The 2008 United States presidential election in California took place on November 4, 2008 throughout all 50 states and the District of Columbia, which was part of the 2008 United States presidential election. Voters chose 55 representatives, or electors, to the Electoral College, who voted for President and Vice President. California was won by Democratic nominee Barack Obama with a 24.0% margin of victory, one of the highest in the history of the state's presidential elections. Prior to the election, all 17 news organizations considered this a state Obama would win, or otherwise considered as a safe blue state. No Republican has carried the state in a presidential election since 1988. Obama won this state with 61.01% of the popular vote and all of California's electoral votes. Republican candidate John McCain won 36.95% of the popular vote.
PrimariesOn February 5, 2008 presidential primaries were held by all parties with ballot access in the state:
CampaignPredictionsThere were 17 news organizations who made state by state predictions of the election. Here are there last predictions before election day:
PollingMain article: Statewide opinion polling for the United States presidential election, 2008: California
Obama won most opinion polls taken prior to the election. In the final three polls he averaged 59%, while McCain averaged 34%; which is close to the results on election day.[18] FundraisingObama raised a total of $124,325,459 from the state. McCain raised a total of $26,802,024.[19] Advertising and visitsThe Obama campaign spent almost $5,570,641. The McCain campaign spent $1,885,142.[20] Obama visited the state six times. McCain visited the state eight times.[21] CandidatesIn California, the six political parties which have ballot access can put one presidential and vice presidential candidate on the ballot. Voters cast their ballots for the party's ticket. Other candidates could have qualified for the ballot by petitioning; the petition requirement in 2008 was 158,372 signatures from registered voters.[22] No candidate met this requirement in 2008 but several candidates did qualify as official write-in candidate. The ballot listed candidates were:[23]
There were also several write in candidates: Chuck Baldwin, James Harris, Frank Moore, and Ron Paul.[24] AnalysisCalifornia was once a Republican stronghold, supporting Republican candidates in every election from 1952 through 1988, except in 1964. However, since the 1990s, California has become a reliably Democratic state with a highly diverse ethnic and Latino population and liberal bastions such as the San Francisco Bay Area and Los Angeles County. The last time the state was won by a Republican candidate was in 1988 by George H. W. Bush. Obama won by a historic margin, with 61.01% of the votes. The last time the margin was higher in the state was in 1936 when Franklin D. Roosevelt won by 66.95%.[25] In San Francisco and Alameda County (which encompass Oakland and Berkeley), four out of five voters backed the Democratic candidate. Elsewhere in the Bay Area, Obama won every county by a three to two margin or greater.[26] In Los Angeles County, Obama won almost 70% of the votes.[26] In traditionally Republican counties Obama also made headway. Fresno County, for example, a heavily populated county in the Central Valley, went from giving Bush a 16% margin to a 1% margin for Obama.[26] San Diego County, moved from voting narrowly Republican to voting Democratic by double-digits.[26] San Bernardino and Riverside Counties went from double-digit Republican victories to narrow Democratic wins.[26] Ventura County, also moved from Republican to Democratic. In Orange County, a long-standing bastion of conservative Republicanism, Obama polled over 47% of the vote, the closest a Democrat has come to carrying the county since 1936.[26] Voter turnout was also fairly higher in the election. The 79% turnout of registered voters was the highest since the 1976 presidential election.[27] ResultsThe following are official results from the California Secretary of State.[28]
Results breakdownBy countyThe results below are primarily compiled from the final reports available from the Secretary of State. The "others" category also includes write-in votes.[29]
By congressional districtObama carried 42 congressional districts in California, including all 34 districts held by Democrats and eight districts held by Republicans in the U.S. House of Representatives.
ElectorsTechnically the voters of California cast their ballots for electors: representatives to the Electoral College. California is allocated 55 electors because it has 53 congressional districts and 2 senators. All candidates who appear on the ballot or qualify to receive write-in votes must submit a list of 55 electors, who pledge to vote for their candidate and his or her running mate, to the California Secretary of State. Whoever wins the majority of votes in the state is awarded all 55 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.[30] 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. In California the 55 electors meet in the State Capitol building in Sacramento to cast their ballots.[31] The following were the members of the Electoral College from California. All were pledged to and voted for Barack Obama and Joe Biden.[32]
Failed election reformMain article: Presidential Election Reform Act
See also: Electoral reform in California
There was a proposed ballot proposition in the state to alter the way the state's electors would be distributed among presidential candidates, but the initiative failed to get onto the ballot.[33] See also
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