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2008 United States presidential election in Texas

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2008 United States presidential election in Texas
← 2004 November 4, 2008 2012 →
Turnout59.5% (of registered voters) Increase
45.5% (of voting age population)
 
Nominee John McCain Barack Obama
Party Republican Democratic
Home state Arizona Illinois
Running mate Sarah Palin Joe Biden
Electoral vote 34 0
Popular vote 4,479,328 3,528,633
Percentage 55.38% 43.63%
County Results Congressional District Results Precinct Results

McCain

  50–60%  60–70%  70–80%  80–90%  90–100%

Obama

  50–60%  60–70%  70–80%  80–90%   90–100%

President before election

George W. Bush
Republican

Elected President

Barack Obama
Democratic

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The 2008 United States presidential election in Texas took place on November 4, 2008, and was part of the 2008 United States presidential election. Voters chose 34 representatives, or electors to the Electoral College, who voted for president and vice president.

Texas 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, the Democratic nominee and eventual President, made a similar error.

Prior to the election, all news organizations considered this a state McCain would win, or a safe red state. 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 in 2000 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 election marked the last time (through the 2024 presidential election) that the Democratic candidate won Brewster County. It was also the last in which Kenedy County voted for the winning candidate until 2024.

Primaries

Campaign

Predictions

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

Source Ranking
D.C. Political Report Likely R
Cook Political Report Solid R
The Takeaway Solid R
Electoral-vote.com Solid R
Washington Post Solid R
Politico Solid R
RealClearPolitics Solid R
FiveThirtyEight Solid R
CQ Politics Solid R
The New York Times Solid R
CNN Safe R
NPR Solid R
MSNBC Solid R
Fox News Likely R
Associated Press Likely R
Rasmussen Reports Safe R

Polling

Main article: Statewide opinion polling for the 2008 United States presidential election: Texas

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

Voter casting a ballot in Texas

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. Economically and racially diverse, Texas includes a very large swath of the Bible Belt, 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 views. Although once part of the Solid South, Texas has not voted for a Democratic presidential nominee since Jimmy Carter in 1976.

McCain did well throughout the state, winning the vast majority of counties by double digits. He took almost 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 (including Amarillo), the Permian Basin (including Midland and Odessa) and the South Plains (including Lubbock), 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 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 counties such as Dallas, Bexar and Harris counties—home to the cities of Dallas, San Antonio, and Houston 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. 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, which contains the state capital and liberal bastion of Austin; El Paso County, which contains the city of El Paso, due in large part to heavy support by Hispanics; and many of the Latino-majority counties in the Rio Grande Valley along the border with Mexico, 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 John Cornyn was reelected with 54.82% of the vote to Democrat Rick Noriega’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. At the state level, however, Democrats picked up three seats in the Texas House of Representatives and one seat in the Texas Senate.

Results

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2008 United States presidential election in Texas
Party Candidate Running mate Votes Percentage Electoral votes
Republican John McCain Sarah Palin 4,479,328 55.45% 34
Democratic Barack Obama Joe Biden 3,528,633 43.68% 0
Libertarian Bob Barr Wayne Allyn Root 56,116 0.69% 0
Write-ins Write-ins Write-ins 9,373 0.12% 0
Independent Ralph Nader Matt Gonzalez 5,751 0.07% 0
Constitution Chuck Baldwin Darrell Castle 5,708 0.07% 0
Others Others Others 1,134 0.01% 0
Green Cynthia McKinney Rosa Clemente 909 0.01% 0
Totals 8,086,952 100.00% 34
Voter turnout (voting age population) 46.8%

By county

County John McCain
Republican 		Barack Obama
Democratic 		Various candidates
Other parties 		Margin Total
# % # % # % # %
Anderson 11,884 71.35% 4,630 27.80% 141 0.85% 7,254 43.55% 16,655
Andrews 3,816 82.44% 790 17.07% 23 0.49% 3,026 65.37% 4,629
Angelina 19,569 67.13% 9,379 32.17% 205 0.70% 10,190 34.96% 29,153
Aransas 6,693 68.45% 3,006 30.74% 79 0.81% 3,687 37.71% 9,778
Archer 3,595 82.36% 740 16.95% 30 0.69% 2,855 65.41% 4,365
Armstrong 856 86.46% 128 12.93% 6 0.61% 728 73.53% 990
Atascosa 5,462 54.96% 4,415 44.43% 61 0.61% 1,047 10.53% 9,938
Austin 8,786 74.96% 2,821 24.07% 114 0.97% 5,965 50.89% 11,721
Bailey 1,618 69.86% 682 29.45% 16 0.69% 936 40.41% 2,316
Bandera 6,935 74.59% 2,250 24.20% 112 1.21% 4,685 50.39% 9,297
Bastrop 13,817 53.02% 11,687 44.84% 558 2.14% 2,130 8.18% 26,062
Baylor 1,262 76.81% 366 22.28% 15 0.91% 896 54.53% 1,643
Bee 4,471 54.81% 3,645 44.69% 41 0.50% 826 10.12% 8,157
Bell 49,242 54.36% 40,413 44.61% 935 1.03% 8,829 9.75% 90,590
Bexar 246,275 46.69% 275,527 52.23% 5,690 1.08% -29,252 -5.54% 527,492
Blanco 3,418 69.20% 1,467 29.70% 54 1.10% 1,951 39.50% 4,939
Borden 316 87.53% 40 11.08% 5 1.39% 276 76.45% 361
Bosque 5,762 75.36% 1,797 23.50% 87 1.14% 3,965 51.86% 7,646
Bowie 24,162 68.67% 10,815 30.74% 209 0.59% 13,347 37.93% 35,186
Brazoria 67,515 64.34% 36,480 34.76% 945 0.90% 31,035 29.58% 104,940
Brazos 37,465 63.85% 20,502 34.94% 706 1.21% 16,963 28.91% 58,673
Brewster 1,855 47.56% 1,970 50.51% 75 1.93% -115 -2.95% 3,900
Briscoe 617 74.34% 205 24.70% 8 0.96% 412 49.64% 830
Brooks 556 24.08% 1,747 75.66% 6 0.26% -1,191 -51.58% 2,309
Brown 12,052 79.95% 2,822 18.72% 200 1.33% 9,230 61.23% 15,074
Burleson 4,547 68.22% 2,053 30.80% 65 0.98% 2,494 37.42% 6,665
Burnet 12,059 71.38% 4,608 27.28% 226 1.34% 7,451 44.10% 16,893
Caldwell 6,107 52.43% 5,403 46.39% 138 1.18% 704 6.04% 11,648
Calhoun 4,106 59.69% 2,729 39.67% 44 0.64% 1,377 20.02% 6,879
Callahan 4,589 80.28% 1,063 18.60% 64 1.12% 3,526 61.68% 5,716
Cameron 26,671 35.06% 48,480 63.72% 926 1.22% -21,809 -28.66% 76,077
Camp 2,798 61.27% 1,734 37.97% 35 0.76% 1,064 23.30% 4,567
Carson 2,548 85.50% 406 13.62% 26 0.88% 2,142 71.88% 2,980
Cass 8,279 69.89% 3,490 29.46% 77 0.65% 4,789 40.43% 11,846
Castro 1,562 68.18% 719 31.38% 10 0.44% 843 36.80% 2,291
Chambers 9,988 75.14% 3,188 23.98% 116 0.88% 6,800 51.16% 13,292
Cherokee 11,695 71.24% 4,610 28.08% 112 0.68% 7,085 43.16% 16,417
Childress 1,782 77.61% 497 21.65% 17 0.74% 1,285 55.96% 2,296
Clay 4,213 78.91% 1,085 20.32% 41 0.77% 3,128 58.59% 5,339
Cochran 758 71.71% 284 26.87% 15 1.42% 474 44.84% 1,057
Coke 1,252 79.80% 299 19.06% 18 1.14% 953 60.74% 1,569
Coleman 3,011 81.33% 643 17.37% 48 1.30% 2,368 63.96% 3,702
Collin 184,897 62.16% 109,047 36.66% 3,513 1.18% 75,850 25.50% 297,457
Collingsworth 943 78.91% 234 19.58% 18 1.51% 709 59.33% 1,195
Colorado 5,795 69.38% 2,508 30.03% 50 0.59% 3,287 39.35% 8,353
Comal 35,233 73.01% 12,384 25.66% 644 1.33% 22,849 47.35% 48,261
Comanche 3,813 73.09% 1,334 25.57% 70 1.34% 2,479 47.52% 5,217
Concho 807 74.93% 257 23.86% 13 1.21% 550 51.07% 1,077
Cooke 11,871 78.86% 3,051 20.27% 132 0.87% 8,820 58.59% 15,054
Coryell 11,550 63.00% 6,619 36.11% 163 0.89% 4,931 26.89% 18,332
Cottle 509 72.20% 187 26.52% 9 1.28% 322 45.68% 705
Crane 1,119 76.96% 319 21.94% 16 1.10% 800 55.02% 1,454
Crockett 1,026 66.41% 512 33.14% 7 0.45% 514 33.27% 1,545
Crosby 1,221 63.79% 684 35.74% 9 0.47% 537 28.05% 1,914
Culberson 257 33.86% 492 64.82% 10 1.32% -235 -30.96% 759
Dallam 1,269 79.86% 302 19.01% 18 1.13% 967 60.85% 1,589
Dallas 310,000 41.89% 422,989 57.15% 7,085 0.96% -112,989 -15.26% 740,074
Dawson 2,906 70.95% 1,152 28.13% 38 0.92% 1,754 42.82% 4,096
Deaf Smith 3,466 73.06% 1,247 26.29% 31 0.65% 2,219 46.77% 4,744
Delta 1,580 72.25% 589 26.93% 18 0.82% 991 45.32% 2,187
Denton 149,935 61.63% 91,160 37.47% 2,168 0.90% 58,775 24.16% 243,263
DeWitt 4,888 73.77% 1,716 25.90% 22 0.33% 3,172 47.87% 6,626
Dickens 730 75.10% 234 24.07% 8 0.83% 496 51.03% 972
Dimmit 874 24.37% 2,692 75.05% 21 0.58% -1,818 -50.68% 3,587
Donley 1,374 81.30% 291 17.22% 25 1.48% 1,083 64.08% 1,690
Duval 1,076 24.40% 3,298 74.80% 35 0.80% -2,222 -50.40% 4,409
Eastland 5,165 79.35% 1,271 19.53% 73 1.12% 3,894 59.82% 6,509
Ector 26,199 73.49% 9,123 25.59% 329 0.92% 17,076 47.90% 35,651
Edwards 673 65.02% 346 33.43% 16 1.55% 327 31.59% 1,035
El Paso 61,783 33.28% 122,021 65.73% 1,826 0.99% -60,238 -32.45% 185,630
Ellis 38,078 70.71% 15,333 28.47% 442 0.82% 22,745 42.24% 53,853
Erath 10,768 76.81% 3,128 22.31% 123 0.88% 7,640 54.50% 14,019
Falls 3,328 59.44% 2,225 39.74% 46 0.82% 1,103 19.70% 5,599
Fannin 8,092 69.20% 3,464 29.62% 138 1.18% 4,628 39.58% 11,694
Fayette 7,582 70.43% 3,014 28.00% 169 1.57% 4,568 42.43% 10,765
Fisher 1,083 60.71% 687 38.51% 14 0.78% 396 22.20% 1,784
Floyd 1,784 70.77% 730 28.96% 7 0.27% 1,054 41.81% 2,521
Foard 327 60.78% 198 36.80% 13 2.42% 129 23.98% 538
Fort Bend 103,206 50.89% 98,368 48.50% 1,248 0.61% 4,838 2.39% 202,822
Franklin 3,392 75.53% 1,036 23.07% 63 1.40% 2,356 52.46% 4,491
Freestone 5,205 71.42% 2,034 27.91% 49 0.67% 3,171 43.51% 7,288
Frio 1,644 40.47% 2,405 59.21% 13 0.32% -761 -18.74% 4,062
Gaines 3,385 83.23% 650 15.98% 32 0.79% 2,735 67.25% 4,067
Galveston 62,258 59.29% 41,805 39.81% 941 0.90% 20,453 19.48% 105,004
Garza 1,356 77.49% 375 21.43% 19 1.08% 981 56.06% 1,750
Gillespie 9,563 77.51% 2,576 20.88% 199 1.61% 6,987 56.63% 12,338
Glasscock 502 90.13% 52 9.34% 3 0.53% 450 80.79% 557
Goliad 2,298 62.87% 1,329 36.36% 28 0.77% 969 26.51% 3,655
Gonzales 4,076 64.83% 2,167 34.47% 44 0.70% 1,909 30.36% 6,287
Gray 6,924 85.13% 1,153 14.18% 56 0.69% 5,771 70.95% 8,133
Grayson 31,136 68.33% 13,900 30.51% 528 1.16% 17,236 37.82% 45,564
Gregg 29,203 68.54% 13,166 30.90% 241 0.56% 16,037 37.64% 42,610
Grimes 5,562 66.83% 2,704 32.49% 56 0.68% 2,858 34.34% 8,322
Guadalupe 30,869 64.91% 16,156 33.97% 535 1.12% 14,713 30.94% 47,560
Hale 7,171 72.12% 2,708 27.24% 64 0.64% 4,463 44.88% 9,943
Hall 930 73.58% 324 25.63% 10 0.79% 606 47.95% 1,264
Hamilton 2,876 76.12% 863 22.84% 39 1.04% 2,013 53.28% 3,778
Hansford 1,847 87.87% 240 11.42% 15 0.71% 1,607 76.45% 2,102
Hardeman 1,199 75.17% 373 23.39% 23 1.44% 826 51.78% 1,595
Hardin 16,603 80.20% 3,939 19.03% 160 0.77% 12,664 61.17% 20,702
Harris 571,883 48.82% 590,982 50.45% 8,607 0.73% -19,099 -1.63% 1,171,472
Harrison 17,103 65.38% 8,887 33.97% 168 0.65% 8,216 31.41% 26,158
Hartley 1,711 86.20% 250 12.59% 24 1.21% 1,461 73.61% 1,985
Haskell 1,388 65.60% 699 33.03% 29 1.37% 689 32.57% 2,116
Hays 29,638 50.19% 28,431 48.15% 983 1.66% 1,207 2.04% 59,052
Hemphill 1,345 85.67% 216 13.76% 9 0.57% 1,129 71.91% 1,570
Henderson 20,857 71.94% 7,913 27.29% 223 0.77% 12,944 44.65% 28,993
Hidalgo 39,668 30.29% 90,261 68.92% 1,043 0.79% -50,593 -38.63% 130,972
Hill 9,264 70.25% 3,811 28.90% 113 0.85% 5,453 41.35% 13,188
Hockley 5,795 75.80% 1,797 23.51% 53 0.69% 3,998 52.29% 7,645
Hood 17,299 76.46% 5,087 22.48% 238 1.06% 12,212 53.98% 22,624
Hopkins 9,299 71.98% 3,530 27.32% 90 0.70% 5,769 44.66% 12,919
Houston 5,872 68.09% 2,656 30.80% 96 1.11% 3,216 37.29% 8,624
Howard 7,029 72.55% 2,545 26.27% 115 1.18% 4,484 46.28% 9,689
Hudspeth 458 51.00% 430 47.88% 10 1.12% 28 3.12% 898
Hunt 20,573 69.68% 8,594 29.11% 357 1.21% 11,979 40.57% 29,524
Hutchinson 7,361 84.02% 1,322 15.09% 78 0.89% 6,039 68.93% 8,761
Irion 644 78.82% 164 20.07% 9 1.11% 480 58.75% 817
Jack 2,528 83.63% 470 15.55% 25 0.82% 2,058 68.08% 3,023
Jackson 3,723 73.46% 1,301 25.67% 44 0.87% 2,422 47.79% 5,068
Jasper 9,022 70.62% 3,658 28.63% 96 0.75% 5,364 41.99% 12,776
Jeff Davis 749 60.60% 468 37.86% 19 1.54% 281 22.74% 1,236
Jefferson 42,905 48.52% 44,888 50.76% 637 0.72% -1,983 -2.24% 88,430
Jim Hogg 472 26.01% 1,336 73.61% 7 0.38% -864 -47.60% 1,815
Jim Wells 4,841 41.69% 6,706 57.75% 65 0.56% -1,865 -16.06% 11,612
Johnson 36,685 73.30% 12,912 25.80% 453 0.90% 23,773 47.50% 50,050
Jones 4,203 72.37% 1,528 26.31% 77 1.32% 2,675 46.06% 5,808
Karnes 2,736 60.44% 1,760 38.88% 31 0.68% 976 21.56% 4,527
Kaufman 23,735 67.53% 11,161 31.76% 249 0.71% 12,574 35.77% 35,145
Kendall 12,971 77.46% 3,599 21.49% 176 1.05% 9,372 55.97% 16,746
Kenedy 94 46.53% 108 53.47% 0 0.00% -14 -6.94% 202
Kent 342 76.34% 99 22.10% 7 1.56% 243 54.24% 448
Kerr 16,752 74.27% 5,570 24.69% 234 1.04% 11,182 49.58% 22,556
Kimble 1,487 80.68% 342 18.56% 14 0.76% 1,145 62.12% 1,843
King 151 92.64% 8 4.91% 4 2.45% 143 87.73% 163
Kinney 907 58.48% 633 40.81% 11 0.71% 274 17.67% 1,551
Kleberg 4,540 45.97% 5,256 53.22% 80 0.81% -716 -7.25% 9,876
Knox 986 72.08% 367 26.83% 15 1.09% 619 45.25% 1,368
Lamar 12,952 70.54% 5,243 28.55% 167 0.91% 7,709 41.99% 18,362
Lamb 3,344 73.90% 1,156 25.55% 25 0.55% 2,188 48.35% 4,525
Lampasas 5,651 74.02% 1,903 24.93% 80 1.05% 3,748 49.09% 7,634
La Salle 714 40.20% 1,052 59.23% 10 0.57% -338 -19.03% 1,776
Lavaca 6,293 76.30% 1,869 22.66% 86 1.04% 4,424 53.64% 8,248
Lee 4,312 67.62% 2,000 31.36% 65 1.02% 2,312 36.26% 6,377
Leon 5,566 79.05% 1,418 20.14% 57 0.81% 4,148 58.91% 7,041
Liberty 15,448 71.23% 5,991 27.62% 248 1.15% 9,457 43.61% 21,687
Limestone 5,079 66.20% 2,516 32.79% 77 1.01% 2,563 33.41% 7,672
Lipscomb 1,093 87.02% 155 12.34% 8 0.64% 938 74.68% 1,256
Live Oak 3,095 74.11% 1,048 25.10% 33 0.79% 2,047 49.01% 4,176
Llano 7,281 75.62% 2,250 23.37% 98 1.01% 5,031 52.25% 9,629
Loving 67 84.81% 12 15.19% 0 0.00% 55 69.62% 79
Lubbock 66,304 67.98% 30,486 31.26% 744 0.76% 35,818 36.72% 97,534
Lynn 1,473 69.61% 627 29.63% 16 0.76% 846 39.98% 2,116
Madison 2,891 70.96% 1,146 28.13% 37 0.91% 1,745 42.83% 4,074
Marion 2,567 60.37% 1,644 38.66% 41 0.97% 923 21.71% 4,252
Martin 1,389 80.99% 314 18.31% 12 0.70% 1,075 62.68% 1,715
Mason 1,544 72.80% 546 25.74% 31 1.46% 998 47.06% 2,121
Matagorda 7,835 63.32% 4,440 35.88% 98 0.80% 3,395 27.44% 12,373
Maverick 2,316 21.17% 8,554 78.20% 69 0.63% -6,238 -57.03% 10,939
McCulloch 2,263 75.18% 728 24.19% 19 0.63% 1,535 50.99% 3,010
McLennan 49,044 61.56% 29,998 37.65% 632 0.79% 19,046 23.91% 79,674
McMullen 400 74.49% 132 24.58% 5 0.93% 268 49.91% 537
Medina 10,480 66.59% 5,147 32.71% 110 0.70% 5,333 33.88% 15,737
Menard 712 69.94% 295 28.98% 11 1.08% 417 40.96% 1,018
Midland 36,155 78.13% 9,691 20.94% 428 0.93% 26,464 57.19% 46,274
Milam 5,217 62.43% 3,044 36.42% 96 1.15% 2,173 26.01% 8,357
Mills 1,753 80.52% 398 18.28% 26 1.20% 1,355 62.24% 2,177
Mitchell 1,815 74.66% 586 24.11% 30 1.23% 1,229 50.55% 2,431
Montague 6,245 78.55% 1,597 20.09% 108 1.36% 4,648 58.46% 7,950
Montgomery 119,884 75.76% 36,703 23.19% 1,664 1.05% 83,181 52.57% 158,251
Moore 4,282 78.76% 1,123 20.65% 32 0.59% 3,159 58.11% 5,437
Morris 3,158 60.18% 2,055 39.16% 35 0.66% 1,103 21.02% 5,248
Motley 522 87.88% 67 11.28% 5 0.84% 455 76.60% 594
Nacogdoches 14,828 63.39% 8,393 35.88% 170 0.73% 6,435 27.51% 23,391
Navarro 10,810 66.23% 5,400 33.09% 111 0.68% 5,410 33.14% 16,321
Newton 3,446 65.51% 1,751 33.29% 63 1.20% 1,695 32.22% 5,260
Nolan 3,485 68.83% 1,521 30.04% 57 1.13% 1,964 38.79% 5,063
Nueces 52,391 51.75% 47,912 47.33% 927 0.92% 4,479 4.42% 101,230
Ochiltree 2,851 91.70% 243 7.82% 15 0.48% 2,608 83.88% 3,109
Oldham 813 88.37% 102 11.09% 5 0.54% 711 77.28% 920
Orange 21,509 73.14% 7,646 26.00% 251 0.86% 13,863 47.14% 29,406
Palo Pinto 7,264 73.45% 2,499 25.27% 127 1.28% 4,765 48.18% 9,890
Panola 7,582 74.22% 2,586 25.31% 48 0.47% 4,996 48.91% 10,216
Parker 36,974 77.11% 10,502 21.90% 475 0.99% 26,472 55.21% 47,951
Parmer 2,969 79.96% 719 19.36% 25 0.68% 2,250 60.60% 3,713
Pecos 2,480 61.85% 1,476 36.81% 54 1.34% 1,004 25.04% 4,010
Polk 13,731 68.15% 6,230 30.92% 188 0.93% 7,501 37.23% 20,149
Potter 20,761 69.17% 8,939 29.78% 313 1.05% 11,822 39.39% 30,013
Presidio 489 27.83% 1,252 71.26% 16 0.91% -763 -43.43% 1,757
Rains 3,146 74.27% 1,048 24.74% 42 0.99% 2,098 49.53% 4,236
Randall 41,948 80.93% 9,468 18.27% 416 0.80% 32,480 62.66% 51,832
Reagan 795 79.98% 197 19.82% 2 0.20% 598 60.16% 994
Real 1,238 76.04% 375 23.03% 15 0.93% 863 53.01% 1,628
Red River 3,461 68.51% 1,539 30.46% 52 1.03% 1,922 38.05% 5,052
Reeves 1,445 46.96% 1,606 52.19% 26 0.85% -161 -5.23% 3,077
Refugio 1,855 56.88% 1,382 42.38% 24 0.74% 473 14.50% 3,261
Roberts 477 92.08% 41 7.92% 0 0.00% 436 84.16% 518
Robertson 3,980 59.31% 2,675 39.87% 55 0.82% 1,305 19.44% 6,710
Rockwall 23,300 72.45% 8,492 26.40% 370 1.15% 14,808 46.05% 32,162
Runnels 3,118 80.63% 720 18.62% 29 0.75% 2,398 62.01% 3,867
Rusk 13,646 72.89% 4,983 26.62% 93 0.49% 8,663 46.27% 18,722
Sabine 3,749 76.92% 1,077 22.10% 48 0.98% 2,672 54.82% 4,874
San Augustine 2,342 63.04% 1,328 35.75% 45 1.21% 1,014 27.29% 3,715
San Jacinto 6,151 68.66% 2,721 30.38% 86 0.96% 3,430 38.28% 8,958
San Patricio 12,404 57.97% 8,854 41.38% 138 0.65% 3,550 16.59% 21,396
San Saba 1,941 79.00% 487 19.82% 29 1.18% 1,454 59.18% 2,457
Schleicher 970 74.39% 324 24.85% 10 0.76% 646 49.54% 1,304
Scurry 4,414 79.26% 1,088 19.54% 67 1.20% 3,326 59.72% 5,569
Shackelford 1,284 85.32% 208 13.82% 13 0.86% 1,076 71.50% 1,505
Shelby 6,630 71.91% 2,548 27.64% 42 0.45% 4,082 44.27% 9,220
Sherman 884 86.67% 127 12.45% 9 0.88% 757 74.22% 1,020
Smith 55,187 69.36% 23,726 29.82% 648 0.82% 31,461 39.54% 79,561
Somervell 2,677 75.77% 799 22.62% 57 1.61% 1,878 53.15% 3,533
Starr 1,492 15.24% 8,274 84.50% 26 0.26% -6,782 -69.26% 9,792
Stephens 2,869 81.37% 626 17.75% 31 0.88% 2,243 63.62% 3,526
Sterling 520 84.01% 97 15.67% 2 0.32% 423 68.34% 619
Stonewall 524 71.29% 206 28.03% 5 0.68% 318 43.26% 735
Sutton 1,189 75.35% 381 24.14% 8 0.51% 808 51.21% 1,578
Swisher 1,683 66.39% 813 32.07% 39 1.54% 870 34.32% 2,535
Tarrant 348,420 55.43% 274,880 43.73% 5,253 0.84% 73,540 11.70% 628,553
Taylor 34,317 72.34% 12,690 26.75% 432 0.91% 21,627 45.59% 47,439
Terrell 323 62.24% 186 35.84% 10 1.92% 137 26.40% 519
Terry 2,879 67.27% 1,379 32.22% 22 0.51% 1,500 35.05% 4,280
Throckmorton 671 80.07% 166 19.81% 1 0.12% 505 60.26% 838
Titus 6,028 65.20% 3,145 34.02% 72 0.78% 2,883 31.18% 9,245
Tom Green 27,362 70.41% 11,158 28.71% 341 0.88% 16,204 41.70% 38,861
Travis 136,981 34.25% 254,017 63.52% 8,890 2.23% -117,036 -29.27% 399,888
Trinity 4,095 67.39% 1,925 31.68% 57 0.93% 2,170 35.71% 6,077
Tyler 5,644 71.35% 2,166 27.38% 100 1.27% 3,478 43.97% 7,910
Upshur 11,222 74.00% 3,790 24.99% 152 1.01% 7,432 49.01% 15,164
Upton 898 75.02% 288 24.06% 11 0.92% 610 50.96% 1,197
Uvalde 4,590 52.36% 4,126 47.07% 50 0.57% 464 5.29% 8,766
Val Verde 5,752 44.87% 6,982 54.46% 86 0.67% -1,230 -9.59% 12,820
Van Zandt 15,734 77.15% 4,505 22.09% 156 0.76% 11,229 55.06% 20,395
Victoria 19,878 66.22% 9,832 32.75% 310 1.03% 10,046 33.47% 30,020
Walker 11,623 60.71% 7,334 38.31% 189 0.98% 4,289 22.40% 19,146
Waller 8,265 53.30% 7,153 46.12% 90 0.58% 1,112 7.18% 15,508
Ward 2,667 74.04% 899 24.96% 36 1.00% 1,768 49.08% 3,602
Washington 10,176 70.78% 4,034 28.06% 167 1.16% 6,142 42.72% 14,377
Webb 13,119 28.02% 33,452 71.45% 250 0.53% -20,333 -43.43% 46,821
Wharton 9,431 65.41% 4,937 34.24% 50 0.35% 4,494 31.17% 14,418
Wheeler 1,918 85.43% 314 13.99% 13 0.58% 1,604 71.44% 2,245
Wichita 31,731 69.01% 13,868 30.16% 383 0.83% 17,863 38.85% 45,982
Wilbarger 3,283 72.81% 1,196 26.52% 30 0.67% 2,087 46.29% 4,509
Willacy 1,456 29.70% 3,409 69.53% 38 0.77% -1,953 -39.83% 4,903
Williamson 88,323 55.49% 67,691 42.53% 3,152 1.98% 20,632 12.96% 159,166
Wilson 10,904 66.63% 5,362 32.76% 100 0.61% 5,542 33.87% 16,366
Winkler 1,529 75.25% 477 23.47% 26 1.28% 1,052 51.78% 2,032
Wise 15,973 77.39% 4,471 21.66% 195 0.95% 11,502 55.73% 20,639
Wood 13,658 76.80% 4,010 22.55% 116 0.65% 9,648 54.25% 17,784
Yoakum 1,989 80.92% 450 18.31% 19 0.77% 1,539 62.61% 2,458
Young 5,942 81.34% 1,303 17.84% 60 0.82% 4,639 63.50% 7,305
Zapata 919 32.07% 1,939 67.66% 8 0.27% -1,020 -35.59% 2,866
Zavala 596 15.38% 3,263 84.18% 17 0.44% -2,667 -68.80% 3,876
Totals 4,479,328 55.38% 3,528,633 43.63% 79,830 0.99% 950,695 11.75% 8,087,791
County flips:
Democratic   Hold   Flip Republican   Hold

Counties that flipped from Republican to Democratic

By congressional district

John McCain carried 21 of the state's 32 congressional districts, including one district held by a Democrat.

District McCain Obama Representative
1st 68.93% 30.53% Louie Gohmert
2nd 59.75% 39.69% Ted Poe
3rd 57.58% 41.73% Sam Johnson
4th 69.10% 30.17% Ralph Hall
5th 63.33% 36.05% Jeb Hensarling
6th 59.77% 39.59% Joe Barton
7th 58.36% 40.94% John Culberson
8th 73.76% 25.53% Kevin Brady
9th 22.54% 77.08% Al Green
10th 54.96% 44.18% Michael McCaul
11th 75.47% 23.75% Mike Conaway
12th 62.90% 36.36% Kay Granger
13th 76.54% 22.71% Mac Thornberry
14th 66.27% 33.08% Ron Paul
15th 39.63% 59.82% Rubén Hinojosa
16th 33.57% 65.81% Silvestre Reyes
17th 67.21% 32.02% Chet Edwards
18th 22.19% 77.37% Sheila Jackson Lee
19th 71.93% 27.36% Randy Neugebauer
20th 35.65% 63.59% Charlie Gonzalez
21st 58.49% 40.71% Lamar S. Smith
22nd 58.23% 41.14% Nick Lampson (110th Congress)
Pete Olson (111th Congress)
23rd 48.12% 50.92% Ciro Rodriguez
24th 54.96% 44.37% Kenny Marchant
25th 39.71% 59.15% Lloyd Doggett
26th 58.00% 41.33% Michael C. Burgess
27th 45.98% 53.32% Solomon Ortiz
28th 43.53% 55.93% Henry Cuellar
29th 37.73% 61.65% Gene Green
30th 17.92% 81.69% Eddie Bernice Johnson
31st 57.51% 41.53% John Carter
32nd 53.03% 46.21% Pete Sessions

Electors

Main article: List of 2008 United States presidential 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 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.

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 34 were pledged to John McCain and Sarah Palin:

  1. Marcia Daughtrey
  2. Virgil Vickery
  3. Charlie O'Reilly
  4. Brenda Zielke
  5. Mary Darby
  6. Melba McDow
  7. Paul Pressler
  9. Deborah Cupples
  10. Frank Alvarez
  11. Russ Duerstine
  12. Zan Prince
  13. Bruce Harris
  14. Gordon Starkenburg
  15. Sandra Cararas
  16. Donene O'Dell
  17. Larry Lovelace
  18. Nelda Eppes
  19. Kenneth Corbin
  20. Gene Ryder
  21. Robert Hierynomus
  22. Terese Raia
  23. Arturo Martinez de Vara
  24. Thomas Ferguson
  25. Robert Long
  26. Pat Peale
  27. Joel Yowell
  28. Judith Hooge
  29. Giovanna Searcy
  30. Patricia Ann Van Winkle
  31. Ronny Risinger
  32. Frank Eikenburg
  33. Genny Hensz
  34. Talmadge Heflin

See also

References

  1. "Turnout and Voter Registration Figures (1970-current)".
  2. "Bob Barr sues to remove Obama, McCain from Texas ballot". September 16, 2008. Retrieved September 22, 2016.
  3. "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.
  4. "Presidential". May 5, 2015. Archived from the original on May 5, 2015. Retrieved August 23, 2021.
  5. "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.
  6. "Electoral-vote.com: President, Senate, House Updated Daily". electoral-vote.com. Retrieved August 23, 2021.
  7. ^ Based on Takeaway
  8. "POLITICO's 2008 Swing State Map - POLITICO.com". www.politico.com. Retrieved September 22, 2016.
  9. "RealClearPolitics - Electoral Map". Archived from the original on June 5, 2008.
  10. "CQ Presidential Election Maps, 2008". CQ Politics. Archived from the original on June 14, 2009. Retrieved December 20, 2009.
  11. Nagourney, Adam; Zeleny, Jeff; Carter, Shan (November 4, 2008). "The Electoral Map: Key States". The New York Times. Retrieved May 26, 2010.
  12. "October – 2008 – CNN Political Ticker - CNN.com Blogs". CNN. October 31, 2008. Archived from the original on June 19, 2010. Retrieved May 26, 2010.
  13. "Winning The Electoral College". Fox News. April 27, 2010.
  14. "roadto270". hosted.ap.org. Retrieved September 22, 2016.
  15. "Election 2008: Electoral College Update - Rasmussen Reports". www.rasmussenreports.com. Retrieved September 22, 2016.
  16. "Election 2008 Polls". Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections.
  17. "Presidential Campaign Finance". Archived from the original on March 24, 2009. Retrieved August 18, 2009.
  18. "Map: Campaign Ad Spending - Election Center 2008 from CNN.com". CNN. Retrieved May 26, 2010.
  19. "Map: Campaign Candidate Visits - Election Center 2008 from CNN.com". CNN. Retrieved May 26, 2010.
  20. Silver, Nate. "Messing With Texas". FiveThirtyEight. Retrieved May 17, 2009.
  21. Leip, David. "Presidential General Election Map Comparison: Texas". Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections. Retrieved May 19, 2009.
  22. "Tarrant county election results by precinct, 2008".
  23. "Electoral College". California Secretary of State. Archived from the original on October 30, 2008. Retrieved November 1, 2008.
  24. "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on November 28, 2008. Retrieved January 2, 2009.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  25. "U. S. Electoral College 2008 Certificate". www.archives.gov. Retrieved September 22, 2016.
  26. "U. S. Electoral College 2008 Certificate". www.archives.gov. Retrieved September 22, 2016.
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