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2008 United States presidential election in Utah

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Main article: 2008 United States presidential election

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

2008 United States presidential election in Utah
← 2004 November 4, 2008 2012 →
 
Nominee John McCain Barack Obama
Party Republican Democratic
Home state Arizona Illinois
Running mate Sarah Palin Joe Biden
Electoral vote 5 0
Popular vote 596,030 327,670
Percentage 62.15% 34.17%
County Results
President before election

George W. Bush
Republican

Elected President

Barack Obama
Democratic

Utah was won by Republican nominee John McCain by a 28% margin of victory. Prior to the election, all leading news organizations considered this a state McCain would win, or otherwise considered as a safe red state. Highlighting its status as a GOP bastion, Utah gave McCain one of his largest victories over Democrat Barack Obama, a near two-to-one margin. Obama did nevertheless manage to carry three counties, and significantly improved upon John Kerry's performance in 2004.

Primaries

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Campaign

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Predictions

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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[1] Likely R
Cook Political Report[2] Solid R
The Takeaway[3] Solid R
Electoral-vote.com[4] Solid R
Washington Post[5] Solid R
Politico[6] Solid R
RealClearPolitics[7] Solid R
FiveThirtyEight[5] Solid R
CQ Politics[8] Solid R
The New York Times[9] Solid R
CNN[10] Safe R
NPR[5] Solid R
MSNBC[5] Solid R
Fox News[11] Likely R
Associated Press[12] Likely R
Rasmussen Reports[13] Safe R

Polling

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

McCain won every pre-election poll conducted in this state, each with a double-digit margin and with at least 55% of the vote. The final three-poll average showed McCain leading 59% to 31%.[14]

Fundraising

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John McCain raised a total of $1,165,621 in the state. Barack Obama raised $2,121,563.[15]

Advertising and visits

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Obama spent $297,645. McCain spent just $250.[16] Neither campaign visited the state.[17]

Analysis

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Utah is a heavily Republican state that has not voted for a Democratic presidential nominee since Lyndon B. Johnson's landslide in 1964, and even then the state voted considerably to the right of the nation. Johnson is also the last Democrat to manage even 40 percent of Utah's popular vote. The majority of the state's population is Mormon and highly conservative, especially on social issues. Utah gave George W. Bush his largest margin of victory in 2004 over John Kerry, as Bush received over 71 percent to Kerry's 26 percent and carried every county in the state.[18]

With 62.15 percent of the popular vote, Utah proved to be McCain's third strongest state in the 2008 election after Oklahoma and neighboring Wyoming.[19]

Although McCain easily won Utah in 2008, Obama did very well for a Democrat in this Republican stronghold. Obama was able to reduce McCain's margin of victory by narrowly winning Salt Lake County, the state's most populous county that contains the state capital of Salt Lake City, by a mere 296 votes–the first time a Democrat had carried that county since 1964. Obama also carried Summit and Grand counties, both of which have significantly lower Mormon populations than the rest of the state.[20][21][22] Nonetheless, Obama became the first Democrat to win the White House without carrying Carbon County since Woodrow Wilson in 1912.

This election was the Democratic presidential nominee's best showing in Utah since 1968.[23] In substantially Native American and non-Mormon – but historically heavily Republican – San Juan County, Obama's performance was the best by a Democratic presidential candidate since Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1940.

During the same election, popular incumbent Republican Governor Jon Huntsman Jr. was reelected to a second term in a massive landslide victory, taking in 77.74 percent of the vote over Democrat Bob Springmeyer's 19.65 percent and Libertarian Dell Schanze's 2.62 percent. At the state level, however, Democrats did manage to pick up two seats in the Utah House of Representatives.

Results

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2008 United States presidential election in Utah
Party Candidate Running mate Votes Percentage Electoral votes
Republican John McCain Sarah Palin 596,030 62.15% 5
Democratic Barack Obama Joe Biden 327,670 34.17% 0
Constitution Chuck Baldwin Darrell Castle 12,012 1.25% 0
Peace and Freedom Ralph Nader Matt Gonzalez 8,416 0.88% 0
Libertarian Bob Barr Wayne Allyn Root 6,966 0.73% 0
Write-ins Write-ins 6,630 0.69% 0
Green Cynthia McKinney Rosa Clemente 982 0.10% 0
Others Others 290 0.03% 0
Totals 958,996 100.00% 5
Voter turnout (Voting age population) 55.5%

Results by county

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County John McCain
Republican 		Barack Obama
Democratic 		Charles Baldwin[24]
Constitution 		Ralph Nader[24]
Peace and Freedom 		Bob Barr[24]
Libertarian 		Various candidates[24]
Other parties 		Margin Total votes cast
# % # % # % # % # % # % # %
Beaver 1,902 75.54% 542 21.53% 30 1.19% 21 0.83% 12 0.48% 11 0.44% 1,360 54.01% 2,518
Box Elder 15,228 79.24% 3,311 17.23% 221 1.15% 147 0.76% 127 0.66% 183 0.95% 11,917 62.01% 19,217
Cache 29,127 69.48% 10,294 24.56% 1,153 2.75% 315 0.75% 372 0.89% 661 1.58% 18,833 44.92% 41,922
Carbon 4,091 52.30% 3,468 44.34% 62 0.79% 90 1.15% 48 0.61% 63 0.81% 623 7.96% 7,822
Daggett 297 66.89% 131 29.50% 2 0.45% 8 1.80% 1 0.23% 5 1.13% 166 37.39% 444
Davis 77,341 69.74% 30,477 27.48% 1,175 1.06% 956 0.86% 811 0.73% 142 0.13% 46,864 42.26% 110,902
Duchesne 4,689 81.24% 911 15.78% 66 1.14% 27 0.47% 37 0.64% 42 0.73% 3,778 65.46% 5,772
Emery 3,358 75.02% 973 21.74% 43 0.96% 39 0.87% 26 0.58% 37 0.83% 2,385 53.28% 4,476
Garfield 1,710 78.37% 405 18.56% 16 0.73% 11 0.50% 11 0.50% 29 1.32% 1,305 59.81% 2,182
Grand 1,871 45.65% 2,067 50.43% 28 0.68% 56 1.37% 30 0.73% 47 1.05% -196 -4.78% 4,099
Iron 12,518 75.06% 3,258 19.53% 352 2.11% 138 0.83% 163 0.98% 249 1.50% 9,260 55.53% 16,678
Juab 2,683 73.19% 741 20.21% 129 3.52% 30 0.82% 28 0.76% 55 1.50% 1,942 52.98% 3,666
Kane 2,212 69.65% 856 26.95% 27 0.85% 31 0.98% 24 0.76% 26 0.82% 1,356 42.70% 3,176
Millard 3,653 77.08% 758 15.99% 264 5.57% 27 0.57% 34 0.72% 3 0.06% 2,895 61.09% 4,739
Morgan 3,311 79.06% 689 16.45% 102 2.44% 28 0.67% 29 0.69% 29 0.69% 2,622 62.61% 4,188
Piute 635 79.28% 141 17.60% 13 1.62% 7 0.87% 2 0.25% 3 0.37% 494 61.68% 801
Rich 831 82.36% 154 15.26% 9 0.89% 5 0.50% 5 0.50% 5 0.50% 677 67.10% 1,009
Salt Lake 176,692 48.09% 176,988 48.17% 3,229 0.88% 3,768 1.03% 2,556 0.70% 4,211 1.15% -296 -0.08% 367,444
San Juan 2,638 51.42% 2,406 46.90% 45 0.88% 25 0.49% 14 0.27% 2 0.04% 232 4.52% 5,130
Sanpete 6,664 75.06% 1,631 18.37% 324 3.65% 87 0.98% 54 0.61% 118 1.33% 5,033 56.69% 8,878
Sevier 6,394 79.35% 1,359 16.87% 131 1.63% 52 0.65% 53 0.66% 69 0.85% 5,035 62.48% 8,058
Summit 6,956 41.11% 9,532 56.34% 75 0.44% 126 0.74% 104 0.61% 127 0.75% -2,576 -15.23% 16,920
Tooele 10,998 62.98% 5,830 33.38% 206 1.18% 151 0.86% 137 0.78% 141 0.81% 5,168 29.60% 17,463
Uintah 8,441 82.84% 1,462 14.35% 157 1.54% 45 0.44% 37 0.36% 47 0.46% 6,979 68.49% 10,189
Utah 122,224 77.71% 29,567 18.80% 2,877 1.83% 1,119 0.71% 1,311 0.83% 181 0.12% 92,657 58.91% 157,279
Wasatch 5,430 62.96% 2,892 33.53% 81 0.94% 86 1.00% 30 0.35% 106 1.23% 2,538 29.43% 8,625
Washington 37,311 74.57% 10,826 21.64% 628 1.26% 312 0.62% 413 0.83% 545 1.09% 26,485 52.93% 50,035
Wayne 940 70.04% 335 24.96% 10 0.75% 12 0.89% 12 0.89% 33 2.46% 605 45.08% 1,342
Weber 45,885 61.99% 25,666 34.67% 557 0.75% 697 0.94% 485 0.66% 732 0.99% 20,219 27.32% 74,022
Totals 596,030 62.15% 327,670 34.17% 12,012 1.25% 8,416 0.88% 6,966 0.73% 7,902 0.82% 268,360 27.98% 958,996
 
County Flips:

Counties that flipped from Republican to Democratic

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By congressional district

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John McCain swept all 3 of the state's congressional districts, including one held by a Democrat.

District McCain Obama Representative
1st 63.62% 33.42% Rob Bishop
2nd 57.72% 39.55% Jim Matheson
3rd 67.35% 29.25% Chris Cannon (110th Congress)
Jason Chaffetz (111th Congress)

Electors

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Main article: List of 2008 United States presidential electors

Technically the voters of Utah cast their ballots for electors: representatives to the Electoral College. Utah is allocated 5 electors because it has 3 congressional districts and 2 senators. All candidates who appear on the ballot or qualify to receive write-in votes must submit a list of 5 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 5 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.[25] 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 5 were pledged to John McCain and Sarah Palin:[26]

  1. Scott Simpson
  2. Richard Snelgrove
  3. Stan Lockhart
  4. Enid Greene-Mickelesen
  5. Mark Shurtleff

See also

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References

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  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. ^ a b c d 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". Retrieved December 19, 2022.
  15. ^ "Presidential Campaign Finance". Archived from the original on March 24, 2009. Retrieved December 25, 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. ^ "CNN Election Center 2004 - Utah Results". Retrieved November 13, 2008.
  19. ^ "2008 Presidential Election Statistics". Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections. Retrieved March 5, 2018.
  20. ^ "CNN Election Center 2008 - Utah Results". Retrieved November 13, 2008.
  21. ^ "ksl.com - Final Tally: Obama Wins Salt Lake County". Retrieved November 19, 2008.
  22. ^ "elections.utah.gov-Official Canvass of Utah Vote". Archived from the original on June 11, 2009. Retrieved November 28, 2008.
  23. ^ "1968 General Election Results - Utah". Retrieved November 19, 2008.
  24. ^ a b c d Our Campaigns; UT US Presidential Election November 04 2008
  25. ^ "Electoral College". California Secretary of State. Archived from the original on October 30, 2008. Retrieved November 1, 2008.
  26. ^ "Untitled Document". Archived from the original on November 8, 2008. Retrieved November 8, 2008.
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