United States presidential election in Tennessee, 2008

United States presidential election in Tennessee, 2008
November 4, 2008

 
Nominee John McCain Barack Obama
Party Republican Democratic
Home state Arizona Illinois
Running mate Sarah Palin Joe Biden
Electoral vote 11 0
Popular vote 1,479,178 1,087,437
Percentage 56.9% 41.8%
County Results
President before election

George W. Bush
Republican

 Elected President

Barack Obama
Democratic

The 2008 United States presidential election in Tennessee took place on November 4, 2008, and was part of the 2008 United States presidential election. Voters chose 11 representatives, or electors to the Electoral College, who voted for president and vice president.

Tennessee was won by Republican nominee John McCain by 15.06 percentage points. Prior to the election, 17 news organizations considered Tennessee a win for McCain. Early polling in Tennessee gave a solid edge to McCain over Democrat Barack Obama by up to a 20-point margin. The expected "landslide" by McCain in Tennessee meant there was little campaigning there. Most news organizations immediately called Tennessee for McCain as soon as all the polls in the state closed. McCain even improved upon George W. Bush's performance in 2004, a much better year nationally for the Republicans. This was the first time since 1960 when Tennessee did not back the overall winning candidate in a presidential election and the most recent presidential election as of 2016 in which the Democratic candidate received more than 40% of the vote. Moreover, this was the most recent presidential election as of 2016 where both Jackson and Houston Counties voted for the Democrat.

Primaries

Campaign

Predictions

There were 17 news organizations who made state-by-state predictions of the election. Here are their last predictions before election day:

  1. D.C. Political Report: Republican[1]
  2. Cook Political Report: Solid Republican[2]
  3. Takeaway: Solid McCain[3]
  4. Election Projection: Solid McCain[4]
  5. Electoral-vote.com: Strong Republican[5]
  6. Washington Post: Solid McCain[6]
  7. Politico: Solid McCain[7]
  8. Real Clear Politics: Solid McCain[8]
  9. FiveThirtyEight.com: Solid McCain[6]
  10. CQ Politics: Safe Republican[9]
  11. New York Times: Solid Republican[10]
  12. CNN: Safe Republican[11]
  13. NPR: Solid McCain[6]
  14. MSNBC: Solid McCain[6]
  15. Fox News: Republican[12]
  16. Associated Press: Republican[13]
  17. Rasmussen Reports: Safe Republican[14]

Polling

McCain won every single pre-election poll, and each by a double-digit margin of victory. The final 3 polls averaged McCain leading 55% to 40%.[15]

Fundraising

John McCain raised a total of $2,941,065 in the state. Barack Obama raised $3,481,341.[16]

Advertising and visits

Obama spent $518,659. The Republican ticket spent just $3,526.[17] Obama visited the state once, going to Nashville. McCain visited the state twice, visiting Nashville and Blountville.[18]

Analysis

Despite narrowly voting for Bill Clinton in 1992 and 1996 when native son Al Gore was on the ticket as Vice President, the state has steadily been trending Republican since then. George W. Bush narrowly carried the state in 2000 over Tennessee native Gore and easily won in 2004 over John Kerry. The state was one of five states that swung even more Republican in 2008 with John McCain soundly defeating Barack Obama in the Volunteer State. 2008 marked the first time since 1960 whereby the state was carried by the losing presidential candidate.

McCain won both East Tennessee and Middle Tennessee by landslide margins. Historically, East Tennessee, which is a part of Appalachia, has voted Republican ever since the party was founded; however, Middle Tennessee has Democratic roots based on liberal economic policies, most famously Franklin D. Roosevelt's Tennessee Valley Authority. Middle Tennessee voted strongly for Bill Clinton of neighboring Arkansas, but Middle Tennessee native Al Gore narrowly lost the region in 2000—a loss that ultimately cost him Tennessee, and the election. In contrast, it was one of the few regions in the country which voted more Republican than in 2004.[19] This is largely due to a growing social conservative trend in the region, particularly in the Nashville suburbs; some of the most politically active churches in the state are located there.

On the other hand, Barack Obama did improve relatively well upon John Kerry's performances in the traditionally Democratic cities of Nashville and Memphis. In the former, support amongst progressive whites led to a 3-2 victory for Obama in Davidson County.[19] In Memphis, heavy African American turnout ensured him the largest margin in the state in Shelby County, although far from enough to outweigh his losses everywhere else in the state. McCain, however, carried the third- and fourth- most populated cities of Chattanooga in Hamilton County as well as Knoxville in Knox County.

During the same election, at the state level, Republicans picked up four seats in the Tennessee House of Representatives and three seats in the Tennessee Senate to obtain control of both chambers of the state legislature for the first time since Reconstruction.

As of the 2016 presidential election, this is the last election in which Houston County and Jackson County voted for the Democratic candidate or where the Democratic candidate won over a million votes.

Results

United States presidential election in Tennessee, 2008[20]
Party Candidate Running mate Votes Percentage Electoral votes
Republican John McCain Sarah Palin 1,479,178 56.85% 11
Democratic Barack Obama Joe Biden 1,087,437 41.79% 0
Independent Ralph Nader Matt Gonzalez 11,560 0.44% 0
Libertarian Bob Barr Wayne Allyn Root 8,547 0.33% 0
Constitution Chuck Baldwin Darrell Castle 8,191 0.31% 0
Green Cynthia McKinney Rosa Clemente 2,499 0.10% 0
Write-ins Write-ins Write-ins 2,333 0.09% 0
Socialist Brian Moore Stewart Alexander 1,326 0.05% 0
Boston Tea Charles Jay Thomas Knapp 1,011 0.04% 0
Totals 2,601,982 100.00% 11
Voter turnout (Voting age population) 55.5%

Results breakdown

By county

CountyObama#Obama%McCain#McCain%
ANDERSON11,39636.1%19,67562.3%
BEDFORD5,02732.4%10,21765.9%
BENTON2,64540.8%3,69657.0%
BLEDSOE1,51731.7%3,16666.2%
BLOUNT15,25329.5%35,57168.9%
BRADLEY9,35724.5%28,33374.2%
CAMPBELL3,86730.6%8,53567.6%
CANNON2,01136.9%3,32260.9%
CARROLL3,98034.2%7,45564.0%
CARTER5,58725.7%15,85272.8%
CHEATHAM5,49833.5%10,70265.8%
CHESTER1,79727.8%4,58771.0%
CLAIBORNE3,07829.5%7,17568.9%
CLAY1,24841.7%1,67656.0%
COCKE3,34026.7%8,94571.7%
COFFEE7,13234.4%13,25063.7%
CROCKETT1,96732.6%3,99466.2%
CUMBERLAND7,88930.7%17,43667.8%
DAVIDSON158,42359.7%102,91538.8%
DECATUR1,56632.9%3,10165.1%
DEKALB2,83240.2%4,08557.8%
DICKSON7,50638.5%11,67759.8%
DYER4,41130.5%9,85968.2%
FAYETTE6,89235.8%12,17363.2%
FENTRESS1,83127.2%4,78971.1%
FRANKLIN6,61337.9%10,53960.5%
GIBSON7,40634.8%13,51663.6%
GILES4,61439.5%6,90259.0%
GRAINGER2,06627.5%5,29770.6%
GREENE7,11028.8%17,15169.5%
GRUNDY1,97142.6%2,56355.3%
HAMBLEN6,80730.0%15,50868.4%
HAMILTON64,24643.4%81,70255.2%
HANCOCK60427.0%1,58870.9%
HARDEMAN5,91952.7%5,22546.5%
HARDIN2,79427.8%7,07770.5%
HAWKINS5,93028.2%14,75670.1%
HAYWOOD4,89360.3%3,16539.0%
HENDERSON3,02127.9%7,66970.8%
HENRY5,15338.0%8,18260.4%
HICKMAN3,56341.9%4,78456.4%
HOUSTON1,67850.0%1,60847.9%
HUMPHREYS3,60047.5%3,81850.4%
JACKSON2,22449.4%2,18548.5%
JEFFERSON5,17847.9%13,09270.6%
JOHNSON1,83727.7%4,62170.1%
KNOX70,21537.7%113,01560.7%
LAKE1,02445.8%1,17552.5%
LAUDERDALE4,32246.3%4,93352.8%
LAWRENCE5,16132.2%10,56666.0%
LEWIS1,80437.3%2,95161.0%
LINCOLN3,69528.1%9,23170.3%
LOUDON6,05827.3%15,81571.3%
MACON2,06028.0%5,14569.9%
MADISON20,20946.1%23,29053.1%
MARION4,50639.4%6,74659.0%
MARSHALL4,32038.3%6,75559.8%
MAURY13,05838.7%20,28860.1%
MCMINN5,53929.9%12,98470.1%
MCNAIRY3,13130.6%7,13469.4%
MEIGS1,37232.4%2,79766.0%
MONROE5,05330.1%11,48468.5%
MONTGOMERY25,71645.5%30,17553.3%
MOORE88129.8%2,01068.1%
MORGAN1,96928.9%4,71769.1%
OBION4,30832.2%8,87366.3%
OVERTON3,41942.3%4,49755.6%
PERRY1,32944.3%1,59653.2%
PICKETT85432.0%1,78666.9%
POLK2,12432.7%4,26765.6%
PUTNAM9,73935.7%17,10162.6%
RHEA2,90726.2%8,04272.4%
ROANE7,22431.0%15,65867.3%
ROBERTSON9,31833.7%17,90364.8%
RUTHERFORD40,46039.7%59,89258.8%
SCOTT1,72025.4%4,93172.7%
SEQUATCHIE1,71731.7%3,61066.4%
SEVIER8,60425.3%24,92273.4%
SHELBY256,29763.4%145,45836.0%
SMITH2,99238.7%4,56358.9%
STEWART2,47044.9%2,95653.7%
SULLIVAN18,35428.7%44,80870.0%
SUMNER21,48731.9%44,94966.7%
TIPTON7,93131.5%17,16567.8%
TROUSDALE1,47545.5%1,68852.1%
UNICOI2,10729.2%5,01169.4%
UNION1,82928.6%4,46769.8%
VAN BUREN84938.3%1,29458.7%
WARREN5,51538.5%8,56259.5%
WASHINGTON15,94132.5%32,34166.0%
WAYNE1,35524.5%4,07673.7%
WEAKLEY4,59633.6%8,85564.7%
WHITE3,37235.0%6,10363.3%
WILLIAMSON27,88629.7%64,85869.1%
WILSON15,88631.1%34,59567.6%

By congressional district

John McCain swept the state and carried seven of the state's nine congressional districts, including three districts held by Democrats. Barack Obama carried the state's two congressional districts anchored by the two largest cities of Memphis and Nashville.

District McCain Obama Representative
1st 69.77% 28.77% David Davis (110th Congress)
Phil Roe (111th Congress)
2nd 64.21% 34.28% John J. Duncan, Jr.
3rd 61.87% 36.86% Zach Wamp
4th 64.06% 34.25% Lincoln Davis
5th 42.94% 55.85% Jim Cooper
6th 61.87% 36.59% Bart Gordon
7th 64.76% 34.29% Marsha Blackburn
8th 56.01% 42.73% John S. Tanner
9th 22.51% 76.92% Steve Cohen

Electors

Technically the voters of Tennessee cast their ballots for electors: representatives to the Electoral College. Tennessee is allocated 11 electors because it has 9 congressional districts and 2 senators. All candidates who appear on the ballot or qualify to receive write-in votes must submit a list of 11 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 11 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.[21] 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 11 were pledged to John McCain and Sarah Palin:

  1. Sara Sellers
  2. Jim Haslam
  3. Wayne Cropp
  4. Lisa Wheeler
  5. Beth Campbell
  6. Albert McCall
  7. Shirley Curry
  8. Marilucile Counce
  9. Colin Richmond
  10. Winfield Dunn
  11. Chrystal Horn

References

  1. ↑ "D.C.'s Political Report: The complete source for campaign summaries". Dcpoliticalreport.com. Retrieved 2015-05-04.
  2. ↑ "Presidential". Cookpolitical.com. Archived from the original on May 5, 2015. Retrieved 2015-05-04.
  3. ↑ Archived April 22, 2009, at the Wayback Machine.
  4. ↑ "Election Projection : 2008". Electionprojection.com. Retrieved 2015-05-04.
  5. ↑ "President, Senate, House Updated Daily". Electoral-vote.com. Retrieved 2015-05-04.
  6. 1 2 3 4 Based on Takeaway
  7. ↑ "POLITICO's 2008 Swing State Map". Politico.Com. Retrieved 2015-05-04.
  8. ↑ "RealClearPolitics Electoral College". Realclearpolitics.com. Retrieved 2015-05-04.
  9. ↑ Archived September 4, 2010, at the Wayback Machine.
  10. ↑ "Who's Ahead". The New York Times. Retrieved May 26, 2010.
  11. ↑ "October – 2008 – CNN Political Ticker - CNN.com Blogs". CNN. October 31, 2008. Retrieved May 26, 2010.
  12. ↑ "Winning The Electoral College". Fox News. April 27, 2010.
  13. ↑ "roadto270". Hosted.ap.org. Retrieved 2015-05-04.
  14. ↑ "Election 2008: Electoral College Update - Rasmussen Reports™". Rasmussenreports.com. 2008-11-03. Retrieved 2015-05-04.
  15. ↑ Archived November 28, 2008, at the Wayback Machine.
  16. ↑ "Presidential Campaign Finance". Archived from the original on January 18, 2009. Retrieved August 18, 2009.
  17. ↑ "Map: Campaign Ad Spending - Election Center 2008 from CNN.com". CNN. Retrieved May 26, 2010.
  18. ↑ "Map: Campaign Candidate Visits - Election Center 2008 from CNN.com". CNN. Retrieved May 26, 2010.
  19. 1 2 "Election Results 2008". New York Times. Archived from the original on November 3, 2004. Retrieved 2009-05-17.
  20. ↑ "Official General Election Results". The Green Papers. Retrieved 2008-12-12.
  21. ↑ "Electoral College". California Secretary of State. Archived from the original on October 30, 2008. Retrieved 2008-11-01.

See also

This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.