United States presidential election in North Dakota, 2008
Encyclopedia
The 2008 United States presidential election in North Dakota 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 3 representatives, or electors to the Electoral College, who voted for President
and Vice President
.
North Dakota
was won by Republican nominee John McCain
by an 8.7% margin of victory. Prior to the election, most news organizations considered this a state McCain would win, or otherwise considered as a red state. The state has not been won by a Democratic presidential nominee since Lyndon B. Johnson
's landslide election in 1964
. Interestingly, polls showed Republican John McCain
and Democrat Barack Obama
running unusually close in a state that gave George W. Bush
a 27.4% margin of victory over John Kerry
in 2004
. In the end, McCain kept North Dakota in the GOP column but by a much smaller margin than Bush's landslide in 2004.
, while the Republican ticket didn't visit the state once.
. In 2008
, however, polls taken before September surprisingly showed the two candidates running neck-to-neck. While the polls varied throughout the campaign, McCain's selection of the socially conservative Governor Sarah Palin
of Alaska
as his vice presidential running mate played well in North Dakota, a state that has the least nonreligious percentage of citizens per capita in the country. This changed when Sarah Palin
was announced as John McCain
's running mate in late August, as McCain then took a double digit lead in the state until October, when polling once again showed a close race between the two candidates in the Peace Garden State.
On Election Day 2008, however, McCain captured North Dakota by a fairly safe margin of approximately 8.60 points, despite the latest polling showing him just one point ahead of Obama. Still, the statewide result was significantly closer than in 2004
when Bush carried the state by a much larger margin of more than 27 percent. McCain did well throughout the western and central parts of the state, while Obama won several counties in the east including the most populous counties of Cass County
(which contains the state's largest city of Fargo
) and Grand Forks County
(which includes the college town of Grand Forks
.
At the same time, popular incumbent Republican Governor
John Hoeven
was reelected to a second term in a landslide three-to-one victory over Democrat Tim Mathern
and Independent DuWayne Hendrickson. Hoeven received 74.44% of the vote while Mathern took in 23.53% and Hendrickson with the remaining 2.03%. Democrats, however, made gains at the state level, picking up three seats in the North Dakota House of Representatives
and six seats in the North Dakota Senate
.
.
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 3 pledged to John McCain
and Sarah Palin
:
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 3 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...
.
North Dakota
North Dakota
North Dakota is a state located in the Midwestern region of the United States of America, along the Canadian border. The state is bordered by Canada to the north, Minnesota to the east, South Dakota to the south and Montana to the west. North Dakota is the 19th-largest state by area in the U.S....
was won by Republican nominee 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....
by an 8.7% margin of victory. Prior to the election, most news organizations considered this a state McCain would win, or otherwise considered as a red state. The state has not been won by a 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 election in 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...
. Interestingly, polls showed 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...
running unusually close in a state that gave George W. Bush
George W. Bush
George Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 43rd President of the United States, from 2001 to 2009. Before that, he was the 46th Governor of Texas, having served from 1995 to 2000....
a 27.4% margin of victory over 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...
. In the end, McCain kept North Dakota in the GOP column but by a much smaller margin than Bush's landslide in 2004.
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 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...
: Toss Up - Takeaway: Leaning McCain
- Election Projection: Leaning McCain
- 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...
: Leaning Republican - Washington Post: Leaning McCain
- 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 McCain - Real Clear Politics: Toss Up
- 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 McCain - CQ Politics: Toss Up
- New York Times: Leaning Republican
- 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...
: Toss Up - 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...
: Leaning McCain - MSNBCMSNBCMSNBC is a cable news channel based in the United States available in the US, Germany , South Africa, the Middle East and Canada...
: Toss Up - Fox News: Republican
- 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...
: Republican - 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 Republican
Polling
Pre-election polls showed a complete toss up. The final 3 polls averaged gave Obama leading 45% to 44%, leaving a lot of undecided voters.Advertising and visits
Obama and his interest groups spent $448,361. McCain and his interest groups spent $71,972. Obama visited the state once, in Fargo, North DakotaFargo, North Dakota
Fargo is the largest city in the U.S. state of North Dakota and the county seat of Cass County. In 2010, its population was 105,549, and it had an estimated metropolitan population of 208,777...
, while the Republican ticket didn't visit the state once.
Analysis
North Dakota has been considered a reliably red state for the past 40 years, having voted for the Republican presidential nominee of every election since 1968United States presidential election, 1968
The United States presidential election of 1968 was the 46th quadrennial United States presidential election. Coming four years after Democrat Lyndon B. Johnson won in a historic landslide, it saw Johnson forced out of the race and Republican Richard Nixon elected...
. In 2008
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...
, however, polls taken before September surprisingly showed the two candidates running neck-to-neck. While the polls varied throughout the campaign, McCain's selection of the socially conservative Governor 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...
of Alaska
Alaska
Alaska is the largest state in the United States by area. It is situated in the northwest extremity of the North American continent, with Canada to the east, the Arctic Ocean to the north, and the Pacific Ocean to the west and south, with Russia further west across the Bering Strait...
as his vice presidential running mate played well in North Dakota, a state that has the least nonreligious percentage of citizens per capita in the country. This changed when 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...
was announced as 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....
's running mate in late August, as McCain then took a double digit lead in the state until October, when polling once again showed a close race between the two candidates in the Peace Garden State.
On Election Day 2008, however, McCain captured North Dakota by a fairly safe margin of approximately 8.60 points, despite the latest polling showing him just one point ahead of Obama. Still, the statewide result was significantly closer than 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...
when Bush carried the state by a much larger margin of more than 27 percent. McCain did well throughout the western and central parts of the state, while Obama won several counties in the east including the most populous counties of Cass County
Cass County, North Dakota
-Demographics:As of the census of 2000, there were 123,138 people, 51,315 households, and 29,814 families residing in the county. The population density was 70 people per square mile . There were 53,790 housing units at an average density of 30 per square mile...
(which contains the state's largest city of Fargo
Fargo, North Dakota
Fargo is the largest city in the U.S. state of North Dakota and the county seat of Cass County. In 2010, its population was 105,549, and it had an estimated metropolitan population of 208,777...
) and Grand Forks County
Grand Forks County, North Dakota
-National protected areas:*Kellys Slough National Wildlife Refuge*Little Goose National Wildlife Refuge-Demographics:As of the census of 2000, there were 66,109 people, 25,435 households, and 15,617 families residing in the county. The population density was 46 people per square mile . There were...
(which includes the college town of Grand Forks
Grand Forks, North Dakota
Grand Forks is the third-largest city in the U.S. state of North Dakota and the county seat of Grand Forks County. According to the 2010 census, the city's population was 52,838, while that of the city and surrounding metropolitan area was 98,461...
.
At the same time, popular incumbent Republican Governor
Governor of North Dakota
The Governor of North Dakota is the chief executive of North Dakota. The current Governor is Jack Dalrymple. The Governor has the right to sign and laws, and to call the Legislative Assembly, into emergency session. The Governor is also chairman of the North Dakota Industrial Commission. The...
John Hoeven
John Hoeven
John Henry Hoeven III is the junior United States Senator from North Dakota. He is a member of the North Dakota Republican Party. He is expected to become the state's senior senator when Kent Conrad retires from the Senate in January 2013.Hoeven served as the 31st Governor of North Dakota,...
was reelected to a second term in a landslide three-to-one victory over Democrat Tim Mathern
Tim Mathern
Tim Mathern is a state senator in North Dakota. He also unsuccessfully ran for Governor of North Dakota in 2008.Mathern grew up on a dairy and grain farm near Edgeley, ND with 12 brothers and sisters. He attended public school in Edgeley before attending Cardinal Muench Seminary in Fargo...
and Independent DuWayne Hendrickson. Hoeven received 74.44% of the vote while Mathern took in 23.53% and Hendrickson with the remaining 2.03%. Democrats, however, made gains at the state level, picking up three seats in the North Dakota House of Representatives
North Dakota House of Representatives
The North Dakota House of Representatives is the lower house of the North Dakota Legislative Assembly and is larger than the North Dakota Senate....
and six seats in the North Dakota Senate
North Dakota Senate
The North Dakota Senate is the upper house of the North Dakota Legislative Assembly, smaller than the North Dakota House of Representatives.North Dakota is divided into between 40 and 54 legislative districts apportioned by population as determined by the decennial census...
.
Results
| United States presidential election in North Dakota, 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... |
168,601 | 53.07% | 3 | |
| 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... |
141,278 | 44.47% | 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.... |
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.... |
4,189 | 1.32% | 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... |
1,354 | 0.43% | 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:... |
1,199 | 0.38% | 0 | |
| Write-ins | Write-ins | 1,101 | 0.35% | 0 | ||
| Totals | 317,722 | 100.00% | 3 | |||
| Voter turnout (Voting age population) | 65.6% | |||||
By congressional district
Due to the state's low population, only one congressional district is allocated. This district, called the At-Large district, because it covers the entire state, and thus is equivalent to the statewide election results.| District | McCain | Obama | Representative |
|---|---|---|---|
| At-large North Dakota's At-large congressional district North Dakota's At-large congressional district is the sole congressional district for the state of North Dakota. All of North Dakota is contained within one at large Congressional District making it the eighth largest district in the nation.- History:... |
53.1% | 44.5% | Earl Pomeroy Earl Pomeroy Earl Pomeroy is a lobbyist and former U.S. Representative for , serving from 1993 until 2011. He is a member of the North Dakota Democratic-NPL Party.- Early life, education and career :... |
Electors
Technically the voters of North Dakota cast their ballots for electors: representatives to the Electoral College. North Dakota is allocated 3 electors because it has 1 congressional districts and 2 senators. All candidates who appear on the ballot or qualify to receive write-in votes must submit a list of 3 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 3 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 electorFaithless 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 3 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...
:
- Theresa Tokach - replaced Richard Elkin
- Susan WefaldSusan WefaldSusan Wefald is a former North Dakota Republican Party politician She served as a North Dakota Public Service Commissioner from 1993 until her retirement in 2009.-Biography:...
- Cleo Thompson