United States presidential election in Nebraska, 2008
Encyclopedia
The 2008 United States presidential election in Nebraska took place on November 4, 2008 as part of the 2008 United States presidential election
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 5 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...

. However, this state is one of the two states of the U.S. that, instead of giving all of its electors to the winner based on its statewide results, just 2 of them vote based on the statewide results, and the others vote based on their individual congressional district results.

Nebraska
Nebraska
Nebraska is a state on the Great Plains of the Midwestern United States. The state's capital is Lincoln and its largest city is Omaha, on the Missouri River....

, statewide, was not a swing state
Swing state
In United States presidential politics, a swing state is a state in which no single candidate or party has overwhelming support in securing that state's electoral college votes...

 in 2008. Located in the Great Plains of the United States, it is one of the most staunchly Republican states in the country. While some hypothetical general election match-up polls between Republican 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....

 and Democrat 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...

 showed the race to be seemingly close, they were largely regarded as outliers as more polls released showed McCain leading in double digits. McCain wound up carrying the popular vote in Nebraska by 14.93 points, taking in 56.53% of the total statewide vote. However, Obama narrowly defeated McCain in Nebraska's 2nd Congressional District, which contains Omaha
Omaha, Nebraska
Omaha is the largest city in the state of Nebraska, United States, and is the county seat of Douglas County. It is located in the Midwestern United States on the Missouri River, about 20 miles north of the mouth of the Platte River...

 and the surrounding areas. Due to Nebraska's system of proportionally allocating electoral votes, Obama was able to win one electoral vote while John McCain received the state's other four electoral votes.

Primaries & Caucuses

  • Nebraska Democratic caucuses, 2008
    Nebraska Democratic caucuses, 2008
    The Nebraska Democratic Presidential Caucuses took place on February 9, 2008, where 24 of the state's 31 convention delegates were chosen. Like he did throughout many other states that held caucuses instead of primaries, Barack Obama won the Nebraska Democratic Caucus by more than a two-to-one...

  • Nebraska Republican primary, 2008
    Nebraska Republican primary, 2008
    The 2008 Nebraska Republican primary took place on May 13, 2008. John McCain won the primary, although he had secured his party's nomination weeks before the election through his performance in earlier primary contests....


Polling

McCain won every single pre-election poll. Since May, he won each poll by a double digit margin of victory and each with at least 52% of the vote.

Fundraising

John McCain raised a total of $678,059 in the state, while Barack Obama raised $864,393.

Advertising and visits

Obama spent $55,807 while McCain and the Republican Trust PAC spent a total of just $1,225.
Both Obama and McCain visited the state once. Obama held a downtown rally at Omaha
Omaha, Nebraska
Omaha is the largest city in the state of Nebraska, United States, and is the county seat of Douglas County. It is located in the Midwestern United States on the Missouri River, about 20 miles north of the mouth of the Platte River...

 and McCain traveled to both Omaha and Ashland
Ashland, Nebraska
Ashland is a city in Saunders County, Nebraska, United States. The population was 2,262 at the 2000 census.- History :Ashland is located at the site of a low-water limestone ledge along the bottom of Salt Creek, an otherwise mud-bottomed stream that was a formidable obstacle for wagon trains on the...

. Palin also visited Omaha once.

Campaign in Omaha

Nebraska has two electoral votes that go to the winner of the popular vote in the state, while the other three are split based on whichever candidate wins the popular vote in each of Nebraska's three congressional districts, all of which have trended Republican in the past elections. However Nebraska's 2nd Congressional District, based in the city of Omaha
Omaha, Nebraska
Omaha is the largest city in the state of Nebraska, United States, and is the county seat of Douglas County. It is located in the Midwestern United States on the Missouri River, about 20 miles north of the mouth of the Platte River...

, is significantly less conservative.

The second CD of Nebraska was actually considered as a battleground area by some, leading the Obama campaign to open a single campaign office in Omaha with 15 staff members to cover the congressional district in September 2008. More than 900 people attended the opening of those offices. Democratic Mayor
Mayor
In many countries, a Mayor is the highest ranking officer in the municipal government of a town or a large urban city....

 Mike Fahey
Mike Fahey
Michael Gahan "Mike" Fahey, took office as the 49th mayor of Omaha, Nebraska on June 11, 2001. Fahey won his second term as mayor in the May 10, 2005 election...

 of Omaha said that he would do whatever it takes to deliver the electoral vote tied to the 2nd Congressional District to Obama, and the Obama Campaign
Barack Obama presidential campaign, 2008
Barack Obama, then junior United States Senator from Illinois, announced his candidacy for the presidency of the United States in Springfield, Illinois, on February 10, 2007. On August 27, 2008, he was declared nominee of the Democratic Party for the 2008 presidential election...

 considered Nebraska's 2nd congressional district
Nebraska's 2nd congressional district
Nebraska's 2nd congressional district encompasses the core of the Omaha metropolitan area. It includes all of Douglas County, which includes Omaha, and the urbanized areas of Sarpy County...

 "in play". Former Democratic U.S. Senator Bob Kerrey
Bob Kerrey
Joseph Robert "Bob" Kerrey was the 35th Governor of Nebraska from 1983 to 1987 and a U.S. Senator from Nebraska . Having served in the Vietnam War, earning the Medal of Honor for his actions, he moved into politics. He was an unsuccessful candidate for the Democratic presidential nomination in 1992...

 and now senior U.S. Senator Ben Nelson
Ben Nelson
Earl Benjamin "Ben" Nelson is the senior U.S. Senator from Nebraska. He is a member of the Democratic Party and was elected to the U.S. Senate in 2000....

 campaigned in the city for Obama.

Analysis

Nebraska, part of the conservative Great Plains region, is one of the most Republican states in the nation. Continuing on that trend, McCain won the Cornhusker State by nearly 15 points. Obama was only able to win four counties: Douglas County
Douglas County, Nebraska
-Demographics:As of the census of 2000, there were 463,585 people, 182,194 households, and 115,146 families residing in the county. The population density was 1,401 people per square mile . There were 192,672 housing units at an average density of 582 per square mile...

, which contains Omaha
Omaha, Nebraska
Omaha is the largest city in the state of Nebraska, United States, and is the county seat of Douglas County. It is located in the Midwestern United States on the Missouri River, about 20 miles north of the mouth of the Platte River...

; Lancaster County
Lancaster County, Nebraska
-Demographics:As of the census of 2000, there were 250,291 people, 99,187 households, and 60,702 families residing in the county. The population density was 298 people per square mile . There were 104,217 housing units at an average density of 124 per square mile...

, which contains the state capital of Lincoln
Lincoln, Nebraska
The City of Lincoln is the capital and the second-most populous city of the US state of Nebraska. Lincoln is also the county seat of Lancaster County and the home of the University of Nebraska. Lincoln's 2010 Census population was 258,379....

 and the University of Nebraska; Saline County
Saline County, Nebraska
-Demographics:As of the census of 2000, there were 13,843 people, 5,188 households, and 3,507 families residing in the county. The population density was 24 people per square mile . There were 5,611 housing units at an average density of 10 per square mile...

; and Thurston County
Thurston County, Nebraska
-History:Varying cultures of indigenous peoples lived along the rivers for thousands of years before European encounter.Thurston County was organized by European Americans in 1889 from land that had been divided between Dakota and Burt counties since the dissolution of Blackbird County in 1879. It...

, which contains a Native American
Native Americans in the United States
Native Americans in the United States are the indigenous peoples in North America within the boundaries of the present-day continental United States, parts of Alaska, and the island state of Hawaii. They are composed of numerous, distinct tribes, states, and ethnic groups, many of which survive as...

 reservation and was the only county to be won by John Kerry
John Kerry
John Forbes Kerry is the senior United States Senator from Massachusetts, the 10th most senior U.S. Senator and chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. He was the presidential nominee of the Democratic Party in the 2004 presidential election, but lost to former President George W...

 in 2004
United States presidential election, 2004
The United States presidential election of 2004 was the United States' 55th quadrennial presidential election. It was held on Tuesday, November 2, 2004. Republican Party candidate and incumbent President George W. Bush defeated Democratic Party candidate John Kerry, the then-junior U.S. Senator...

. No Democratic presidential nominee since Lyndon B. Johnson
Lyndon B. Johnson
Lyndon Baines Johnson , often referred to as LBJ, was the 36th President of the United States after his service as the 37th Vice President of the United States...

's landslide 1964
United States presidential election, 1964
The United States presidential election of 1964 was held on November 3, 1964. Incumbent President Lyndon B. Johnson had come to office less than a year earlier following the assassination of his predecessor, John F. Kennedy. Johnson, who had successfully associated himself with Kennedy's...

 victory has ever won more than four counties in Nebraska.. In 2008, McCain won Nebraska's 1st Congressional District and Nebraska's 3rd Congressional District by fairly safe margins, along with the state as a whole, but Obama managed to carry Nebraska's 2nd Congressional District, based in Omaha, by a slim margin of 1,260 votes, resulting in one of Nebraska's five electoral votes being awarded to Obama. This was a particularly notable win, because with Nebraska's split electoral vote system Obama became the first Democratic presidential candidate to win an electoral vote from Nebraska since 1964.

Obama did particularly well in the state's two most populated counties, Douglas
Douglas County, Nebraska
-Demographics:As of the census of 2000, there were 463,585 people, 182,194 households, and 115,146 families residing in the county. The population density was 1,401 people per square mile . There were 192,672 housing units at an average density of 582 per square mile...

 and Lancaster
Lancaster County, Nebraska
-Demographics:As of the census of 2000, there were 250,291 people, 99,187 households, and 60,702 families residing in the county. The population density was 298 people per square mile . There were 104,217 housing units at an average density of 124 per square mile...

. While John Kerry had lost these counties by double-digits, Obama was able to carve out small victories in a state he lost by a landslide.

During the same election, Republicans held the open U.S. Senate
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...

 seat vacated by Republican Chuck Hagel
Chuck Hagel
Charles Timothy "Chuck" Hagel is a former United States Senator from Nebraska. A member of the Republican Party, he was first elected in 1996 and was reelected in 2002...

 who retired. Former Republican Governor
Governor of Nebraska
The Governor of Nebraska holds the "supreme executive power" of the State of Nebraska as provided by the fourth article of the Nebraska Constitution. The current Governor is Dave Heineman, a Republican, who assumed office on January 20, 2005 upon the resignation of Mike Johanns . He won a full...

 Mike Johanns
Mike Johanns
Michael Owen "Mike" Johanns is an American Republican politician who has been the junior United States Senator from Nebraska since 2009. Previously he was the 38th Governor of Nebraska from 1999 to 2005 and was U.S. Secretary of Agriculture from 2005 to 2007, becoming the fourth Nebraskan to hold...

 easily defeated Democrat Scott Kleeb
Scott Kleeb
' covers most of western Nebraska, comprises 69 counties and is considered to be a traditional Republican stronghold. In the 2006 midterm elections, Republican incumbent Tom Osborne did not seek re-election, instead making a failed bid for the Nebraska gubernatorial nomination...

, a rancher, by 17.46 points. Johanns received 57.52% of the total vote while Kleeb took in 40.06%. At the state level, Republicans picked up a seat in the nonpartisan
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...

 and unicameral Nebraska Legislature
Nebraska Legislature
The Nebraska Legislature is the supreme legislative body of the State of Nebraska, in the Great Plains region of the United States. The Legislature meets at the Nebraska State Capitol in the City of Lincoln, Lancaster County....

 in 2008.

Statewide

United States presidential election in Nebraska, 2008
Party Candidate Running mate Votes Percentage Electoral votes
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....

Sarah Palin
Sarah Palin
Sarah Louise Palin is an American politician, commentator and author. As the Republican Party nominee for Vice President in the 2008 presidential election, she was the first Alaskan on the national ticket of a major party and first Republican woman nominated for the vice-presidency.She was...

452,979 56.53% 4
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...

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...

333,319 41.60% 1
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....

Matt Gonzalez
Matt Gonzalez
Matthew Edward Gonzalez is an American politician, lawyer, and activist prominent in San Francisco politics. He currently serves as chief attorney in the San Francisco Public Defender's office....

5,406 0.67% 0
Constitution
Constitution Party (United States)
The Constitution Party is a paleoconservative political party in the United States. It was founded as the U.S. Taxpayers' Party by Howard Philips in 1991. Phillips was the party's candidate in the 1992, 1996 and 2000 presidential elections...

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...

Darrell Castle
Darrell Castle
Darrell Castle is an American political figure, activist and attorney from Memphis, Tennessee, and was the vice presidential candidate of the Constitution Party in the 2008 United States presidential election.-Early life and education:...

2,972 0.37% 0
(write-in) Write-in candidate
Write-in candidate
A write-in candidate is a candidate in an election whose name does not appear on the ballot, but for whom voters may vote nonetheless by writing in the person's name. Some states and local jurisdictions allow a voter to affix a sticker with a write-in candidate's name on it to the ballot in lieu...

s
2,837 0.35% 0
Libertarian
Libertarian Party (United States)
The Libertarian Party is the third largest and fastest growing political party in the United States. The political platform of the Libertarian Party reflects its brand of libertarianism, favoring minimally regulated, laissez-faire markets, strong civil liberties, minimally regulated migration...

Bob Barr
Bob Barr
Robert Laurence "Bob" Barr, Jr. is a former federal prosecutorand a former member of the United States House of Representatives. He represented Georgia's 7th congressional district as a Republican from 1995 to 2003. Barr attained national prominence as one of the leaders of the impeachment of...

Wayne Allyn Root
Wayne Allyn Root
Wayne Allyn Root is an American politician, entrepreneur, television and radio personality, author and political commentator. He was the 2008 Libertarian Party vice-presidential nominee. In June 2009 Richard Winger wrote he was the front runner for the 2012 Libertarian Presidential nomination...

2,740 0.34% 0
Green
Green Party (United States)
The Green Party of the United States is a nationally recognized political party which officially formed in 1991. It is a voluntary association of state green parties. Prior to national formation, many state affiliates had already formed and were recognized by other state parties...

Cynthia McKinney
Cynthia McKinney
Cynthia Ann McKinney is a former US Congresswoman and a member of the Green Party since 2007. As a member of the Democratic Party, she served six terms as a member of the United States House of Representatives. In 2008, the Green Party nominated McKinney for President of the United States...

Rosa Clemente
Rosa Clemente
Rosa Alicia Clemente is a United States community organizer, independent journalist and hip-hop activist. She was the vice presidential running mate of 2008 Green Party Presidential candidate Cynthia McKinney in the 2008 U.S. Presidential election.Clemente was born and raised in South Bronx, New...

1,028 0.13% 0
Totals 801,281 100.00% 5
Voter turnout n/a

Congressional District

John McCain carried two of the state’s three congressional districts, while Barack Obama carried one congressional district held by a Republican.
District McCain Obama Representative
54.10% 44.33% Jeff Fortenberry
Jeff Fortenberry
Jeffrey Lane "Jeff" Fortenberry, born December 27, 1960) is the U.S. Representative for , serving since 2005. He is a member of the Republican Party. The district is based in Lincoln and includes most of the eastern third of the state outside the immediate Omaha area.-Early life, education and...

48.75% 49.97% Lee Terry
Lee Terry
Lee Raymond Terry is the U.S. Representative for , serving since 1999. He is a member of the Republican Party.A lifelong Nebraskan, Congressman Lee Terry has worked continually to empower the people of the Second District. Terry has been a leader for Nebraska, advocating American energy...

68.64% 29.63% Adrian M. Smith
Adrian M. Smith
Adrian M. Smith is the U.S. Representative for , serving since 2007. He is a member of the Republican Party. He previously served in the Nebraska Legislature.-Early life, education and career:...


Electors

Technically the voters of Nebraska cast their ballots for electors: representatives to the Electoral College. Nebraska 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 2 electoral votes, and the other 3 are allocated via the individual results of the congressional districts. 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 5 members of the Electoral College from the state. 4 of the electors were pledged to 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....

 and Sarah Palin
Sarah Palin
Sarah Louise Palin is an American politician, commentator and author. As the Republican Party nominee for Vice President in the 2008 presidential election, she was the first Alaskan on the national ticket of a major party and first Republican woman nominated for the vice-presidency.She was...

; 2 at large, 1 for each of the 1st and 3rd Congressional districts. 1 was 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...

:
  • Charles Thone
    Charles Thone
    Charles Thone is an American Republican politician.-Biography:Charles Thone was born in Hartington, Nebraska. He has three brothers, including John Jr. He graduated from Holy Trinity High School . During World War II, he served in the Infantry of the United States Army...

    is an elector for Nebraska's 1st congressional district
    Nebraska's 1st congressional district
    Nebraska's 1st congressional district seat encompasses most of the eastern quarter of the state. It includes the state capital, Lincoln, Fremont, Norfolk, Beatrice and South Sioux City. It is currently held by Jeff Fortenberry, a Republican. George W. Bush received 63% of the vote in this district...

     pledged to 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....

     and Sarah Palin
    Sarah Palin
    Sarah Louise Palin is an American politician, commentator and author. As the Republican Party nominee for Vice President in the 2008 presidential election, she was the first Alaskan on the national ticket of a major party and first Republican woman nominated for the vice-presidency.She was...

    .
  • William Forsee
    William Forsee
    William Forsee is a Democratic political activist from Nebraska, who served as a presidential elector during 2008 election.A high school biology/anatomy teacher, Forsee became the first elector from Nebraska in 44 years to cast a vote for Democratic nominees .Nebraska...

    is an elector for Nebraska's 2nd congressional district
    Nebraska's 2nd congressional district
    Nebraska's 2nd congressional district encompasses the core of the Omaha metropolitan area. It includes all of Douglas County, which includes Omaha, and the urbanized areas of Sarpy County...

     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...

    .
  • D. Neal Smith is an elector for Nebraska's 3rd congressional district
    Nebraska's 3rd congressional district
    Nebraska's 3rd congressional district seat encompasses the western three-fourths of the state; it is one of the largest non-at-large Congressional districts in the country, covering nearly , two time zones and 68.5 counties. It includes Grand Island, Kearney, Hastings, North Platte, Scottsbluff and...

     pledged to 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....

     and Sarah Palin
    Sarah Palin
    Sarah Louise Palin is an American politician, commentator and author. As the Republican Party nominee for Vice President in the 2008 presidential election, she was the first Alaskan on the national ticket of a major party and first Republican woman nominated for the vice-presidency.She was...

    .
  • Norman Riffel is an at-large elector pledged to 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....

     and Sarah Palin
    Sarah Palin
    Sarah Louise Palin is an American politician, commentator and author. As the Republican Party nominee for Vice President in the 2008 presidential election, she was the first Alaskan on the national ticket of a major party and first Republican woman nominated for the vice-presidency.She was...

    .
  • Patricia Dorwart is an at-large elector pledged to 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....

     and Sarah Palin
    Sarah Palin
    Sarah Louise Palin is an American politician, commentator and author. As the Republican Party nominee for Vice President in the 2008 presidential election, she was the first Alaskan on the national ticket of a major party and first Republican woman nominated for the vice-presidency.She was...

    .

See also

  • Government in Omaha, Nebraska
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