 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Turnout | 79.42% (of registered voters) 3.38pp59.22% (of eligible voters) 2.19pp[1] | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
 County results Congressional district results
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
The2008 United States presidential election in California took place on November 4, 2008, inCalifornia as part of the2008 United States presidential election. Voters chose 55 electors, the most out of any of the 50 states, to theElectoral College, who voted forpresident andvice president.
California was won byDemocratic nomineeBarack Obama with a 24.1% margin of victory. NoRepublican has carried the state in a presidential election sinceGeorge H. W. Bush in1988. Prior to the election, California was considered to be a state Obama would win or as a safe blue state. With its 55 electoral votes, California was Obama's largest electoral prize in 2008. A number of media outlets called several West Coast states -- including California,Hawaii,Oregon, andWashington -- for Obama once polls closed in those states. This pushed Obama above the threshold of 270 Electoral College votes needed for victory, and so these outlets declared himpresident-elect.
As of the2024 presidential election, this is the last time the Democratic candidate carriedTrinity County in a presidential election. This was also the first time since1936 that a Democratic presidential candidate won more than 60% of the vote in California, which the Democrats have done in every election since, except for2024.
On February 5, 2008, presidentialprimaries were held by all parties withballot access in the state.
| |||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||
 Election results by county | |||||||||||||||||||
| Elections in California | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Los Angeles County
Los Angeles
Long Beach
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Other localities
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
The2008 California Democratic presidential primary took place on February 5, 2008, also known asSuper Tuesday.California was dubbed the "BigEnchilada" by the media because it offers the most delegates out of any other delegation.[2]Hillary Clinton won the primary.
In the primary, 370 of California's 441 delegates to theDemocratic National Convention were selected. The remaining delegates weresuperdelegates not obligated to vote for any candidate at the convention. Of these delegates, 241 were awarded at thecongressional district level, and the remaining 129 were awarded to the statewide winner. Candidates were required to receive at least 15% of either the district or statewide vote to receive any delegates.[3] Registered Democrats andDecline to State voters were eligible to vote.[4]
| Number of delegates | Congressional districts |
|---|---|
| 3 | 20,47 |
| 4 | 2,3,11,16,18,19,21,22,25,26,31,32,34,38,39,40,41,42,43,44,45,46,48,49,51,52 |
| 5 | 1,4,5,7,10,13,15,17,23,24,27,28,29,33,35,36,37,50,53 |
| 6 | 6,8,9,12,14,30 |
The latest six polls were averaged (only counting the latestZogby poll).
| Candidate | Mean of polls released in February 2008 | Median of polls released in February 2008 | RCP average |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hillary Clinton | 42.8% | 40.5% | 44.2% |
| Barack Obama | 40.3% | 40.4% | 41.6% |
| Key: | Withdrew prior to contest |
| 2008 California Democratic presidential primary[5] | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Votes | Percentage | National delegates |
| Hillary Clinton | 2,608,184 | 51.47% | 204 |
| Barack Obama | 2,186,662 | 43.16% | 166 |
| John Edwards | 193,617 | 3.82% | 0 |
| Dennis Kucinich | 24,126 | 0.48% | 0 |
| Bill Richardson | 19,939 | 0.39% | 0 |
| Joe Biden | 18,261 | 0.36% | 0 |
| Mike Gravel | 8,184 | 0.16% | 0 |
| Christopher Dodd | 8,005 | 0.16% | 0 |
| Willie Carter (write-in) | 4 | 0.00% | 0 |
| Eric Hinzman (write-in) | 4 | 0.00% | 0 |
| Phil Epstein (write-in) | 3 | 0.00% | 0 |
| Brian Calef (write-in) | 2 | 0.00% | 0 |
| David Frey (write-in) | 1 | 0.00% | 0 |
| Joseph McAndrew (write-in) | 1 | 0.00% | 0 |
| Keith Judd (write-in) | 0 | 0.00% | 0 |
| John Stein (write-in) | 7 | 0.0000001% | 0 |
| Totals | 5,066,993 | 100.00% | 370 |
| Voter turnout[A] | — | — | |
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||
 Election results by county | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
The2008 California Republican primary was held on February 5, 2008, with a total of 173 national delegates at stake.
The delegates represented California at theRepublican National Convention. There were three delegates to every congressional district and fourteen bonus delegates. The winner in each of the53 congressional districts was awarded all of that district's delegates. The statewide winner was awarded 11 of the 14 bonus delegates, with the 3 remaining delegates assigned to party leaders.[6][7] Voting in the primary was restricted to registered Republican voters.[8]
Early polls showed Rudy Giuliani in the lead. Polls taken closer to the primary either showed Mitt Romney or John McCain as the favored candidate.[9]
| Key: | Withdrew prior to contest |
| 2008 California Republican presidential primary[5][10] | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Votes | Percentage | National delegates |
| John McCain | 1,238,988 | 42.25% | 155 |
| Mitt Romney | 1,013,471 | 34.56% | 15 |
| Mike Huckabee | 340,669 | 11.62% | 0 |
| Rudy Giuliani | 128,681 | 4.39% | 0 |
| Ron Paul | 125,365 | 4.27% | 0 |
| Fred Thompson | 50,275 | 1.71% | 0 |
| Duncan Hunter | 14,021 | 0.48% | 0 |
| Alan Keyes | 11,742 | 0.40% | 0 |
| John H. Cox | 3,219 | 0.11% | 0 |
| Tom Tancredo | 3,884 | 0.13% | 0 |
| Sam Brownback | 2,486 | 0.08% | 0 |
| Karen Irish (write-in) | 6 | 0.00% | 0 |
| Michael Shaw (write-in) | 2 | 0.00% | 0 |
| Edward Marshall (write-in) | 1 | 0.00% | 0 |
| Joel Neuberg (write-in) | 1 | 0.00% | 0 |
| Robert Brickell (write-in) | 0 | 0.00% | 0 |
| Brian Calef (write-in) | 0 | 0.00% | 0 |
| David Frey (write-in) | 0 | 0.00% | 0 |
| Walter Rothnie (write-in) | 0 | 0.00% | 0 |
| John Sutherland (write-in) | 0 | 0.00% | 0 |
| Uncommitted delegates | 3 | ||
| Totals | 2,932,811 | 100.00% | 173 |
| Voter turnout | 56.08% | — | |
TheAmerican Independent Party held its primary February 5, 2008
| 2008 California AIP presidential primary[11] | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Votes | Percentage | |
| Don J. Grundmann | 16,603 | 36.08% | |
| Dianne Beall Templin | 15,302 | 33.25% | |
| Mad Max Riekse | 14,099 | 30.64% | |
| David Andrew Larson (write-in) | 18 | 0.04% | |
| Totals | 46,022 | 100.00% | |
TheGreen Party held its primary February 5, 2008.
| 2008 California Green Party presidential primary[11][12] | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Votes | Percentage | National delegates |
| Ralph Nader | 21,726 | 60.61% | - |
| Cynthia McKinney | 9,534 | 26.60% | - |
| Elaine Brown | 1,598 | 4.46% | - |
| Kat Swift | 1,084 | 3.02% | - |
| Kent Mesplay | 727 | 2.03% | - |
| Jesse Johnson | 619 | 1.73% | - |
| Jared Ball | 556 | 1.55% | - |
| Totals | 35,844 | 100.00% | 168 |
TheLibertarian Party held its primary February 5, 2008.
| 2008 California Libertarian Party presidential primary[11] | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Votes | Percentage | |
| Christine Smith | 4,241 | 25.16% | |
| Steve Kubby | 2,876 | 17.06% | |
| Wayne Allen Root | 2,360 | 14.00% | |
| Bob Jackson | 1,486 | 8.81% | |
| Barry Hess | 891 | 5.29% | |
| George Phillies | 852 | 5.05% | |
| Michael P. Jingozian | 774 | 4.19% | |
| Robert Milnes | 721 | 4.28% | |
| Daniel Imperato | 707 | 4.19% | |
| John Finan | 706 | 4.19% | |
| Dave Hollist | 678 | 4.02% | |
| Alden Link | 565 | 3.35% | |
| Leon L. Ray (write-in) | 1 | 0.01% | |
| Totals | 16,858 | 100.00% | |
ThePeace and Freedom Party held its primary February 5, 2008.
| 2008 California Peace and Freedom Party presidential primary[11] | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Votes | Percentage | |
| Ralph Nader | 2,620 | 40.66% | |
| Cynthia McKinney | 1,385 | 21.49 | |
| Gloria La Riva | 1,292 | 20.05% | |
| Brian P. Moore | 335 | 5.51% | |
| John Crockford | 346 | 5.37% | |
| Stewart A. Alexander | 340 | 5.28% | |
| Stanley Hetz | 106 | 1.64% | |
| Totals | 6,444 | 100.00% | |
| Name | Prediction |
|---|---|
| Associated Press[13] | Likely D |
| CNN[14] | Safe D |
| The Cook Political Report[15] | Solid D |
| CQ Politics[16] | Solid D |
| D.C. Political Report[17] | Likely D |
| Electoral-vote.com[18] | Solid D |
| Fox News[19] | Likely D |
| The New York Times[20] | Solid D |
| Politico[21] | Solid D |
| Real Clear Politics[22] | Solid D |
| Rasmussen Reports[23] | Safe D |
| The Takeaway[24] | Solid D |
Characterized early on as “The Big Enchilada” by some pundits, ultimately Obama won mostopinion polls taken prior to the election. Until October 9, his lead ranged from 7 to 15 points in most polls. However, after October 9, his lead expanded to more than 20 consistently. In the final three polls he averaged 59%, while McCain averaged 34%; which is close to the results on election day.[25]
Obama raised a total of $124,325,459 from the state. McCain raised a total of $26,802,024.[26]
The Obama campaign spent almost $5,570,641. The McCain campaign spent $1,885,142.[27] Obama visited the state six times. McCain visited the state eight times.[28]
California was once a Republican leaning swing state, supporting Republican candidates in every election from1952 through 1988, except in1964. However, since the 1990s, California has become a reliably Democratic state with a highly diverse ethnic population (mostly Latino) andliberal bastions such as theSan Francisco Bay Area andLos Angeles County. The last time the state was won by a Republican candidate was in 1988 byGeorge H. W. Bush.
Obama won by a historic margin, with 61.01% of the votes. Most news organizations called California for Obama as soon as the polls in the state closed. He was projected the winner of the state along withWashington,Hawaii, andOregon at the same time, whose combined electoral votes caused all news organizations to declare Obama the president-elect. The last time the margin was higher in the state was in1936 whenFranklin D. Roosevelt won with 66.95% of the vote.[29]
In San Francisco andAlameda County (which includesOakland andBerkeley), 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.[30] InLos Angeles County, Obama won almost 70% of the votes.[30] His combined margin in the Bay Area and Los Angeles County would have been more than enough to carry the state.
Obama also made considerable headway in historically Republican areas of the state.Fresno County, for example, a heavily populated county in theCentral Valley, went from giving Bush a 16% margin to a 2% margin for Obama.[30]San Diego County moved from a six-percent margin for Bush to a 10-point margin for Obama—only the second time sinceWorld War II that a Democrat has carried this military-dominated county.[30]San Bernardino andRiverside went from double-digit Republican victories to narrow Democratic wins.[30]Ventura County also moved from Republican to Democratic.Orange County, historically one of the most Republican suburban counties in the nation, went from a 21-point margin for Bush to only a 2.5-point margin for McCain.
Voter turnout was also fairly higher than the national average. The 79% turnout of registered voters in the state was the highest since the1976 presidential election.[31] Despite the Democratic landslide in California, during the same election, aballot proposition to ban same-sex marriage narrowly passed. A number of counties that had voted for Obama voted yes to it, as it was supported by Hispanics and African Americans. Even though Obama considered marriage to be between a man and a woman at the time, he opposed the "divisive and discriminatory efforts to amend the California Constitution... the U.S. Constitution or those of other states".[32]Arnold Schwarzenegger, the state's Republican governor and a supporter of John McCain, opposed the proposition, though McCain supported it. There was also a proposedballot proposition called thePresidential Election Reform Act 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]
The following are official results from theCalifornia Secretary of State.[34]
| 2008 United States presidential election in California | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Running mate | Votes | Percentage | Electoral votes | |
| Democratic | Barack Obama | Joe Biden | 8,274,473 | 61.01% | 55 | |
| Republican | John McCain | Sarah Palin | 5,011,781 | 36.95% | 0 | |
| Peace and Freedom | Ralph Nader | Matt Gonzalez | 108,381 | 0.80% | 0 | |
| Libertarian | Bob Barr | Wayne Allyn Root | 67,582 | 0.50% | 0 | |
| American Independent | Alan Keyes | Brian Rohrbough | 40,673 | 0.30% | 0 | |
| Green | Cynthia McKinney | Rosa Clemente | 38,774 | 0.29% | 0 | |
| Independent | Ron Paul (write-in) | Gail Lightfoot | 17,006 | 0.13% | 0 | |
| Independent | Chuck Baldwin (write-in) | Darrell Castle | 3,145 | 0.02% | 0 | |
| Independent | James Harris (write-in) | Alyson Kennedy | 49 | 0.00% | 0 | |
| Independent | Frank Moore (write-in) | Susan Block | 36 | 0.00% | 0 | |
| Valid votes | 13,561,900 | 98.68% | — | |||
| Invalid or blank votes | 181,277 | 1.32% | — | |||
| Totals | 13,743,177 | 100.00% | 55 | |||
| Voter turnout | 79.42% | — | ||||
| County[35] | Barack Obama Democratic | John McCain Republican | Various candidates Other parties | Margin | Total votes cast | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| # | % | # | % | # | % | # | % | ||
| Alameda | 489,106 | 78.76% | 119,555 | 19.25% | 12,368 | 1.99% | 369,551 | 59.51% | 621,029 |
| Alpine | 422 | 60.98% | 252 | 36.42% | 18 | 2.60% | 170 | 24.57% | 692 |
| Amador | 7,813 | 41.54% | 10,561 | 56.15% | 436 | 2.32% | -2,748 | -14.61% | 18,810 |
| Butte | 49,013 | 49.85% | 46,706 | 47.50% | 2,606 | 2.65% | 2,307 | 2.35% | 98,325 |
| Calaveras | 9,813 | 42.11% | 12,835 | 55.07% | 658 | 2.82% | -3,022 | -12.97% | 23,306 |
| Colusa | 2,569 | 39.96% | 3,733 | 58.07% | 127 | 1.98% | -1,164 | -18.11% | 6,429 |
| Contra Costa | 306,983 | 67.97% | 136,436 | 30.21% | 8,231 | 1.82% | 170,547 | 37.76% | 451,650 |
| Del Norte | 4,323 | 45.36% | 4,967 | 52.11% | 241 | 2.53% | -644 | -6.76% | 9,531 |
| El Dorado | 40,529 | 43.61% | 50,314 | 54.14% | 2,083 | 2.24% | -9,785 | -10.53% | 92,926 |
| Fresno | 136,706 | 50.21% | 131,015 | 48.12% | 4,568 | 1.68% | 5,691 | 2.09% | 272,289 |
| Glenn | 3,734 | 37.80% | 5,910 | 59.82% | 235 | 2.38% | -2,176 | -22.03% | 9,879 |
| Humboldt | 39,692 | 62.28% | 21,713 | 34.07% | 2,322 | 3.64% | 17,979 | 28.21% | 63,727 |
| Imperial | 24,162 | 62.24% | 14,008 | 36.08% | 650 | 1.67% | 10,154 | 26.16% | 38,820 |
| Inyo | 3,743 | 43.86% | 4,523 | 53.01% | 267 | 3.13% | -780 | -9.14% | 8,533 |
| Kern | 93,457 | 40.14% | 134,793 | 57.89% | 4,600 | 1.98% | -41,336 | -17.75% | 232,850 |
| Kings | 14,747 | 42.00% | 19,710 | 56.14% | 651 | 1.85% | -4,963 | -14.14% | 35,108 |
| Lake | 14,854 | 58.16% | 9,935 | 38.90% | 753 | 2.95% | 4,919 | 19.26% | 25,542 |
| Lassen | 3,586 | 31.49% | 7,483 | 65.72% | 318 | 2.79% | -3,897 | -34.22% | 11,387 |
| Los Angeles | 2,295,853 | 69.19% | 956,425 | 28.82% | 65,970 | 1.99% | 1,339,428 | 40.37% | 3,318,248 |
| Madera | 17,952 | 42.38% | 23,583 | 55.68% | 820 | 1.94% | -5,631 | -13.29% | 42,355 |
| Marin | 109,320 | 77.98% | 28,384 | 20.25% | 2,493 | 1.78% | 80,936 | 57.73% | 140,197 |
| Mariposa | 4,100 | 42.48% | 5,298 | 54.90% | 253 | 2.62% | -1,198 | -12.41% | 9,651 |
| Mendocino | 27,843 | 69.58% | 10,721 | 26.79% | 1,452 | 3.63% | 17,122 | 42.79% | 40,016 |
| Merced | 34,031 | 53.33% | 28,704 | 44.98% | 1,073 | 1.68% | 5,327 | 8.35% | 63,808 |
| Modoc | 1,313 | 29.71% | 2,981 | 67.44% | 126 | 2.85% | -1,668 | -37.74% | 4,420 |
| Mono | 3,093 | 55.52% | 2,354 | 42.25% | 124 | 2.23% | 739 | 13.27% | 5,571 |
| Monterey | 88,453 | 68.15% | 38,797 | 29.89% | 2,533 | 1.95% | 49,656 | 38.26% | 129,783 |
| Napa | 38,849 | 65.14% | 19,484 | 32.67% | 1,309 | 2.19% | 19,365 | 32.47% | 59,642 |
| Nevada | 28,617 | 51.43% | 25,663 | 46.12% | 1,367 | 2.46% | 2,954 | 5.31% | 55,647 |
| Orange | 549,558 | 47.63% | 579,064 | 50.19% | 25,065 | 2.17% | -29,506 | -2.56% | 1,153,687 |
| Placer | 75,112 | 43.39% | 94,647 | 54.68% | 3,348 | 1.93% | -19,535 | -11.28% | 173,107 |
| Plumas | 4,715 | 42.75% | 6,035 | 54.72% | 278 | 2.52% | -1,320 | -11.97% | 11,028 |
| Riverside | 325,017 | 50.21% | 310,041 | 47.90% | 12,241 | 1.89% | 14,976 | 2.31% | 647,299 |
| Sacramento | 316,506 | 58.49% | 213,583 | 39.47% | 11,012 | 2.04% | 102,923 | 19.02% | 541,101 |
| San Benito | 11,917 | 60.48% | 7,425 | 37.68% | 363 | 1.84% | 4,492 | 22.80% | 19,705 |
| San Bernardino | 315,720 | 52.07% | 277,408 | 45.75% | 13,206 | 2.18% | 38,312 | 6.32% | 606,334 |
| San Diego | 666,581 | 54.15% | 541,032 | 43.95% | 23,434 | 1.90% | 125,549 | 10.20% | 1,231,047 |
| San Francisco | 322,220 | 84.16% | 52,292 | 13.66% | 8,353 | 2.18% | 269,928 | 70.50% | 382,865 |
| San Joaquin | 113,974 | 54.44% | 91,607 | 43.76% | 3,768 | 1.80% | 22,367 | 10.68% | 209,349 |
| San Luis Obispo | 68,176 | 51.39% | 61,055 | 46.03% | 3,422 | 2.58% | 7,121 | 5.37% | 132,653 |
| San Mateo | 222,826 | 73.47% | 75,057 | 24.75% | 5,409 | 1.78% | 147,769 | 48.72% | 303,292 |
| Santa Barbara | 105,614 | 60.38% | 65,585 | 37.50% | 3,713 | 2.12% | 40,029 | 22.89% | 174,912 |
| Santa Clara | 462,241 | 69.45% | 190,039 | 28.55% | 13,309 | 2.00% | 272,202 | 40.90% | 665,589 |
| Santa Cruz | 98,745 | 77.46% | 25,244 | 19.80% | 3,494 | 2.74% | 73,501 | 57.66% | 127,483 |
| Shasta | 28,867 | 35.91% | 49,588 | 61.68% | 1,935 | 2.41% | -20,721 | -25.78% | 80,390 |
| Sierra | 743 | 37.32% | 1,158 | 58.16% | 90 | 4.52% | -415 | -20.84% | 1,991 |
| Siskiyou | 9,292 | 43.28% | 11,520 | 53.66% | 658 | 3.06% | -2,228 | -10.38% | 21,470 |
| Solano | 102,095 | 63.42% | 56,035 | 34.81% | 2,843 | 1.77% | 46,060 | 28.61% | 160,973 |
| Sonoma | 168,888 | 73.64% | 55,127 | 24.04% | 5,336 | 2.33% | 113,761 | 49.60% | 229,351 |
| Stanislaus | 80,279 | 49.86% | 77,497 | 48.13% | 3,239 | 2.01% | 2,782 | 1.73% | 161,015 |
| Sutter | 13,412 | 40.72% | 18,911 | 57.41% | 618 | 1.88% | -5,499 | -16.69% | 32,941 |
| Tehama | 8,945 | 36.61% | 14,843 | 60.74% | 648 | 2.65% | -5,898 | -24.14% | 24,436 |
| Trinity | 3,233 | 50.72% | 2,940 | 46.12% | 201 | 3.15% | 293 | 4.60% | 6,374 |
| Tulare | 43,634 | 41.47% | 59,765 | 56.81% | 1,807 | 1.72% | -16,131 | -15.33% | 105,206 |
| Tuolumne | 11,532 | 42.43% | 14,988 | 55.14% | 661 | 2.43% | -3,456 | -12.71% | 27,181 |
| Ventura | 187,601 | 55.21% | 145,853 | 42.92% | 6,346 | 1.87% | 41,748 | 12.29% | 339,800 |
| Yolo | 53,488 | 67.07% | 24,592 | 30.84% | 1,669 | 2.09% | 28,896 | 36.23% | 79,749 |
| Yuba | 8,866 | 41.43% | 12,007 | 56.10% | 528 | 2.47% | -3,141 | -14.68% | 21,401 |
| Total | 8,274,473 | 61.01% | 5,011,781 | 36.95% | 275,646 | 2.03% | 3,262,692 | 24.06% | 13,561,900 |
Shift by county
Trend by county
County flipsDemocratic Hold Gain from Republican | Republican Hold
|
Obama carried 42 of 53 congressional districts in California, including eight districts held by Republicans.[36]
| District | McCain | Obama | Representative |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | 32% | 66% | Mike Thompson |
| 2nd | 55% | 43% | Wally Herger |
| 3rd | 48.7% | 49.2% | Dan Lungren |
| 4th | 54% | 44% | John Doolittle (110th Congress) |
| Tom McClintock (111th Congress) | |||
| 5th | 28% | 70% | Doris Matsui |
| 6th | 22% | 76% | Lynn Woolsey |
| 7th | 27% | 72% | George Miller |
| 8th | 12% | 85% | Nancy Pelosi |
| 9th | 10% | 88% | Barbara Lee |
| 10th | 33% | 65% | Ellen Tauscher |
| 11th | 45% | 54% | Jerry McNerney |
| 12th | 24% | 74% | Jackie Speier |
| 13th | 24% | 74% | Pete Stark |
| 14th | 25% | 73% | Anna Eshoo |
| 15th | 30% | 68% | Mike Honda |
| 16th | 29% | 70% | Zoe Lofgren |
| 17th | 26% | 72% | Sam Farr |
| 18th | 39% | 59% | Dennis Cardoza |
| 19th | 52% | 46% | George Radanovich |
| 20th | 39% | 60% | Jim Costa |
| 21st | 56% | 42% | Devin Nunes |
| 22nd | 60% | 38% | Kevin McCarthy |
| 23rd | 32% | 66% | Lois Capps |
| 24th | 48% | 51% | Elton Gallegly |
| 25th | 48% | 49% | Howard McKeon |
| 26th | 47% | 51% | David Dreier |
| 27th | 32% | 66% | Brad Sherman |
| 28th | 22% | 76% | Howard Berman |
| 29th | 30% | 68% | Adam Schiff |
| 30th | 28% | 70% | Henry Waxman |
| 31st | 18% | 80% | Xavier Becerra |
| 32nd | 30% | 68% | Hilda Solis |
| 33rd | 12% | 87% | Diane Watson |
| 34th | 23% | 75% | Lucille Roybal-Allard |
| 35th | 14% | 84% | Maxine Waters |
| 36th | 34% | 64% | Jane Harman |
| 37th | 19% | 80% | Laura Richardson |
| 38th | 27% | 71% | Grace Napolitano |
| 39th | 32% | 65% | Linda Sánchez |
| 40th | 51% | 47% | Ed Royce |
| 41st | 54% | 44% | Jerry Lewis |
| 42nd | 53% | 45% | Gary Miller |
| 43rd | 30% | 68% | Joe Baca |
| 44th | 49% | 50% | Ken Calvert |
| 45th | 47% | 52% | Mary Bono Mack |
| 46th | 50% | 48% | Dana Rohrabacher |
| 47th | 38% | 60% | Loretta Sanchez |
| 48th | 48.6% | 49.3% | John B. T. Campbell III |
| 49th | 53% | 45% | Darrell Issa |
| 50th | 47% | 51% | Brian Bilbray |
| 51st | 35% | 63% | Bob Filner |
| 52nd | 53% | 45% | Duncan Hunter |
| 53rd | 30% | 68% | Susan Davis |
Technically the voters of California cast their ballots for electors: representatives to theElectoral College. California is allocated 55 electors because it has 53congressional districts and 2senators. 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.[37] An elector who votes for someone other than his or her candidate is known as afaithless elector.
The electors of each state and theDistrict 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 theState Capitol building inSacramento to cast their ballots.[38]
The following were the members of the Electoral College from California. All were pledged to and voted for Barack Obama and Joe Biden.[39]
|
|
|
|
State and district results of the2008 United States presidential election | ||
|---|---|---|
|  | |
.jpg)
