United States presidential election in Hawaii, 2008

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United States presidential election in Hawaii, 2008
← 2004 November 4, 2008 2012 →
  Obama portrait crop.jpg John McCain official portrait with alternative background.jpg
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%
Hawaii presidential election results 2012.svg
County Results
  Obama—70-80%
  Obama—60-70%
President before election

George W. Bush
Republican

 Elected President

Barack Obama
Democratic

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Main article: United States presidential election, 2008

Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found. The 2008 United States presidential election in Hawaii took place on November 4, 2008 throughout all 50 states and D.C., which 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, the state where Barack Obama was born, 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 here was much higher than previous elections.

Caucuses

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

Polling

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

Just 3 pre-election polls were ever taken in the state, averaging Obama at 64% to McCain at 30%.[15]

Fundraising

Obama raised $3,098,395. McCain raised $424,368.[16]

Advertising and visits

Obama spent $113,838 while a conservative interest group spent $31.[17] Obama visited the state once.[18]

Analysis

One of the most reliably blue states in the nation, Hawaii has only voted for two Republican candidates since statehood, both in national 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 with 53 percent of the vote. 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. 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.

Results

United States presidential election in Hawaii, 2008
Party Candidate Running mate Votes Percentage Electoral votes
Democratic Barack Obama Joe Biden 325,871 71.85% 4
Republican John McCain Sarah Palin 120,566 26.58% 0
Independent Ralph Nader Matt Gonzalez 3,825 0.84% 0
Libertarian Bob Barr Wayne Allyn Root 1,314 0.29% 0
Constitution Chuck Baldwin (write-in) Darrell Castle 1,013 0.22% 0
Green Cynthia McKinney Rosa Clemente 979 0.22% 0
Totals 453,568 100.00% 4
Voter turnout (Voting age population) 46.4%

Results breakdown

By county

County Obama Votes McCain Votes Others Votes
Overseas 81.1% 670 16.6% 137 2.3% 19
Hawaii 75.9% 50,819 22.2% 14,866 1.8% 1,231
Maui 76.7% 39,727 21.5% 11,154 1.8% 908
Kauai 75.0% 20,416 22.9% 6,245 2.1% 563
Honolulu 69.8% 214,239 28.7% 88,164 1.4% 4,410

By congressional district

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

District McCain Obama Representative
1st 28.14% 70.43% Neil Abercrombie
2nd 25.15% 73.14% Mazie Hirono

Electors

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Main article: List of United States presidential electors, 2008

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.[19] 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:[20]

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

See also

References

  1. ↑ D.C.'s Political Report: The complete source for campaign summaries
  2. ↑ Presidential | The Cook Political Report
  3. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  4. ↑ Election Projection: 2008 Elections - Polls, Projections, Results
  5. ↑ Electoral-vote.com: President, Senate, House Updated Daily
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 Based on Takeaway
  7. ↑ POLITICO's 2008 Swing State Map - POLITICO.com
  8. ↑ RealClearPolitics - Electoral Map
  9. ↑ CQ Politics | CQ Presidential Election Maps, 2008
  10. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  11. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  12. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  13. ↑ roadto270
  14. ↑ Election 2008: Electoral College Update - Rasmussen Reports™
  15. ↑ Election 2008 Polls - Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections
  16. ↑ Presidential Campaign Finance
  17. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  18. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  19. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  20. ↑ http://hawaii.gov/elections/factsheets/fsbo125.pdf
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