United States presidential election in Connecticut, 2008
Encyclopedia
The 2008 United States presidential election in Connecticut 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 7 representatives, or electors to the Electoral College, who voted for President
and Vice President
.
Connecticut
was won by Democratic nominee Barack Obama
with a 22.4% margin of victory. No Republican presidential candidate carried this state since 1988
. Connecticut was one of the six states that had every county—including traditionally Republican Litchfield County
—go for Obama, the others being Hawaii
, Massachusetts
, New Hampshire
, Rhode Island
, and Vermont
. Connecticut has not voted for a Republican presidential nominee since 1988
when the state was carried by George H.W. Bush over Michael Dukakis
.
, an area of the country that has recently turned into a Democratic stronghold. Despite Independent Democratic Senator
Joe Lieberman
's endorsement of McCain, the state was never seriously contested.
In 2006, Democrats knocked off two incumbent Republicans and picked up two U.S. House seats in CT-02 and CT-05 (Joe Courtney and Chris Murphy, respectively). Although Governor M. Jodi Rell
and Lieutenant Governor Michael Fedele
are both moderate Republicans, all other statewide offices are held by Democrats. Democrats also enjoy a supermajority status in both chambers of the Connecticut state legislature.
In 2008, Democrat Jim Himes
defeated incumbent Republican Christopher Shays
, who was at the time the only Republican member of the U.S. House from New England, for the U.S. House seat in Connecticut's 4th congressional district
. This was largely because Obama carried the district with a staggering 60 percent of the vote—one of his best performances in a Republican-held district. Shays' defeat meant that for the first time in almost 150 years, there were no Republican Representatives from New England. In no other part of the country is a major political party completely shut out. At the same time at the state level, Democrats picked up six seats in the Connecticut House of Representatives
and one seat in the Connecticut Senate
.
and 2 senators. All candidates who appear on the ballot or qualify to receive write-in votes must submit a list of 7 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 7 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 7 were pledged to Barack Obama
and Joe Biden
:
United States presidential election, 2008
The United States presidential election of 2008 was the 56th quadrennial presidential election. It was held on November 4, 2008. Democrat Barack Obama, then the junior United States Senator from Illinois, defeated Republican John McCain, the senior U.S. Senator from Arizona. Obama received 365...
. Voters chose 7 representatives, or electors to the Electoral College, who voted for President
President of the United States
The President of the United States of America is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president leads the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed Forces....
and Vice President
Vice President of the United States
The Vice President of the United States is the holder of a public office created by the United States Constitution. The Vice President, together with the President of the United States, is indirectly elected by the people, through the Electoral College, to a four-year term...
.
Connecticut
Connecticut
Connecticut is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, and the state of New York to the west and the south .Connecticut is named for the Connecticut River, the major U.S. river that approximately...
was won by Democratic nominee Barack Obama
Barack Obama
Barack Hussein Obama II is the 44th and current President of the United States. He is the first African American to hold the office. Obama previously served as a United States Senator from Illinois, from January 2005 until he resigned following his victory in the 2008 presidential election.Born in...
with a 22.4% margin of victory. No Republican presidential candidate carried this state since 1988
United States presidential election, 1988
The United States presidential election of 1988 featured no incumbent president, as President Ronald Reagan was unable to seek re-election after serving the maximum two terms allowed by the Twenty-second Amendment. Reagan's Vice President, George H. W. Bush, won the Republican nomination, while the...
. Connecticut was one of the six states that had every county—including traditionally Republican Litchfield County
Litchfield County, Connecticut
Litchfield County is a county located in the northwestern corner of the U.S. state of Connecticut. Litchfield County has the lowest population density of any county in Connecticut but is geographically the state's largest county. As of 2010 the population was 189,927...
—go for Obama, the others being Hawaii
Hawaii
Hawaii is the newest of the 50 U.S. states , and is the only U.S. state made up entirely of islands. It is the northernmost island group in Polynesia, occupying most of an archipelago in the central Pacific Ocean, southwest of the continental United States, southeast of Japan, and northeast of...
, Massachusetts
Massachusetts
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010...
, New Hampshire
New Hampshire
New Hampshire is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. The state was named after the southern English county of Hampshire. It is bordered by Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Atlantic Ocean to the east, and the Canadian...
, Rhode Island
Rhode Island
The state of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, more commonly referred to as Rhode Island , is a state in the New England region of the United States. It is the smallest U.S. state by area...
, and Vermont
Vermont
Vermont is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. The state ranks 43rd in land area, , and 45th in total area. Its population according to the 2010 census, 630,337, is the second smallest in the country, larger only than Wyoming. It is the only New England...
. Connecticut has not voted for a Republican presidential nominee since 1988
United States presidential election, 1988
The United States presidential election of 1988 featured no incumbent president, as President Ronald Reagan was unable to seek re-election after serving the maximum two terms allowed by the Twenty-second Amendment. Reagan's Vice President, George H. W. Bush, won the Republican nomination, while the...
when the state was carried by George H.W. Bush over Michael Dukakis
Michael Dukakis
Michael Stanley Dukakis served as the 65th and 67th Governor of Massachusetts from 1975–1979 and from 1983–1991, and was the Democratic presidential nominee in 1988. He was born to Greek immigrants in Brookline, Massachusetts, also the birthplace of John F. Kennedy, and was the longest serving...
.
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: Democrat
- Cook Political ReportCook Political ReportThe Cook Political Report is an independent, non-partisan online newsletter that analyzes elections and campaigns for the United States House of Representatives, the United States Senate, Governor's offices and the American Presidency. The Cook Political Report is led by a staff of five...
: Solid Democrat - Takeaway: Solid Obama
- Election Projection: Solid Obama
- Electoral-vote.comElectoral-vote.comElectoral-Vote.com is the website of computer scientist Andrew S. Tanenbaum. The site's primary content is poll analysis to project the outcome of U.S. elections. The site also includes commentary on related news stories. Well known for its color-coded electoral map of the United States, the...
: Strong Democrat - Washington Post: Solid Obama
- PoliticoPolitico (newspaper)The Politico is an American political journalism organization based in Arlington, Virginia, that distributes its content via television, the Internet, newspaper, and radio. Its coverage of Washington, D.C., includes the U.S. Congress, lobbying, media and the Presidency...
: Solid Obama - Real Clear Politics: Solid Obama
- FiveThirtyEight.comFiveThirtyEight.comFiveThirtyEight is a polling aggregation website with a blog created by Nate Silver. Sometimes colloquially referred to as 538 dot com or just 538, the website takes its name from the number of electors in the United States electoral college...
: Solid Obama - CQ Politics: Safe Democrat
- New York Times: Solid Democrat
- CNNCNNCable News Network is a U.S. cable news channel founded in 1980 by Ted Turner. Upon its launch, CNN was the first channel to provide 24-hour television news coverage, and the first all-news television channel in the United States...
: Safe Democrat - NPRNPRNPR, formerly National Public Radio, is a privately and publicly funded non-profit membership media organization that serves as a national syndicator to a network of 900 public radio stations in the United States. NPR was created in 1970, following congressional passage of the Public Broadcasting...
: Solid Obama - MSNBCMSNBCMSNBC is a cable news channel based in the United States available in the US, Germany , South Africa, the Middle East and Canada...
: Solid Obama - Fox News: Democrat
- Associated PressAssociated PressThe Associated Press is an American news agency. The AP is a cooperative owned by its contributing newspapers, radio and television stations in the United States, which both contribute stories to the AP and use material written by its staff journalists...
: Democrat - Rasmussen ReportsRasmussen ReportsRasmussen Reports is an American media company that publishes and distributes information based on public opinion polling. Founded by pollster Scott Rasmussen in 2003, the company updates daily indexes including the President's job approval rating, and provides public opinion data, analysis, and...
: Safe Democrat
Polling
Barack Obama won every single poll taken in the state, and every one of them by a double digit margin of victory.Advertising and visits
Obama spent $730,335 while McCain spent nothing on the state. Neither campaign visited the state.Analysis
Connecticut is a part of New EnglandNew England
New England is a region in the northeastern corner of the United States consisting of the six states of Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut...
, an area of the country that has recently turned into a Democratic stronghold. Despite Independent Democratic Senator
United States Senate
The United States Senate is the upper house of the bicameral legislature of the United States, and together with the United States House of Representatives comprises the United States Congress. The composition and powers of the Senate are established in Article One of the U.S. Constitution. Each...
Joe Lieberman
Joe Lieberman
Joseph Isadore "Joe" Lieberman is the senior United States Senator from Connecticut. A former member of the Democratic Party, he was the party's nominee for Vice President in the 2000 election. Currently an independent, he remains closely affiliated with the party.Born in Stamford, Connecticut,...
's endorsement of McCain, the state was never seriously contested.
In 2006, Democrats knocked off two incumbent Republicans and picked up two U.S. House seats in CT-02 and CT-05 (Joe Courtney and Chris Murphy, respectively). Although Governor M. Jodi Rell
M. Jodi Rell
Mary Jodi Rell is a Republican politician and was the 87th Governor of the U.S. state of Connecticut from 2004 until 2011. She was the Lieutenant Governor of Connecticut under Governor John G. Rowland, who resigned during a corruption investigation. Rell is Connecticut's second female Governor,...
and Lieutenant Governor Michael Fedele
Michael Fedele
Michael Fedele is an Italian-American politician. A member of the Republican Party, he served as the 107thThe State of Connecticut recognizes Michael Fedele as the 107th Lieutenant Governor, using a standard that had counted Colonial period lieutenants as well as counting lieutenants who had...
are both moderate Republicans, all other statewide offices are held by Democrats. Democrats also enjoy a supermajority status in both chambers of the Connecticut state legislature.
In 2008, Democrat Jim Himes
Jim Himes
James A. "Jim" Himes is an American businessman and U.S. Representative for , serving since 2009. He is a member of the Democratic Party....
defeated incumbent Republican Christopher Shays
Christopher Shays
Christopher H. Shays is an American politician. He was a Republican member of the United States House of Representatives and represented the 4th District of Connecticut....
, who was at the time the only Republican member of the U.S. House from New England, for the U.S. House seat in Connecticut's 4th congressional district
Connecticut's 4th congressional district
Connecticut's 4th congressional district is a congressional district in the U.S. state of Connecticut. Located in the southwestern part of the state, the district is largely suburban and consists of Bridgeport, the largest city in the state, and Stamford....
. This was largely because Obama carried the district with a staggering 60 percent of the vote—one of his best performances in a Republican-held district. Shays' defeat meant that for the first time in almost 150 years, there were no Republican Representatives from New England. In no other part of the country is a major political party completely shut out. At the same time at the state level, Democrats picked up six seats in the Connecticut House of Representatives
Connecticut House of Representatives
The Connecticut House of Representatives is the lower house in the Connecticut General Assembly, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Connecticut. The house is composed of 151 members representing an equal number of districts, with each constituency containing nearly 22,600 residents...
and one seat in the Connecticut Senate
Connecticut Senate
The Connecticut State Senate is the upper house of the Connecticut General Assembly, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Connecticut. The state senate comprises 36 members, each representing a district with around 94,600 inhabitants. Senators are elected to two-year terms without term limits...
.
Results
| United States presidential election in Connecticut, 2000 | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | Percentage | Electoral votes | |
| Democratic Democratic Party (United States) The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous... |
Barack Obama Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II is the 44th and current President of the United States. He is the first African American to hold the office. Obama previously served as a United States Senator from Illinois, from January 2005 until he resigned following his victory in the 2008 presidential election.Born in... |
997,773 | 60.59% | 7 | |
| Republican Republican Party (United States) The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S... |
John McCain John McCain John Sidney McCain III is the senior United States Senator from Arizona. He was the Republican nominee for president in the 2008 United States election.... |
629,428 | 38.22% | 0 | |
| Independent Independent (politician) In politics, an independent or non-party politician is an individual not affiliated to any political party. Independents may hold a centrist viewpoint between those of major political parties, a viewpoint more extreme than any major party, or they may have a viewpoint based on issues that they do... |
Ralph Nader Ralph Nader Ralph Nader is an American political activist, as well as an author, lecturer, and attorney. Areas of particular concern to Nader include consumer protection, humanitarianism, environmentalism, and democratic government.... |
19,162 | 1.16% | 0 | |
| Independent Independent (politician) In politics, an independent or non-party politician is an individual not affiliated to any political party. Independents may hold a centrist viewpoint between those of major political parties, a viewpoint more extreme than any major party, or they may have a viewpoint based on issues that they do... |
Chuck Baldwin Chuck Baldwin Charles Obadiah "Chuck" Baldwin is an American politician and founder-pastor of Crossroad Baptist Church in Pensacola, Florida. He was the presidential nominee of the Constitution Party for the 2008 U.S. presidential election and had previously been its nominee for U.S. vice president in 2004... |
311 | 0.02% | 0 | |
| Independent Independent (politician) In politics, an independent or non-party politician is an individual not affiliated to any political party. Independents may hold a centrist viewpoint between those of major political parties, a viewpoint more extreme than any major party, or they may have a viewpoint based on issues that they do... |
Cynthia A. McKinney | 90 | 0.01% | 0 | |
| Independent Independent (politician) In politics, an independent or non-party politician is an individual not affiliated to any political party. Independents may hold a centrist viewpoint between those of major political parties, a viewpoint more extreme than any major party, or they may have a viewpoint based on issues that they do... |
Brian Moore Brian Moore (politician) Brian Patrick Moore is an United States politician and founder of antiwar organization Nature Coast Coalition for Peace & Justice. He was the presidential nominee of the Socialist Party USA for the 2008 United States presidential election. He waged several campaigns for mayor and city council in... |
19 | 0.00% | 0 | |
| Independent Independent (politician) In politics, an independent or non-party politician is an individual not affiliated to any political party. Independents may hold a centrist viewpoint between those of major political parties, a viewpoint more extreme than any major party, or they may have a viewpoint based on issues that they do... |
Roger Calero Róger Calero Róger Calero is a Nicaraguan American journalist and one of the leaders of the Socialist Workers Party. He was SWP candidate for President of the United States in 2004 and 2008, and for the United States Senate in New York in 2006.... |
10 | 0.00% | 0 | |
| Totals | 1,646,793 | 100.00% | 7 | ||
| Voter turnout (Voting Age population) | 62.1% | ||||
By county
| County | Obama% | Obama# | McCain% | McCain# | Others% | Others# |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fairfield Fairfield County, Connecticut Fairfield County is a county located in the southwestern corner of the U.S. state of Connecticut. The county population is 916,829 according to the 2010 Census. There are currently 1,465 people per square mile in the county. It is the most populous county in the State of Connecticut and contains... |
58.64% | 241,515 | 40.63% | 167,339 | 0.72% | 2,975 |
| Hartford Hartford County, Connecticut Hartford County is a county located in the north central part of the US state of Connecticut. The 2010 Census records show that the county population is at 894,014 making it the second most populated county in Connecticut.... |
65.17% | 268,674 | 33.70% | 138,946 | 1.12% | 4,633 |
| Litchfield Litchfield County, Connecticut Litchfield County is a county located in the northwestern corner of the U.S. state of Connecticut. Litchfield County has the lowest population density of any county in Connecticut but is geographically the state's largest county. As of 2010 the population was 189,927... |
51.62% | 51,037 | 46.70% | 46,176 | 1.68% | 1,657 |
| Middlesex Middlesex County, Connecticut Middlesex County is a county located in the south central part of the U.S. state of Connecticut. It was created in 1785 from portions of Hartford and New London counties. As of 2010, the population was 165,676.... |
60.78% | 52,966 | 37.75% | 32,914 | 1.47% | 1,282 |
| New Haven New Haven County, Connecticut New Haven County is a county located in the south central part of the U.S. state of Connecticut. As of the 2010 Census, the county population is 862,477 making it the third most populated county in Connecticut. There are 1,340 people per square mile... |
60.99% | 232,922 | 37.84% | 144,535 | 1.17% | 4,483 |
| New London New London County, Connecticut New London County is a county located in the southeastern corner of the U.S. state of Connecticut. As of 2010 the population was 274,055. The total area of the county is , including inland and coastal waters.... |
59.90% | 74,776 | 38.85% | 48,491 | 1.25% | 1,562 |
| Tolland Tolland County, Connecticut Tolland County is a county located in the northeastern part of Connecticut. As of 2010, the population was 152,691.Counties in Connecticut have no governmental function: all legal power is vested in the state, city, and town governments... |
59.64% | 44,971 | 38.80% | 29,262 | 1.56% | 1,175 |
| Windham Windham County, Connecticut Windham County is a county located in the northeastern corner of the U.S. state of Connecticut. As of 2010, the population was 118,428.The entire county is within the Quinebaug and Shetucket Rivers Valley National Heritage Corridor, as designated by the National Park Service.-History:Windham... |
60.66% | 34,133 | 37.69% | 21,210 | 1.65% | 926 |
By congressional district
Barack Obama carried all five of Connecticut’s congressional districts.| District | McCain | Obama | Representative |
|---|---|---|---|
| 32.73% | 65.95% | John Larson John Larson John Barry Larson is the U.S. Representative for , serving since 1999. He is a member of the a Democratic Party. The district is based in the state capital, Hartford.Larson is the chairman of the House Democratic Caucus.... |
|
| 40.07% | 58.48% | Joe Courtney Joe Courtney (politician) Joseph Courtney is the U.S. Representative for , serving since 2007. He is a member of the Democratic Party.-Early life, education and career:Courtney grew up in suburban Hartford and became a 1975 graduate of Tufts University... |
|
| 36.28% | 62.50% | Rosa DeLauro Rosa DeLauro Rosa L. DeLauro is the U.S. Representative for , serving since 1991. She is a member of the Democratic Party.The district is based in New Haven, and includes most of that city's suburbs.-Early life, education and career:... |
|
| 39.64% | 59.70% | Christopher Shays Christopher Shays Christopher H. Shays is an American politician. He was a Republican member of the United States House of Representatives and represented the 4th District of Connecticut.... (110th Congress 110th United States Congress The One Hundred Tenth United States Congress was the meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, between January 3, 2007, and January 3, 2009, during the last two years of the second term of President George W. Bush. It was composed of the Senate and the House of... ) |
|
| Jim Himes Jim Himes James A. "Jim" Himes is an American businessman and U.S. Representative for , serving since 2009. He is a member of the Democratic Party.... (111th Congress 111th United States Congress The One Hundred Eleventh United States Congress was the meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government from January 3, 2009 until January 3, 2011. It began during the last two weeks of the George W. Bush administration, with the remainder spanning the first two years of... ) |
|||
| 42.40% | 56.34% | Chris Murphy Chris Murphy (politician) Christopher Scott "Chris" Murphy is the U. S. Representative for , serving since 2007. He is a member of the Democratic Party.Murphy previously served in the Connecticut House of Representatives and the Connecticut Senate.... |
Electors
Technically the voters of CT cast their ballots for electors: representatives to the Electoral College. CT is allocated 7 electors because it has 5 congressional districtsConnecticut's congressional districts
Connecticut is currently divided among five congressional districts from which citizens elect the state's representatives to the United States House of Representatives. After the 2008 elections, all five of Connecticut's representatives are Democrats...
and 2 senators. All candidates who appear on the ballot or qualify to receive write-in votes must submit a list of 7 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 7 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
Faithless elector
In United States presidential elections, a faithless elector is a member of the Electoral College who does not vote for the candidate they have pledged to vote for...
.
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 7 were pledged to Barack Obama
Barack Obama
Barack Hussein Obama II is the 44th and current President of the United States. He is the first African American to hold the office. Obama previously served as a United States Senator from Illinois, from January 2005 until he resigned following his victory in the 2008 presidential election.Born in...
and Joe Biden
Joe Biden
Joseph Robinette "Joe" Biden, Jr. is the 47th and current Vice President of the United States, serving under President Barack Obama...
:
- Shirley Steinmetz
- Nicholas Paindiris
- Andrea Jackson Brooks
- Jim Ezzes
- Lorraine McQueen
- Deborah McFadden
- Ken Delacruz