state's 32 congressional districts, including one district held by a Democrat.
Electors
Technically the voters of Texas cast their ballots for electors: representatives to the
Electoral College. Texas is allocated 34 electors because it has 32
congressional districts
Congressional districts, also known as electoral districts and legislative districts, electorates, or wards in other nations, are divisions of a larger administrative region that represent the population of a region in the larger congressional bod ...
and 2
senators. All candidates who appear on the ballot or qualify to receive write-in votes must submit a list of 34 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 34 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
In the United States Electoral College, a faithless elector is an elector who does not vote for the candidates for U.S. President and U.S. Vice President for whom the elector had pledged to vote, and instead votes for another person for one or ...
.
The electors of each state and the
District of Columbia
)
, image_skyline =
, image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...
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 34 were pledged to
John McCain and
Sarah Palin:
#Marcia Daughtrey
#Virgil Vickery
#Charlie O'Reilly
#Brenda Zielke
#Mary Darby
#Melba McDow
#Paul Pressler
#
#Deborah Cupples
#Frank Alvarez
#Russ Duerstine
#Zan Prince
#Bruce Harris
#Gordon Starkenburg
#Sandra Cararas
#Donene O'Dell
#Larry Lovelace
#Nelda Eppes
#Kenneth Corbin
#Gene Ryder
#Robert Hierynomus
#Terese Raia
#Arturo Martinez de Vara
#Thomas Ferguson
#Robert Long
#Pat Peale
#Joel Yowell
#Judith Hooge
#Giovanna Searcy
#Patricia Ann Van Winkle
#Ronny Risinger
#Frank Eikenburg
#Genny Hensz
#Talmadge Heflin
See also
*
United States presidential elections in Texas
Following is a table of United States presidential elections in Texas, ordered by year. Since its admission to statehood in 1845, Texas has participated in every U.S. presidential election except the 1864 election during the American Civil War, ...
*
Presidency of Barack Obama
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:United States Presidential Election In Texas, 2008
Texas
Texas (, ; Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2020, it is the second-largest U.S. state by ...
2008
File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing; ...
2008 Texas elections