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2008 United States presidential election in Hawaii

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Nominee Barack Obama John McCain Party Democratic Republican Home state Illinois Arizona Running mate Joe Biden Sarah Palin Electoral vote 4 0 Popular vote 325,871 120,566 Percentage 71.85% 26.58%

County Results Obama  60-70%  70-80%

President before election George W. Bush Republican Elected President Barack Obama Democratic

Elections in Hawaii
Federal government Presidential elections 1960 1964 1968 1972 1976 1980 1984 1988 1992 1996 2000 2004 2008 2012 2016 2020 2024 Presidential primaries Democratic 2000 2004 2008 2016 2020 2024 Republican 2008 2012 2016 2024 U.S. Senate elections 1959 1962 1964 1968 1970 1974 1976 1980 1982 1986 1988 1990 1990 sp 1992 1994 1998 2000 2004 2006 2010 2012 2014 sp 2016 2018 2022 2024 2028 U.S. House of Representatives elections 1959 1960 1962 1964 1966 1968 1970 1972 1974 1976 1978 1980 1982 1984 1986 1st sp 1988 1990 2nd sp 1992 1994 1996 1998 2000 2002 2nd sp 2003 (2nd sp) 2004 2006 2008 2010 1st sp 2012 2014 2016 1st sp 2018 2020 2022 2024
State government Gubernatorial elections 1959 1962 1966 1970 1974 1978 1982 1986 1990 1994 1998 2002 2006 2010 2014 2018 2022 2026 Senate elections 2012 2014 2016 2018 2020 2022 2024 House of Representatives elections 2012 2014 2016 2018 2020 2022 2024
Hawaiian Kingdom era House of Representatives 1884 1886
Ballot measures 1998 Amendment 2
Honolulu Mayoral elections 2008 2010 sp 2012 2016 2020 2024
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The 2008 United States presidential election in Hawaii took place on November 4, 2008, and was part of the 2008 United States presidential election. Voters chose 4 representatives, or electors to the Electoral College, who voted for president and vice president.

Hawaii, Barack Obama's birth state, gave him 71.9% of the vote with a 45.3% margin of victory in 2008. Prior to the election, all 17 news organizations considered this a state Obama would win, or otherwise considered as a safe blue state. Hawaii has voted Democratic in every presidential election since 1988. Obama's margin of victory in this state is only surpassed by that of the District of Columbia and is the only actual state that gave either candidate more than 70% of the vote. Turnout in the state was much higher than previous elections.

This remains the second-best performance by any party in a presidential election in Hawaii after Lyndon Johnson's landslide election in 1964.

Caucuses

• Hawaii Democratic caucuses, 2008
• Hawaii Republican caucuses, 2008

Campaign

Predictions

There were 16 news organizations who made state-by-state predictions of the election. Listed below are their last predictions before election day:

Polling

Just 3 pre-election polls were ever taken in the state, averaging Obama at 64% to McCain at 30%.

Fundraising

Obama raised $3,098,395. McCain raised $424,368.

Advertising and visits

Obama spent $113,838 while a conservative interest group spent $31. Obama visited the state once.

Analysis

One of the most reliably blue states in the nation, Hawaii has only voted for two Republican candidates since statehood, both in national 49-state Republican landslides--Richard Nixon in 1972 and Ronald Reagan in 1984. A large concentration of Asian Americans makes the state very favorable to the Democrats. Although moderate Republicans occasionally win at the state level—for instance, then-Governor Linda Lingle and Lieutenant Governor Duke Aiona were both Republicans—Hawaii has long been reckoned as a Democratic stronghold.

It came as something of a surprise in 2004 when John Kerry only carried Hawaii by 8.7 points, the worst performance for a Democrat since Ronald Reagan carried the state in 1984. However, the state reverted to form in dramatic fashion in 2008, with Barack Obama (who was born in Hawaii) winning the state in a landslide over Republican John McCain. Obama outperformed Kerry by 36.3%, making Hawaii Obama's biggest improvement from 2004. During the same election, Democrats picked up one seat in the Hawaii House of Representatives and two seats in the Hawaii Senate, giving them a super-majority in the Hawaii state legislature with 45 out of 51 seats in the Hawaii House and 23 out of 25 seats in the Hawaii Senate. This is the most recent election that the state voted more Democratic than the previous one.

Results

By county

By congressional district

Barack Obama swept both of Hawaii's two congressional districts easily.

Electors

Technically the voters of Hawaii cast their ballots for electors: representatives to the Electoral College. Hawaii is allocated 4 electors because it has 2 congressional districts and 2 senators. All candidates who appear on the ballot or qualify to receive write-in votes must submit a list of 4 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 4 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 4 were pledged to Barack Obama and Joe Biden:

1. Joy Kobashigawa
2. Marie Dolores
3. Amefil Agbayani
4. Frances K. Kagawa

References

1. "D.C.'s Political Report: The complete source for campaign summaries". January 1, 2009. Archived from the original on January 1, 2009. Retrieved August 23, 2021.
2. "Presidential". May 5, 2015. Archived from the original on May 5, 2015. Retrieved August 23, 2021.
3. "Vote 2008 - The Takeaway - Track the Electoral College vote predictions". April 22, 2009. Archived from the original on April 22, 2009. Retrieved August 23, 2021.
4. "Electoral-vote.com: President, Senate, House Updated Daily". electoral-vote.com. Retrieved August 23, 2021.
5. ^ Based on Takeaway
6. "POLITICO's 2008 Swing State Map - POLITICO.com". www.politico.com. Retrieved September 22, 2016.
7. "RealClearPolitics - Electoral Map". Archived from the original on June 5, 2008.
8. "CQ Presidential Election Maps, 2008". CQ Politics. Archived from the original on June 14, 2009. Retrieved December 20, 2009.
9. Nagourney, Adam; Zeleny, Jeff; Carter, Shan (November 4, 2008). "The Electoral Map: Key States". The New York Times. Retrieved May 26, 2010.
10. "October – 2008 – CNN Political Ticker - CNN.com Blogs". CNN. October 31, 2008. Archived from the original on June 19, 2010. Retrieved May 26, 2010.
11. "Winning The Electoral College". Fox News. April 27, 2010.
12. "roadto270". hosted.ap.org. Retrieved September 22, 2016.
13. "Election 2008: Electoral College Update - Rasmussen Reports". www.rasmussenreports.com. Retrieved September 22, 2016.
14. Election 2008 Polls - Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections
15. "Presidential Campaign Finance". Archived from the original on March 24, 2009. Retrieved August 20, 2009.
16. "Map: Campaign Ad Spending - Election Center 2008 from CNN.com". CNN. Retrieved May 26, 2010.
17. "Map: Campaign Candidate Visits - Election Center 2008 from CNN.com". CNN. Retrieved May 26, 2010.
18. "Electoral College". California Secretary of State. Archived from the original on October 30, 2008. Retrieved November 1, 2008.
19. "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on November 6, 2008. Retrieved November 8, 2008.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)

v t e State and district results of the 2008 United States presidential election
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• 2008 United States presidential election by state
• United States presidential elections in Hawaii
• 2008 Hawaii elections