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| Elections in Idaho | ||
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The2008 United States presidential election in Idaho took place on November 4, 2008, and was part of the2008 United States presidential election. Voters chose four representatives, or electors to theElectoral College, who voted forpresident andvice president.
Idaho was won by Republican nomineeJohn McCain by a 25.3% margin of victory. Prior to the election, all 17 major news organizations considered this a state McCain would win, or ared state. Polling in the state gave a sizable lead to McCain over DemocratBarack Obama, with most polling predicting a McCain win of at least 30 percentage points. Despite his landslide defeat in the state, Obama over-performed his polls and greatly improved on Kerry's performancefour years earlier. Idaho has not gone Democratic for President sinceLyndon B. Johnson narrowly won it in1964.
There were 16 news organizations who made state-by-state predictions of the election. Here are their last predictions before election day:
| Source | Ranking |
|---|---|
| D.C. Political Report[1] | Likely R |
| Cook Political Report[2] | Solid R |
| The Takeaway[3] | Solid R |
| Electoral-vote.com[4] | Solid R |
| Washington Post[5] | Solid R |
| Politico[6] | Solid R |
| RealClearPolitics[7] | Solid R |
| FiveThirtyEight[5] | Solid R |
| CQ Politics[8] | Solid R |
| The New York Times[9] | Solid R |
| CNN[10] | Safe R |
| NPR[5] | Solid R |
| MSNBC[5] | Solid R |
| Fox News[11] | Likely R |
| Associated Press[12] | Likely R |
| Rasmussen Reports[13] | Safe R |
McCain won every pre-election poll with a double-digit margin and with at least 52 percent of the vote. The final three poll average gave the Republican 66 percent to Obama's 29 percent.[14]
Obama raised $874,523. McCain raised $441,338.[15]
Obama spent $268. McCain spent $434.[16] Neither campaign visited the state.[17]
With a substantialMormon population, Idaho is one of the most reliably GOP bastions in the country. AlthoughBarack Obama became the first Democratic presidential candidate sinceMichael Dukakis in1988 to eclipse 35 percent of the vote in solidlyred state Idaho,[18] the state was still won handily byJohn McCain by a margin of approximately 25.34 percent. McCain carried 41 of the state's 44 counties, with Obama winningBlaine County, home toSun Valley and several other prime ski resorts;Latah County, home to the college town ofMoscow, andTeton County, a highly affluent suburb ofTeton County, Wyoming, and the last untilJoe Biden won it in2020 United States presidential election in Idaho. Obama was the first Democrat to carry Teton County sinceHarry S. Truman in1948.[19][20] He also narrowed the Republican margins of victory inAda County, and in the state capital and city ofBoise to single digits. McCain's victory in Idaho, however, was less than that ofGeorge W. Bush who carried the state with 68.38 percent of the vote in2004, a 12.78-point swing to the Democrats in Idaho.
With 61.21 percent of the popular vote, Idaho proved to be McCain's fourth strongest state in 2008 election afterOklahoma,Wyoming andUtah.[21]
Obama became the first Democrat to win the White House without carryingNez Perce County sinceGrover Cleveland in1892.
During the same election, Republicans held onto the openU.S. Senate seat vacated by RepublicanLarry Craig who reluctantly retired after it was revealed that he had solicited a man for sex in the men's restroom at an airport inMinneapolis. Then-Lieutenant GovernorJim Risch, a Republican, was elected with 57.65% of the vote over DemocratLarry LaRocco who received 34.11%. Apro-lifeindependent candidate received 5.35 point whileLibertarian Kent Marmon received 1.54% andRex Rammell, a far right-wing candidate who also ran as anIndependent, received 1.34%.
At the state level, Republicans expanded their supermajority status in the Idaho state legislature as they picked up one seat in theIdaho House of Representatives.
| 2008 United States presidential election in Idaho[22] | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Running mate | Votes | Percentage | Electoral votes | |
| Republican | John McCain | Sarah Palin | 403,012 | 61.21% | 4 | |
| Democratic | Barack Obama | Joe Biden | 236,440 | 35.91% | 0 | |
| Independent | Ralph Nader | Matt Gonzalez | 7,175 | 1.09% | 0 | |
| Constitution | Chuck Baldwin | Darrell Castle | 4,747 | 0.72% | 0 | |
| Libertarian | Bob Barr | Wayne Allyn Root | 3,658 | 0.56% | 0 | |
| American Independent (Write-in) | Alan Keyes (Write-in) | Brian Rohrbough | 40[a] | 0.01% | 0 | |
| Green (Write-in) | Cynthia McKinney (Write-in) | Rosa Clemente | 39[a] | 0.01% | 0 | |
| Socialist (Write-in) | Brian Moore (Write-in) | Stewart Alexander | 3[a] | 0.00% | 0 | |
| Write-ins | 8 | 0.00% | 0 | |||
| Totals | 658,454 | 100.00% | 4 | |||
| Voter turnout (Voting age population) | 60.1% | |||||
| County | John McCain Republican | Barack Obama Democratic | Ralph Nader[23] Independent | Charles Baldwin[23] Constitution | Bob Barr[23] Libertarian | Margin | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| # | % | # | % | # | % | # | % | # | % | # | % | ||
| Ada | 93,328 | 51.63% | 82,236 | 45.49% | 1,978 | 1.09% | 777 | 0.43% | 1,083 | 0.60% | 11,092 | 6.14% | 180,760 |
| Adams | 1,517 | 65.39% | 728 | 31.38% | 36 | 1.55% | 20 | 0.86% | 19 | 0.82% | 789 | 34.01% | 2,320 |
| Bannock | 19,356 | 54.62% | 14,792 | 41.74% | 485 | 1.37% | 257 | 0.73% | 215 | 0.61% | 4,564 | 12.88% | 35,437 |
| Bear Lake | 2,377 | 80.77% | 502 | 17.06% | 26 | 0.88% | 27 | 0.92% | 11 | 0.37% | 1,875 | 63.71% | 2,943 |
| Benewah | 2,646 | 63.54% | 1,407 | 33.79% | 48 | 1.15% | 38 | 0.91% | 25 | 0.60% | 1,239 | 29.75% | 4,164 |
| Bingham | 12,230 | 71.29% | 4,424 | 25.79% | 207 | 1.21% | 203 | 1.18% | 91 | 0.53% | 7,806 | 45.50% | 17,156 |
| Blaine | 3,439 | 32.53% | 6,947 | 65.71% | 106 | 1.00% | 16 | 0.15% | 63 | 0.60% | -3,508 | -33.18% | 10,573 |
| Boise | 2,433 | 64.48% | 1,240 | 32.87% | 48 | 1.27% | 25 | 0.66% | 27 | 0.72% | 1,193 | 31.61% | 3,773 |
| Bonner | 11,145 | 57.01% | 7,840 | 40.10% | 259 | 1.32% | 195 | 1.00% | 108 | 0.55% | 3,305 | 16.91% | 19,550 |
| Bonneville | 29,334 | 70.34% | 11,417 | 27.38% | 334 | 0.80% | 362 | 0.87% | 256 | 0.61% | 17,917 | 42.96% | 41,703 |
| Boundary | 3,078 | 65.02% | 1,484 | 31.35% | 67 | 1.42% | 77 | 1.63% | 27 | 0.57% | 1,594 | 33.67% | 4,734 |
| Butte | 1,056 | 75.11% | 318 | 22.62% | 18 | 1.28% | 7 | 0.50% | 7 | 0.50% | 738 | 52.49% | 1,406 |
| Camas | 422 | 68.28% | 187 | 30.26% | 5 | 0.81% | 1 | 0.16% | 3 | 0.49% | 235 | 38.02% | 618 |
| Canyon | 42,752 | 66.07% | 20,147 | 31.14% | 639 | 0.99% | 387 | 0.60% | 321 | 0.50% | 22,605 | 34.93% | 64,706 |
| Caribou | 2,656 | 80.44% | 553 | 16.75% | 56 | 1.70% | 23 | 0.70% | 14 | 0.42% | 2,103 | 63.69% | 3,302 |
| Cassia | 6,309 | 79.93% | 1,332 | 16.88% | 86 | 1.09% | 72 | 0.91% | 43 | 0.54% | 4,977 | 63.05% | 7,893 |
| Clark | 305 | 81.33% | 64 | 17.07% | 2 | 0.53% | 3 | 0.80% | 1 | 0.27% | 241 | 64.26% | 375 |
| Clearwater | 2,569 | 65.77% | 1,211 | 31.00% | 60 | 1.54% | 35 | 0.90% | 31 | 0.79% | 1,358 | 34.77% | 3,906 |
| Custer | 1,694 | 71.99% | 611 | 25.97% | 18 | 0.76% | 17 | 0.72% | 12 | 0.51% | 1,083 | 46.02% | 2,353 |
| Elmore | 5,665 | 66.76% | 2,591 | 30.53% | 110 | 1.30% | 37 | 0.44% | 33 | 0.39% | 3,074 | 36.23% | 8,486 |
| Franklin | 4,246 | 83.68% | 600 | 11.82% | 48 | 0.95% | 142 | 2.80% | 37 | 0.73% | 3,646 | 71.86% | 5,074 |
| Fremont | 4,700 | 79.92% | 1,065 | 18.11% | 46 | 0.78% | 44 | 0.75% | 25 | 0.43% | 3,635 | 61.81% | 5,881 |
| Gem | 5,585 | 70.27% | 2,166 | 27.25% | 112 | 1.41% | 52 | 0.65% | 32 | 0.40% | 3,419 | 43.02% | 7,948 |
| Gooding | 3,765 | 69.84% | 1,489 | 27.62% | 75 | 1.39% | 35 | 0.65% | 27 | 0.50% | 2,276 | 42.22% | 5,391 |
| Idaho | 5,895 | 71.79% | 2,017 | 24.56% | 77 | 0.94% | 167 | 2.03% | 54 | 0.66% | 3,878 | 47.23% | 8,212 |
| Jefferson | 8,540 | 81.79% | 1,641 | 15.72% | 72 | 0.69% | 138 | 1.32% | 50 | 0.48% | 6,899 | 66.07% | 10,441 |
| Jerome | 4,897 | 71.52% | 1,794 | 26.20% | 74 | 1.08% | 36 | 0.53% | 46 | 0.67% | 3,103 | 45.32% | 6,847 |
| Kootenai | 38,387 | 61.38% | 22,120 | 35.37% | 592 | 0.95% | 565 | 0.90% | 268 | 0.43% | 16,267 | 26.01% | 62,535 |
| Latah | 7,988 | 44.59% | 9,195 | 51.32% | 199 | 1.11% | 204 | 1.14% | 128 | 0.71% | -1,207 | -6.73% | 17,916 |
| Lemhi | 2,938 | 71.57% | 1,061 | 25.85% | 29 | 0.71% | 45 | 1.10% | 32 | 0.78% | 1,877 | 45.72% | 4,105 |
| Lewis | 1,275 | 70.68% | 479 | 26.55% | 20 | 1.11% | 23 | 1.27% | 7 | 0.39% | 796 | 44.13% | 1,804 |
| Lincoln | 1,232 | 65.88% | 545 | 29.14% | 77 | 4.12% | 10 | 0.53% | 6 | 0.32% | 687 | 36.74% | 1,870 |
| Madison | 11,131 | 85.24% | 1,627 | 12.46% | 81 | 0.62% | 149 | 1.14% | 69 | 0.53% | 9,504 | 72.78% | 13,058 |
| Minidoka | 5,087 | 73.83% | 1,630 | 23.66% | 79 | 1.15% | 52 | 0.75% | 42 | 0.61% | 3,457 | 50.17% | 6,890 |
| Nez Perce | 10,357 | 58.11% | 7,123 | 39.97% | 189 | 1.06% | 82 | 0.46% | 72 | 0.40% | 3,234 | 18.14% | 17,823 |
| Oneida | 1,724 | 79.74% | 381 | 17.62% | 11 | 0.51% | 27 | 1.25% | 19 | 0.88% | 1,343 | 62.12% | 2,162 |
| Owyhee | 3,024 | 74.52% | 944 | 23.26% | 37 | 0.91% | 29 | 0.71% | 24 | 0.59% | 2,080 | 51.26% | 4,058 |
| Payette | 5,988 | 68.88% | 2,415 | 27.78% | 105 | 1.21% | 66 | 0.76% | 39 | 0.45% | 3,573 | 41.10% | 8,693 |
| Power | 1,754 | 61.72% | 1,027 | 36.14% | 28 | 0.99% | 13 | 0.46% | 20 | 0.70% | 727 | 25.58% | 2,842 |
| Shoshone | 2,953 | 52.11% | 2,521 | 44.49% | 111 | 1.96% | 42 | 0.74% | 39 | 0.69% | 432 | 7.62% | 5,667 |
| Teton | 2,263 | 48.57% | 2,302 | 49.41% | 61 | 1.31% | 13 | 0.28% | 19 | 0.41% | -39 | -0.84% | 4,659 |
| Twin Falls | 19,032 | 66.52% | 8,621 | 30.13% | 358 | 1.25% | 181 | 0.63% | 152 | 0.53% | 10,411 | 36.39% | 28,613 |
| Valley | 2,772 | 52.33% | 2,405 | 45.40% | 65 | 1.23% | 21 | 0.40% | 33 | 0.62% | 367 | 6.93% | 5,297 |
| Washington | 3,168 | 70.31% | 1,241 | 27.54% | 41 | 0.91% | 28 | 0.62% | 28 | 0.62% | 1,927 | 42.77% | 4,506 |
| Totals | 403,012 | 61.21% | 236,440 | 35.91% | 7,175 | 1.09% | 4,747 | 0.72% | 3,658 | 0.56% | 166,572 | 25.30% | 658,454 |
| Democratic Hold Gain from Republican | Republican Hold |
John McCain solidly swept both Idaho's congressional districts, including one that elected a Democrat.
| District | McCain | Obama | Representative |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | 61.82% | 35.88% | Bill Sali (110th Congress) |
| Walt Minnick (111th Congress) | |||
| 2nd | 61.19% | 36.34% | Mike Simpson |
Technically the voters of Idaho cast their ballots for electors: representatives to theElectoral College. Idaho is allocated four electors because it has twocongressional districts and twosenators. All candidates who appear on the ballot or qualify to receive write-in votes must submit a list of four electors, who pledge to vote for their candidate and their running mate. Whoever wins a plurality of votes in the state is awarded all four 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.[24] An elector who votes for someone other than their 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 four were pledged toJohn McCain andSarah Palin:[25]
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