403,012 236,440 Start date November 4, 2008 | 61.2% 35.9% | |
The 2008 United States presidential election in Idaho 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.
Contents
- Primaries
- Predictions
- Polling
- Fundraising
- Advertising and visits
- Analysis
- By congressional district
- Electors
- References
Idaho was won by Republican nominee John McCain by a 25.3% margin of victory. Prior to the election, all 17 news organizations considered this a state McCain would win, or otherwise considered as a safe red state. Polling in the state gave a very comfortable lead to Republican John McCain over Democrat Barack Obama, sometimes by a margin of at least 30 percent, the most being 43 percent. Idaho was largely considered a safely Republican state, as it has not gone Democratic since Lyndon B. Johnson's landslide victory in 1964.
Primaries
Predictions
There were 17 news organizations who made state by state predictions of the election. Here are their last predictions before election day:
- D.C. Political Report: Republican
- Cook Political Report: Solid Republican
- Takeaway: Solid McCain
- Election Projection: Solid McCain
- Electoral-vote.com: Strong Republican
- Washington Post: Solid McCain
- Politico: Solid McCain
- Real Clear Politics: Solid McCain
- FiveThirtyEight.com: Solid McCain
- CQ Politics: Safe Republican
- New York Times: Solid Republican
- CNN: Safe Republican
- NPR: Solid Republican
- MSNBC: Solid Republican
- Fox News: Republican
- Associated Press: Republican
- Rasmussen Reports: Safe Republican
Polling
McCain won every pre-election poll, each with a double digit margin and with at least 52%. The final 3 poll average gave the Republican 66% to 29%.
Fundraising
Obama raised $874,523. McCain raised $441,338.
Advertising and visits
Obama spent $268. McCain spent $434. Neither campaign visited the state.
Analysis
With a substantial Mormon population, Idaho is one of the most reliably GOP bastions in the country. Although Barack Obama became the first Democratic presidential candidate since Michael Dukakis in 1988 to eclipse 35 percent of the vote in solidly red state Idaho, the state was still won handily by John McCain by a margin of approximately 25.34 percent. McCain carried 41 of the state’s 44 counties, with Obama winning Blaine County, home to Sun Valley and several other prime ski resorts; Latah County, home to the college town of Moscow, and Teton County, a highly affluent suburb of Teton County, Wyoming. Obama was the first Democrat to carry Teton County since Harry S. Truman in 1948. While Obama did not carry Ada County, he did carry the state capital and city of Boise. McCain’s victory in Idaho, however, was less than that of George W. Bush who carried the state with 68.38% of the vote in 2004, a 12.78-percent swing to the Democrats in Idaho.
During the same election, Republicans held onto the open U.S. Senate seat vacated by Republican Larry Craig who reluctantly retired after it was revealed that he had solicited a man for sex in the men’s restroom at an airport in Minneapolis. Former Lieutenant Governor Jim Risch, a Republican, was elected with 57.65% of the vote over Democrat Larry LaRocco who received 34.11%. A pro-life independent candidate received 5.35% while Libertarian Kent Marmon received 1.54% and Rex Rammell, a far right-wing candidate who also ran as an Independent, received 1.34%.
At the state level, Republicans expanded their supermajority status in the Idaho state legislature as they picked up one seat in the Idaho House of Representatives.
By congressional district
John McCain solidly swept both of Idaho’s two congressional districts.
Electors
Technically the voters of Idaho cast their ballots for electors: representatives to the Electoral College. Idaho 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 four were pledged to John McCain and Sarah Palin:
- Darlene Bramon
- Ben Doty
- John Erickson
- Melinda Smyser