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The2008 United States presidential election in Florida took place on November 4, as part of the2008 United States presidential election in which all 50 states plus theDistrict of Columbia participated.Florida voters chose 27 representatives, or electors to theElectoral College, who voted forpresident andvice president.
Florida was won by Democratic nomineeBarack Obama by a 2.8% margin of victory. Prior to the election, most news organizations considered this state a toss-up, orswing state, as polls went back and forth between Obama and Republican nomineeJohn McCain and it was heavily targeted by both campaigns. Weeks before the election, Obama experienced a sudden bump in polling and ended up winning the state with 51% of the vote. This marked only the second time since 1976 that the state was won by a Democrat in a presidential election, which also made Obama the first non-incumbent Democrat to win Florida sinceJimmy Carter prevailed in1976.
Florida is also one of only three states that backed Obama twice that would go on to vote against his vice president Joe Biden in2020, the other two beingIowa andOhio. As of the2024 election, this is the last time a Democrat wonFlagler andVolusia counties.
State-run primaries were held for the Democratic and Republican parties on January 29. TheGreen Party held its own primary on February 1.
| Florida Democratic Presidential Primary Results – 2008 | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Votes | Percentage | Delegates* | ||
| Hillary Clinton | 870,986 | 49.77% | 52.5 | ||
| Barack Obama | 576,214 | 32.93% | 33.5 | ||
| John Edwards | 251,562 | 14.38% | 6.5** | ||
| Joe Biden | 15,704 | 0.90% | 0 | ||
| Bill Richardson | 14,999 | 0.86% | 0 | ||
| Dennis Kucinich | 9,703 | 0.55% | 0 | ||
| Christopher Dodd | 5,477 | 0.31% | 0 | ||
| Mike Gravel | 5,275 | 0.30% | 0 | ||
| Totals | 1,749,920 | 100.00% | 92.5 | ||
*As awarded by the May 31, 2008, meeting of the Rules and Bylaws Committee (RBC).
**Subsequently, some Edwards delegates switched to Obama.
McCain prevailed in Florida's Republican presidential primary.[2]
| Candidate | Votes | Percentage | Counties | Delegates |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| John McCain | 701,761 | 36% | 45 | 57 |
| Mitt Romney | 604,932 | 31.03% | 18 | 0 |
| Rudy Giuliani | 286,089 | 14.68% | 0 | 0 |
| Mike Huckabee | 262,681 | 13.47% | 4 | 0 |
| Ron Paul | 62,887 | 3.23% | 0 | 0 |
| Fred Thompson* | 22,668 | 1.16% | 0 | 0 |
| Alan Keyes | 4,060 | 0.21% | 0 | 0 |
| Duncan Hunter* | 2,847 | 0.15% | 0 | 0 |
| Tom Tancredo* | 1,573 | 0.08% | 0 | 0 |
| Totals | 1,949,498 | 100% | 67 | 57 |
* Candidate dropped out of the race prior to primary.
As part of the2008 Green Party presidential primaries, the Green Party held amail-in primary in Florida on February 1.[3]
| Candidate | Votes | Percentage | National delegates |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cynthia McKinney | - | - | 11 |
| Ralph Nader | - | - | 2 |
| Kent Mesplay | - | - | 1 |
| Kat Swift | - | - | 1 |
| Total | - | 100% | 16 |
RepublicanGeorge W. Bush of Texas carried Florida by a convincing margin of 5% in2004 against DemocratJohn Kerry,[4] a much greater margin than in2000 when Bush controversially won the state's 25 electoral votes against DemocratAl Gore of Tennessee by 537 votes.[5]
Early polls showed Barack Obama faring poorly in Florida. During the primary season, Barack Obama did not campaign there and argued against seating its delegates for the Democratic convention, earning unfavorable media attention. Moreover, Florida's demographics did not favor him. A haven for retirees, Florida lacked many of the younger voters who passionately supported the Democratic nominee. Thus, in early 2008, opinion polling showed RepublicanJohn McCain leading most polls, sometimes by double digits.[6]
Near the end of September, however, when the2008 financial crisis became a more potent election issue, Obama proceeded to take the lead in most of the polls.[6] Florida was especially hard hit by the economic shock. It was a hotspot of new home building and suffered tremendously from the subprime lending collapse. In addition, the state was full of retirees depending on 401ks; these were badly hurt by the stock market's fall.
16 news organizations made state-by-state predictions of the election. Here are their last predictions before election day:
| Source | Ranking |
|---|---|
| D.C. Political Report[7] | Likely R |
| Cook Political Report[8] | Toss-up |
| The Takeaway[9] | Toss-up |
| Electoral-vote.com[10] | Lean D(flip) |
| Washington Post[11] | Lean D(flip) |
| Politico[12] | Lean D(flip) |
| RealClearPolitics[13] | Toss-up |
| FiveThirtyEight[11] | Lean D(flip) |
| CQ Politics[14] | Toss-up |
| The New York Times[15] | Toss-up |
| CNN[16] | Toss-up |
| NPR[11] | Lean R |
| MSNBC[11] | Toss-up |
| Fox News[17] | Toss-up |
| Associated Press[18] | Toss-up |
| Rasmussen Reports[19] | Toss-up |
The 3 poll averages showed McCain leading throughout most of the presidential election season, until the last month of October. The final 3 polls had Obama leading 49% to 48% with undecided voters to decide the election.[20]
McCain raised $14,826,093. Obama raised $19,963,592.[21]
Obama and his interest groups spent $36,990,591 in the state. McCain and his interest groups spent $17,133,501.[22] The Democratic ticket visited the state 12 times to the Republicans' 11 times.[23]
Obama won the state and its 27 electoral votes on Election Day by a margin of about 2.82%.[24] Obama held a consistent lead for most of the night as returns came in, but the networks avoided calling the state for Obama until the conservative northwestern portion, most of which is in theCentral Time Zone, began reporting its returns. According to exit polling, Obama's win in the state can be attributed to winning 96% of the African-American vote, 57% of Latino voters, and 52% among Independents.[25]
Upset wins in theOrlando andTampa Bay areas, where George W. Bush won in 2004, contributed to Obama's victory. In the former, Obama carriedOrange County (which includesOrlando) by 19 points - the best margin for a Democratic candidate in 64 years.[26] BeforeAl Gore andJohn Kerry narrowly won it, Orange County hadn't supported a Democratic presidential nominee sinceFranklin D. Roosevelt's last run for president in1944. He also became the first Democrat to win Orlando in a presidential election since Roosevelt. Obama carriedOsceola County, near Orlando, by a 20-point margin (Bush won it in 2004 52%-47%).[26]
In the Tampa Bay region, Obama carriedHillsborough County, home toTampa, by a 7-point margin.[27] Obama also wonPinellas County, home toSt. Petersburg, by a 53%-45% margin.[27] Bush had narrowly carried the county by about 0.1% in 2004.[28] Like most Democratic candidates, Obama dominatedSouth Florida, winningMiami-Dade,Broward, andPalm Beach counties by comfortable margins. The vote from Miami-Dade came in very late in the evening, stopping the major networks from calling the state for Obama earlier in the evening. However, Obama maintained a lead of at least 125,000 votes from the moment polls closed in the state.
On the other hand, John McCain kept the state relatively close, losing by far less than his national average. In northern Florida, a Republican stronghold, McCain won the majority of counties by double-digit landslides. Along the panhandle, McCain routinely took over 70% of the vote.[29] Obama won only a handful of counties - most home to major colleges. Moreover, McCain improved on George Bush's performance in large parts of northern Florida - something he achieved in very few other areas of the country.[29] Obama's sole accomplishment involvedDuval County (Jacksonville), where he narrowed George Bush's 61,580-vote victory to a far smaller 7,919 margin.[24][30] In 2008, Duval County had only supported a Democrat for president twice since 1952, whenJohn F. Kennedy carried it in 1960 and whenJimmy Carter carried it in 1976.
In addition, McCain was able to do well along the I-4 corridor in central Florida. This heavily populated, "swingy" region often determines which candidate wins in Florida's statewide elections. In 2008, the Republican candidate won most counties, including heavily populated areas such asBrevard County. However, McCain's unexpectedly poor showing inOrlando, a city that had voted Republican in presidential elections from 1948 to 2004, severely hurt his position in central Florida.
Democrats also picked up two seats from Florida in theU.S. House of Representatives. DemocratAlan Grayson defeated incumbent RepublicanRic Keller forFlorida's 8th Congressional District seat while DemocratSuzanne Kosmas ousted incumbent RepublicanTom Feeney forFlorida's 24th Congressional District seat. Republicans, however, were successful at winning back RepublicanMark Foley's old congressional seat inFlorida's 16th Congressional District seat whenTom Rooney defeated Democratic incumbentTim Mahoney by a comfortable margin. At the state level, Democrats picked up two seats in theFlorida House of Representatives as well.
Obama became the first ever Democrat to win the White House without carryingDixie,Gilchrist,Hamilton orSumter Counties, as well as the first to do so without carryingLevy County sinceJames Buchanan in1856, the first to do so without carryingPasco County sinceJohn F. Kennedy in1960, and the first to do so without carryingGlades,Madison,Hernando,Okeechobee, orPutnam Counties sinceLyndon B. Johnson in1964.
As of2024, this is the most recent presidential election whereFlagler County andVolusia County supported the Democratic candidate.
| United States presidential election in Florida, 2008[31] | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | Percentage | Electoral votes | |
| Democratic | Barack Obama | 4,282,074 | 51.03% | 27 | |
| Republican | John McCain | 4,045,624 | 48.22% | 0 | |
| Ecology | Ralph Nader | 28,124 | 0.34% | 0 | |
| Libertarian | Bob Barr | 17,218 | 0.21% | 0 | |
| Constitution | Chuck Baldwin | 7,915 | 0.09% | 0 | |
| Green | Cynthia A. McKinney | 2,887 | 0.03% | 0 | |
| America's Independent | Alan Keyes | 2,550 | 0.03% | 0 | |
| Socialism and Liberation | Gloria LaRiva | 1,516 | 0.02% | 0 | |
| Boston Tea | Charles Jay | 795 | 0.01% | 0 | |
| Socialist Workers | James Harris | 533 | 0.01% | 0 | |
| Objectivist | Thomas R. Stevens | 419 | 0.00% | 0 | |
| Socialist | Brian Moore | 405 | 0.00% | 0 | |
| Write-in | Gary Nettles | 391 | 0.00% | 0 | |
| Prohibition | Gene Amondson | 293 | 0.00% | 0 | |
| Totals | 8,390,744 | 100.00% | 27 | ||
| Voter turnout (Voting age population) | 75.0% | ||||
| County | Barack Obama Democratic | John McCain Republican | Various candidates Other parties | Margin | Total votes cast | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| # | % | # | % | # | % | # | % | ||
| Alachua | 75,565 | 59.99% | 48,513 | 38.51% | 1,889 | 1.50% | 27,052 | 21.48% | 125,967 |
| Baker | 2,327 | 20.99% | 8,672 | 78.22% | 88 | 0.79% | -6,345 | -57.23% | 11,087 |
| Bay | 23,653 | 29.07% | 56,683 | 69.66% | 1,030 | 1.26% | -33,030 | -40.59% | 81,366 |
| Bradford | 3,430 | 29.31% | 8,136 | 69.52% | 137 | 1.17% | -4,706 | -40.21% | 11,703 |
| Brevard | 127,620 | 44.17% | 157,589 | 54.54% | 3,718 | 1.29% | -29,969 | -10.37% | 288,927 |
| Broward | 492,640 | 67.02% | 237,729 | 32.34% | 4,722 | 0.64% | 254,911 | 34.68% | 735,091 |
| Calhoun | 1,821 | 29.07% | 4,345 | 69.36% | 98 | 1.56% | -2,524 | -40.29% | 6,264 |
| Charlotte | 39,031 | 45.65% | 45,205 | 52.87% | 1,263 | 1.48% | -6,174 | -7.22% | 85,499 |
| Citrus | 31,460 | 41.12% | 43,706 | 57.13% | 1,343 | 1.75% | -12,246 | -16.01% | 76,509 |
| Clay | 26,697 | 28.18% | 67,203 | 70.95% | 823 | 0.88% | -40,506 | -42.77% | 94,723 |
| Collier | 54,450 | 38.35% | 86,379 | 60.84% | 1,159 | 0.82% | -31,929 | -22.49% | 141,988 |
| Columbia | 9,171 | 32.50% | 18,670 | 66.17% | 374 | 1.32% | -9,499 | -33.67% | 28,215 |
| DeSoto | 4,383 | 43.12% | 5,632 | 55.41% | 149 | 1.46% | -1,249 | -12.29% | 10,164 |
| Dixie | 1,925 | 26.40% | 5,194 | 71.22% | 174 | 2.39% | -3,269 | -44.82% | 7,293 |
| Duval | 202,618 | 48.63% | 210,537 | 50.53% | 3,538 | 0.85% | -7,919 | -1.90% | 416,693 |
| Escambia | 61,572 | 39.76% | 91,411 | 59.02% | 1,891 | 1.22% | -29,839 | -19.26% | 154,874 |
| Flagler | 24,726 | 50.24% | 23,951 | 48.66% | 540 | 1.10% | 775 | 1.58% | 49,217 |
| Franklin | 2,134 | 35.28% | 3,818 | 63.12% | 97 | 1.61% | -1,684 | -27.84% | 6,049 |
| Gadsden | 15,582 | 69.14% | 6,811 | 30.22% | 145 | 0.64% | 8,771 | 38.92% | 22,538 |
| Gilchrist | 1,996 | 25.53% | 5,656 | 72.34% | 167 | 2.14% | -3,660 | -46.81% | 7,819 |
| Glades | 1,674 | 39.29% | 2,533 | 59.45% | 54 | 1.27% | -859 | -20.16% | 4,261 |
| Gulf | 2,149 | 29.77% | 4,980 | 68.99% | 89 | 1.23% | -2,831 | -39.22% | 7,218 |
| Hamilton | 2,364 | 42.24% | 3,179 | 56.81% | 53 | 0.95% | -815 | -14.57% | 5,596 |
| Hardee | 2,568 | 34.51% | 4,763 | 64.00% | 111 | 1.48% | -2,195 | -29.49% | 7,442 |
| Hendry | 4,998 | 45.78% | 5,780 | 52.94% | 139 | 1.28% | -782 | -7.16% | 10,917 |
| Hernando | 41,886 | 47.46% | 45,021 | 51.01% | 1,350 | 1.52% | -3,135 | -3.55% | 88,257 |
| Highlands | 18,135 | 40.37% | 26,221 | 58.37% | 566 | 1.27% | -8,086 | -18.00% | 44,922 |
| Hillsborough | 272,963 | 53.05% | 236,355 | 45.94% | 5,183 | 1.01% | 36,608 | 7.11% | 514,501 |
| Holmes | 1,446 | 16.78% | 7,033 | 81.63% | 137 | 1.59% | -5,587 | -64.85% | 8,616 |
| Indian River | 29,710 | 41.96% | 40,176 | 56.74% | 916 | 1.30% | -10,466 | -14.78% | 70,802 |
| Jackson | 7,671 | 35.49% | 13,717 | 63.47% | 225 | 1.04% | -6,046 | -27.98% | 21,613 |
| Jefferson | 4,088 | 51.24% | 3,797 | 47.59% | 93 | 1.16% | 291 | 3.65% | 7,978 |
| Lafayette | 642 | 19.01% | 2,679 | 79.33% | 56 | 1.66% | -2,037 | -60.32% | 3,377 |
| Lake | 62,948 | 42.71% | 82,802 | 56.19% | 1,621 | 1.10% | -19,854 | -13.48% | 147,371 |
| Lee | 119,701 | 44.34% | 147,608 | 54.67% | 2,688 | 0.99% | -27,907 | -10.33% | 269,977 |
| Leon | 91,747 | 61.60% | 55,705 | 37.40% | 1,483 | 0.99% | 36,042 | 24.20% | 148,935 |
| Levy | 6,711 | 35.72% | 11,754 | 62.56% | 324 | 1.73% | -5,043 | -26.84% | 18,789 |
| Liberty | 895 | 27.24% | 2,339 | 71.18% | 52 | 1.58% | -1,444 | -43.94% | 3,286 |
| Madison | 4,270 | 47.94% | 4,544 | 51.02% | 93 | 1.04% | -274 | -3.08% | 8,907 |
| Manatee | 70,034 | 45.93% | 80,721 | 52.94% | 1,712 | 1.12% | -10,687 | -7.01% | 152,467 |
| Marion | 70,839 | 43.58% | 89,628 | 55.14% | 2,075 | 1.28% | -18,789 | -11.56% | 162,542 |
| Martin | 33,508 | 42.67% | 44,143 | 56.22% | 871 | 1.10% | -10,635 | -13.55% | 78,522 |
| Miami-Dade | 499,831 | 57.81% | 360,551 | 41.70% | 4,254 | 0.49% | 139,280 | 16.11% | 864,636 |
| Monroe | 20,907 | 51.75% | 18,933 | 46.86% | 563 | 1.39% | 1,974 | 4.89% | 40,403 |
| Nassau | 10,618 | 27.66% | 27,403 | 71.38% | 371 | 0.97% | -16,785 | -43.72% | 38,392 |
| Okaloosa | 25,872 | 27.01% | 68,789 | 71.82% | 1,120 | 1.17% | -42,917 | -44.81% | 95,781 |
| Okeechobee | 5,108 | 39.79% | 7,561 | 58.89% | 170 | 1.32% | -2,453 | -19.10% | 12,839 |
| Orange | 273,009 | 58.96% | 186,832 | 40.35% | 3,198 | 0.69% | 86,177 | 18.61% | 463,039 |
| Osceola | 59,962 | 59.41% | 40,086 | 39.72% | 877 | 0.87% | 19,876 | 19.69% | 100,925 |
| Palm Beach | 361,271 | 61.08% | 226,037 | 38.22% | 4,128 | 0.70% | 135,234 | 22.86% | 591,436 |
| Pasco | 102,417 | 47.51% | 110,104 | 51.07% | 3,068 | 1.42% | -7,687 | -3.56% | 215,589 |
| Pinellas | 248,299 | 53.38% | 210,066 | 45.16% | 6,787 | 1.46% | 38,233 | 8.22% | 465,152 |
| Polk | 113,865 | 46.34% | 128,878 | 52.45% | 2,961 | 1.20% | -15,013 | -6.11% | 245,704 |
| Putnam | 13,236 | 39.77% | 19,637 | 59.01% | 406 | 1.22% | -6,401 | -19.24% | 33,279 |
| St. Johns | 35,791 | 33.74% | 69,222 | 65.25% | 1,068 | 1.00% | -33,431 | -31.51% | 106,081 |
| St. Lucie | 67,125 | 55.49% | 52,512 | 43.41% | 1,337 | 1.11% | 14,613 | 12.08% | 120,974 |
| Santa Rosa | 19,470 | 25.49% | 55,972 | 73.28% | 935 | 1.23% | -36,502 | -47.79% | 76,377 |
| Sarasota | 102,686 | 49.37% | 102,897 | 49.47% | 2,422 | 1.16% | -211 | -0.10% | 208,005 |
| Seminole | 99,335 | 48.12% | 105,070 | 50.90% | 2,021 | 0.98% | -5,735 | -2.78% | 206,426 |
| Sumter | 17,655 | 36.04% | 30,866 | 63.01% | 462 | 0.95% | -13,211 | -26.97% | 48,983 |
| Suwannee | 4,916 | 27.76% | 12,534 | 70.77% | 261 | 1.48% | -7,618 | -43.01% | 17,711 |
| Taylor | 2,803 | 29.86% | 6,457 | 68.79% | 127 | 1.36% | -3,654 | -38.93% | 9,387 |
| Union | 1,300 | 24.48% | 3,940 | 74.20% | 70 | 1.31% | -2,640 | -49.72% | 5,310 |
| Volusia | 127,795 | 52.19% | 113,938 | 46.53% | 3,122 | 1.27% | 13,857 | 5.66% | 244,855 |
| Wakulla | 5,311 | 36.94% | 8,877 | 61.75% | 188 | 1.31% | -3,566 | -24.81% | 14,376 |
| Walton | 7,174 | 26.43% | 19,561 | 72.08% | 404 | 1.48% | -12,387 | -45.65% | 27,139 |
| Washington | 2,863 | 25.64% | 8,178 | 73.23% | 126 | 1.12% | -5,315 | -47.59% | 11,167 |
| Totals | 4,282,367 | 50.91% | 4,046,219 | 48.10% | 83,662 | 0.99% | 236,148 | 2.81% | 8,412,248 |
Despite the fact that Barack Obama won the state, John McCain carried 15 congressional districts in Florida, including two district occupied by Democrats. Obama carried ten congressional districts, including two districts occupied by Republicans.
| District | McCain | Obama | Representative |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | 66.66% | 32.10% | Jeff Miller |
| 2nd | 54.27% | 44.58% | Allen Boyd |
| 3rd | 25.99% | 73.30% | Corrine Brown |
| 4th | 61.35% | 37.66% | Ander Crenshaw |
| 5th | 55.57% | 43.18% | Ginny Brown-Waite |
| 6th | 56.04% | 42.82% | Cliff Stearns |
| 7th | 53.20% | 45.68% | John Mica |
| 8th | 46.77% | 52.47% | Ric Keller (110th Congress) |
| Alan Grayson (111th Congress) | |||
| 9th | 52.17% | 46.57% | Gus Bilirakis |
| 10th | 47.17% | 51.30% | Bill Young |
| 11th | 33.08% | 65.93% | Kathy Castor |
| 12th | 50.23% | 48.84% | Adam Putnam |
| 13th | 52.05% | 46.76% | Vern Buchanan |
| 14th | 56.76% | 42.28% | Connie Mack IV |
| 15th | 51.15% | 47.67% | Bill Posey |
| 16th | 51.80% | 47.11% | Tim Mahoney (110th Congress) |
| Tom Rooney (111th Congress) | |||
| 17th | 12.37% | 87.25% | Kendrick Meek |
| 18th | 48.55% | 50.74% | Ileana Ros-Lehtinen |
| 19th | 33.92% | 65.42% | Robert Wexler |
| 20th | 35.99% | 63.25% | Debbie Wasserman Schultz |
| 21st | 50.83% | 48.68% | Lincoln Díaz-Balart |
| 22nd | 47.59% | 51.63% | Ron Klein |
| 23rd | 16.83% | 82.68% | Alcee Hastings |
| 24th | 50.47% | 48.52% | Tom Feeney (110th Congress) |
| Suzanne Kosmas (111th Congress) | |||
| 25th | 50.25% | 49.22% | Mario Díaz-Balart |
Technically the voters of Florida cast their ballots for electors: representatives to theElectoral College. Florida is allocated 27 electors because it has 25congressional districts and 2senators. All candidates who appear on the ballot or qualify to receive write-in votes must submit a list of 27 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 27 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.[32] 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.
The following were the members of the Electoral College from the state. All 27 were pledged toBarack Obama andJoe Biden[33]
State and district results of the2008 United States presidential election | ||
|---|---|---|
|  | |
