The 2008 United States presidential election in Wisconsin took place on November 4, 2008, as 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 ...
in which all 50 states plus 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, ...
participated. State voters chose 10 electors to represent them in the
Electoral College via a popular vote pitting Democratic
U.S. Senator from
Illinois
Illinois ( ) is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolitan areas include, Peoria and Rockf ...
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 ...
, and his running mate U.S. Senator from
Delaware
Delaware ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States, bordering Maryland to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and New Jersey and the Atlantic Ocean to its east. The state takes its name from the adjacent Del ...
Joe Biden, against
Republican
Republican can refer to:
Political ideology
* An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law.
** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...
challenger and U.S. Senator from
Arizona
Arizona ( ; nv, Hoozdo Hahoodzo ; ood, Alĭ ṣonak ) is a state in the Southwestern United States. It is the 6th largest and the 14th most populous of the 50 states. Its capital and largest city is Phoenix. Arizona is part of the Fou ...
John McCain and his running mate,
Alaska Governor
The governor of Alaska ( Iñupiaq: ''Alaaskam kavanaa'') is the head of government of Alaska. The governor is the chief executive of the state and is the holder of the highest office in the executive branch of the government as well as being the ...
Sarah Palin.
Also on the ballot were four third parties: activist and former presidential candidate
Ralph Nader
Ralph Nader (; born February 27, 1934) is an American political activist, author, lecturer, and attorney noted for his involvement in consumer protection, environmentalism, and government reform causes.
The son of Lebanese immigrants to the U ...
ran as an
Independent
Independent or Independents may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups
* Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in the New Hope, Pennsylvania, area of the United States during the early 1930s
* Independ ...
with his running mate, President of the
San Francisco Board of Supervisors Matt Gonzalez
Matthew Edward Gonzalez (born June 4, 1965) is an American politician, lawyer, and activist. He served on the San Francisco Board of Supervisors from 2001 and 2005 and was president of the Board. In 2003, Gonzalez, running as a member of the Gr ...
. The
Libertarian Party
Active parties by country
Defunct parties by country
Organizations associated with Libertarian parties
See also
* Liberal parties by country
* List of libertarian organizations
* Lists of political parties
Lists of political part ...
nominated former
Representative
Representative may refer to:
Politics
* Representative democracy, type of democracy in which elected officials represent a group of people
* House of Representatives, legislative body in various countries or sub-national entities
* Legislator, som ...
from
Georgia
Georgia most commonly refers to:
* Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia
* Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States
Georgia may also refer to:
Places
Historical states and entities
* Related to the ...
Bob Barr
Robert Laurence Barr Jr. (born November 5, 1948) is an American attorney and politician. He served as a federal prosecutor and as a Congressman. He represented Georgia's 7th congressional district as a Republican from 1995 to 2003. Barr attai ...
for president and conservative author
Wayne Allyn Root
Wayne Allyn Root (born July 20, 1961) is an American conservative television and radio host, author, activist, conservative political commentator and conspiracy theorist. He is the host of two new television shows, daily at 7 PM ET on Lindell TV ...
for vice president. Pastor
Chuck Baldwin
Charles Obadiah Baldwin (born May 3, 1952) is an American right-wing politician, radio host, and founder-former pastor of Crossroad Baptist Church in Pensacola, Florida. As of January 2011 he was pastor of Liberty Fellowship in Kalispell, Mon ...
and attorney Darrell Castle were nominated by the right-wing
Constitution Party, and the left-wing
Green Party
A green party is a formally organized political party based on the principles of green politics, such as social justice, environmentalism and nonviolence.
Greens believe that these issues are inherently related to one another as a foundation f ...
nominated former Representative from Georgia
Cynthia McKinney and community organizer
Rosa Clemente
Rosa Alicia Clemente (born April 18, 1972) is an American community organizer, independent journalist, and hip-hop activist. She was the vice presidential running mate of Green Party Presidential candidate Cynthia McKinney in the 2008 U.S. Pre ...
.
Wisconsin
Wisconsin () is a state in the upper Midwestern United States. Wisconsin is the 25th-largest state by total area and the 20th-most populous. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake M ...
was won by Democratic nominee
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 ...
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
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 ...
, 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
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 ...
of neighboring
Illinois
Illinois ( ) is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolitan areas include, Peoria and Rockf ...
over Republican
John McCain of
Arizona
Arizona ( ; nv, Hoozdo Hahoodzo ; ood, Alĭ ṣonak ) is a state in the Southwestern United States. It is the 6th largest and the 14th most populous of the 50 states. Its capital and largest city is Phoenix. Arizona is part of the Fou ...
. Obama carried Wisconsin with over 56% of the vote, significantly improving upon
John Kerry
John Forbes Kerry (born December 11, 1943) is an American attorney, politician and diplomat who currently serves as the first United States special presidential envoy for climate. A member of the Forbes family and the Democratic Party, he ...
's margin of victory in
2004. Obama is the only candidate in the 21st century to win the state with the majority of the vote or by a margin of more than 1%, which he would go on to do in
2012
File:2012 Events Collage V3.png, From left, clockwise: The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia lies capsized after the Costa Concordia disaster; Damage to Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey as a result of Hurricane Sandy; People gat ...
as well. 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 landslide re-election of Democrat
Lyndon B. Johnson
Lyndon Baines Johnson (; August 27, 1908January 22, 1973), often referred to by his initials LBJ, was an American politician who served as the 36th president of the United States from 1963 to 1969. He had previously served as the 37th vice ...
in
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 ...
. In fact, Obama carried two of three counties that voted for
Barry Goldwater in that election, was the first Democrat since
Franklin D. Roosevelt
Franklin Delano Roosevelt (; ; January 30, 1882April 12, 1945), often referred to by his initials FDR, was an American politician and attorney who served as the 32nd president of the United States from 1933 until his death in 1945. As the ...
in
1936
Events
January–February
* January 20 – George V of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions and Emperor of India, dies at his Sandringham Estate. The Prince of Wales succeeds to the throne of the United Kingdom as King E ...
to carry
Waupaca County, and only the second Democratic nominee to carry that county since the civil war. Obama’s 1,677,211 votes is the most received by a presidential candidate in the state’s history.
Primaries
*
2008 Wisconsin Republican presidential primary
*
2008 Wisconsin Democratic presidential primary
The 2008 Wisconsin Democratic presidential primary took place on February 19, 2008. 74 pledged delegates were at stake. The 2008 Hawaii Democratic presidential caucuses took place the same day.
The Wisconsin primary came after Senator Barack Oba ...
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
Pre-election polling early on showed a tight race. However, after 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 comfortable margins in
1988
File:1988 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The oil platform Piper Alpha explodes and collapses in the North Sea, killing 165 workers; The USS Vincennes (CG-49) mistakenly shoots down Iran Air Flight 655; Australia celebrates its Bicenten ...
,
1992, and
1996, but extremely narrow margins 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 ...
and
2004, Wisconsin was originally considered to be a swing state in 2008. However, Obama took a wide lead in the polls in Wisconsin in 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
Milwaukee ( ), officially the City of Milwaukee, is both the most populous and most densely populated city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the county seat of Milwaukee County. With a population of 577,222 at the 2020 census, Milwaukee ...
and
Madison by large margins, winning above two-thirds of the vote, along with some traditionally Republican cities like
Green Bay and
Appleton. In
Dane County
Dane County is a county in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. As of the 2020 census, the population was 561,504, making it the second-most populous county in Wisconsin. The county seat is Madison, which is also the state capital.
Dane County is the ...
, he won almost 73% of the vote, and carried 67.3% in
Milwaukee County. This was consistent with Obama's pattern of strong performances in the states bordering Illinois. Obama's best performance, at 86.81%, was in the small county of
Menominee
The Menominee (; mez, omǣqnomenēwak meaning ''"Menominee People"'', also spelled Menomini, derived from the Ojibwe language word for "Wild Rice People"; known as ''Mamaceqtaw'', "the people", in the Menominee language) are a federally recog ...
, which is 87% Native American. The state's Republican base essentially melted; John McCain only carried 13 of the state's 72 counties, a devastating defeat. McCain did best in the Milwaukee suburbs like
Waukesha and
Ozaukee counties, with his best performance in
Washington County where he received 64.14% of the vote. He only won five counties in the Northern part of the state, all of which by rather narrow margins. Wisconsin would not vote for a Republican candidate for president until it voted for
Donald Trump
Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who served as the 45th president of the United States from 2017 to 2021.
Trump graduated from the Wharton School of the University of P ...
in
2016
File:2016 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Bombed-out buildings in Ankara following the 2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt; the Impeachment of Dilma Rousseff, impeachment trial of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff; Damaged houses duri ...
, though it would flip back to the Democratic column in
2020
2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global social and economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of events, worldwide lockdowns and the largest economic recession since the Great Depression in t ...
with
Joe Biden back on the ballot.
, this is the last election in which the counties of
Barron,
Brown
Brown is a color. It can be considered a composite color, but it is mainly a darker shade of orange. In the CMYK color model used in printing or painting, brown is usually made by combining the colors orange and black. In the RGB color model us ...
,
Burnett,
Calumet,
Chippewa,
Clark,
Iron
Iron () is a chemical element with Symbol (chemistry), symbol Fe (from la, Wikt:ferrum, ferrum) and atomic number 26. It is a metal that belongs to the first transition series and group 8 element, group 8 of the periodic table. It is, Abundanc ...
,
Jefferson,
Kewaunee,
Langlade,
Manitowoc,
Marathon,
Marinette,
Monroe,
Oconto,
Oneida,
Outagamie,
Pierce
Pierce may refer to:
Places Canada
* Pierce Range, a mountain range on Vancouver Island, British Columbia
United States
* Pierce, Colorado
* Pierce, Idaho
* Pierce, Illinois
* Pierce, Kentucky
* Pierce, Nebraska
* Pierce, Texas
* Pierce, We ...
,
Rusk
A rusk is a hard, dry biscuit or a twice-baked bread. It is sometimes used as a teether for babies. In some cultures, rusk is made of cake, rather than bread: this is sometimes referred to as cake rusk. In the UK, the name also refers to a whea ...
,
Shawano,
Washburn,
Waupaca,
Waushara, and
Wood
Wood is a porous and fibrous structural tissue found in the stems and roots of trees and other woody plants. It is an organic materiala natural composite of cellulose fibers that are strong in tension and embedded in a matrix of lignin ...
voted for the Democratic presidential nominee.
Results
By county
Counties that flipped from Republican to Democratic
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 ...
flipped 32 counties that voted for George W. Bush in
2004.
*
Barron (largest city:
Rice Lake)
*
Brown
Brown is a color. It can be considered a composite color, but it is mainly a darker shade of orange. In the CMYK color model used in printing or painting, brown is usually made by combining the colors orange and black. In the RGB color model us ...
(largest city:
Green Bay)
*
Burnett (largest village:
Grantsburg)
*
Calumet (largest city:
Chilton)
*
Chippewa (largest city:
Chippewa Falls)
*
Clark (largest city:
Neillsville)
*
Columbia (largest city:
Portage)
*
Door (largest city:
Sturgeon Bay)
*
Forest
A forest is an area of land dominated by trees. Hundreds of definitions of forest are used throughout the world, incorporating factors such as tree density, tree height, land use, legal standing, and ecological function. The United Nations' ...
(largest city:
Crandon)
*
Jefferson (largest city:
Watertown Watertown may refer to:
Places in China
In China, a water town is a type of ancient scenic town known for its waterways.
Places in the United States
*Watertown, Connecticut, a New England town
**Watertown (CDP), Connecticut, the central village ...
)
*
Juneau
The City and Borough of Juneau, more commonly known simply as Juneau ( ; tli, Dzánti K'ihéeni ), is the capital city of the state of Alaska. Located in the Gastineau Channel and the Alaskan panhandle, it is a unified municipality and the s ...
(largest city:
Mauston)
*
Kewaunee (largest city:
Algoma)
*
Langlade (largest city:
Antigo)
*
Lincoln
Lincoln most commonly refers to:
* Abraham Lincoln (1809–1865), the sixteenth president of the United States
* Lincoln, England, cathedral city and county town of Lincolnshire, England
* Lincoln, Nebraska, the capital of Nebraska, U.S.
* Lincol ...
(largest city:
Merrill Merrill may refer to:
Places in the United States
* Merrill Field, Anchorage, Alaska
* Merrill, Iowa
*Merrill, Maine
* Merrill, Michigan
*Merrill, Mississippi, an unincorporated community near Lucedale in George County
*Merrill, Oregon
*Merrill, W ...
)
*
Manitowoc (largest city:
Manitowoc)
*
Marathon (largest city:
Wausau)
*
Marinette (largest city:
Marinette)
*
Marquette (largest city:
Montello)
*
Monroe (largest city:
Sparta
Sparta ( Doric Greek: Σπάρτα, ''Spártā''; Attic Greek: Σπάρτη, ''Spártē'') was a prominent city-state in Laconia, in ancient Greece. In antiquity, the city-state was known as Lacedaemon (, ), while the name Sparta referre ...
)
*
Oconto (largest city:
Oconto)
*
Oneida (largest city:
Rhinelander)
*
Outagamie (largest city:
Appleton)
*
Racine
Jean-Baptiste Racine ( , ) (; 22 December 163921 April 1699) was a French dramatist, one of the three great playwrights of 17th-century France, along with Molière and Corneille as well as an important literary figure in the Western traditi ...
(largest city:
Racine
Jean-Baptiste Racine ( , ) (; 22 December 163921 April 1699) was a French dramatist, one of the three great playwrights of 17th-century France, along with Molière and Corneille as well as an important literary figure in the Western traditi ...
)
*
Richland (largest city:
Richland Center)
*
Rusk
A rusk is a hard, dry biscuit or a twice-baked bread. It is sometimes used as a teether for babies. In some cultures, rusk is made of cake, rather than bread: this is sometimes referred to as cake rusk. In the UK, the name also refers to a whea ...
(largest city:
Ladysmith Ladysmith may refer to:
* Ladysmith, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa
* Ladysmith, British Columbia, Canada
* Ladysmith, Wisconsin, United States
* Ladysmith, New South Wales, Australia
* Ladysmith, Virginia, United States
* Ladysmith Island, Queenslan ...
)
*
Sawyer (largest city:
Hayward)
*
Shawano (largest city:
Shawano)
*
Washburn (largest city:
Spooner)
*
Waupaca (largest city:
New London
New London may refer to:
Places United States
*New London, Alabama
*New London, Connecticut
*New London, Indiana
*New London, Iowa
*New London, Maryland
*New London, Minnesota
*New London, Missouri
*New London, New Hampshire, a New England town
** ...
)
*
Waushara (largest city:
Berlin
Berlin ( , ) is the capital and List of cities in Germany by population, largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's List of cities in the European Union by population within ci ...
)
*
Winnebago (largest city:
Oshkosh)
*
Wood
Wood is a porous and fibrous structural tissue found in the stems and roots of trees and other woody plants. It is an organic materiala natural composite of cellulose fibers that are strong in tension and embedded in a matrix of lignin ...
(largest city:
Marshfield)
By congressional district
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 ...
swept the state, carrying seven of the
state's eight congressional districts, including two districts held by
Republicans. Three of these districts – the
1st,
6th, and
8th
8 (eight) is the natural number following 7 and preceding 9.
In mathematics
8 is:
* a composite number, its proper divisors being , , and . It is twice 4 or four times 2.
* a power of two, being 2 (two cubed), and is the first number of t ...
– Obama flipped from the
2004 election. McCain only won the
5th district, a portion of the
Milwaukee
Milwaukee ( ), officially the City of Milwaukee, is both the most populous and most densely populated city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the county seat of Milwaukee County. With a population of 577,222 at the 2020 census, Milwaukee ...
suburbs.
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
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 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
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 10 were pledged to
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 ...
and
Joe Biden:
#Ray Rivera
#
Fred Risser
#Rollie Hick
#
Polly Williams
#Dean Palmer
#
Gordon Hintz
#Christine Bremer-Muggli
#Donsia Strong Hill
#
Jim Doyle
James Edward Doyle, Jr., (born November 23, 1945) is an American attorney and politician who served as the 44th governor of Wisconsin, serving from January 6, 2003 to January 3, 2011. In his first election to the governorship, he defeated incum ...
#
Joe Wineke
Joseph S. Wineke (born January 5, 1957) is an American politician. He was chairman of the Democratic Party of Wisconsin from 2005 through 2009. During his term as chair, he saw the Democrats gain full control of Wisconsin's executive and legisla ...
See also
*
United States presidential elections in Wisconsin
Following is a table of United States presidential elections in Wisconsin, ordered by year. Since its admission to statehood in 1848, Wisconsin has participated in every U.S. presidential election.
Winners of the state are in bold. The shading r ...
Notes
References
{{State results of the 2008 U.S. presidential election
Wisconsin
Wisconsin () is a state in the upper Midwestern United States. Wisconsin is the 25th-largest state by total area and the 20th-most populous. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake M ...
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 ...
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; ...