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The2008 United States presidential election in Pennsylvania was part of the2008 United States presidential election, which took place on November 4, 2008, throughout all 50 states and theDistrict of Columbia. Voters chose 21 representatives, or electors to theElectoral College, who voted forpresident andvice president.
Pennsylvania was won by Democratic nomineeBarack Obama by a 10.32% margin of victory. Prior to the election, all 17 news organizations considered this a state Obama would win, or otherwise considered as a safeblue state. Although the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania had voted for the Democratic presidential nominee in every election since1992, the margins of victory had become smaller over the past elections, as was highlighted in2004 whenJohn Kerry won Pennsylvania by a slim margin of 2.50%. SinceGeorge W. Bush came relatively close to winning the state in 2004, and because Obama had lost theDemocratic primary toHillary Clinton by nearly 10% in April 2008, many analysts believed that Republican presidential nomineeJohn McCain had a decent shot at winning Pennsylvania in the general election.[2]
Nevertheless, Pennsylvania remainedblue and gave Obama 54.49% of the vote to McCain's 44.17%, a margin of 10.32%. It was the first time since1996 in which Pennsylvania was the most Republican of the threeRust Belt swing states (includingWisconsin andMichigan). As of the2024 election, this is the last time that the counties ofBerks,Cambria,Carbon, andElk voted for a Democrat in a presidential election.
The Democratic primary was held on April 22. Voters also chose thePennsylvania Democratic Party's candidates for various state and local offices.
The Democratic primary was open to registered Democrats only. Polls opened at 7am and closed at 8pm. SenatorsBarack Obama andHillary Clinton were the only candidates on the ballot forPresident of the United States.[3] The primary was considered to be a "must win" for Clinton, who defeated Obama, but by a smaller margin than hoped for.
Hillary Clinton won the primary by 9.28%, a wider margin than expected than recent polls suggested, but smaller than most January and February polls. Despite her victory, she gained only nine delegates on Obama. In particularsuperdelegates were not swinging in her direction after her win; the Clintons had been trying to secure the support of CongressmanJason Altmire but he remained uncommitted after she won his district by 31% during the primary.[4]
The Pennsylvania Democratic Party sent 187 delegates to the2008 Democratic National Convention. Of those delegates, 158 were pledged, and 29 were unpledged. All of the 158 pledged delegates were allocated (pledged) to vote for a particular candidate at the National Convention according to the results of the Pennsylvania Presidential Primary. The 29 unpledged delegates were popularly called "superdelegates" because their vote represented their personal decisions, whereas the regular delegates' votes represented the collective decision of many voters. The superdelegates were free to vote for any candidate at the National Convention and were selected by the Pennsylvania Democratic Party's officials.[5][6]
The 158 pledged delegates were further divided into 103 district delegates and 55 statewide delegates. The 103 district delegates were divided among Pennsylvania's 19 Congressional Districts and were allocated to the presidential candidates based on the primary results in each district. The 55 statewide delegates were divided into 35 at-large delegates and 20 party leaders and elected officials (abbreviated PLEOs). They were allocated to the presidential candidates based on the preference of the delegates at the State Committee meeting on June 7.[5][6]
Of the 29 unpledged delegates, 26 were selected in advance and 3 were selected at the State Committee meeting. The delegates selected in advance were 13 Democratic National Committee members, the 11 Democratic U.S. Representatives from Pennsylvania, Democratic U.S. SenatorBob Casey Jr., and Democratic GovernorEd Rendell.[5][6]
The primary was the first time since 1976 that Pennsylvania played a major role in a presidential nomination.[7]
As the race continued to Pennsylvania,Indiana, andNorth Carolina, many observers had concluded that Clinton had little chance to overcome Obama's lead in pledged delegates.[9]
Former PresidentBill Clinton highlighted the importance of the state for the Clinton campaign saying on March 11 at an event in Western Pennsylvania that "If she wins a big, big victory in Pennsylvania, I think it'll give her a real big boost going into the next primaries ... I think she's got to win a big victory in Pennsylvania. I think if she does, she can be nominated, but it's up to you."[10] This was a repetition of his tactic before March 4, warning supporters that his wife might not be able to continue if she did not winOhio andTexas.[11] Hillary Clinton emphasized that Pennsylvania was something of a home state for her, as her father came fromScranton, Pennsylvania, she and her brothers were christened there and had vacationed near there each summer, and her brothers still maintained the family cottage near there.[12]
On March 18, 2008Barack Obama chosePhiladelphia as the site to deliver his much-anticipated "A More Perfect Union" speech dealing with the race and thecontroversy surrounding his pastor,Rev. Jeremiah Wright.
Obama started a 6-day "Road to Change" bus tour acrossPennsylvania, with stops in Pittsburgh, Johnstown, Altoona, State College, Harrisburg
On March 28, Obama started the bus tour with a rally inPittsburgh'sSoldiers and Sailors Memorial Hall.[13] Obama was introduced and endorsed bySenatorBob Casey Jr., who had indicated earlier that he would remain neutral in the democratic primary.[14]
Casey traveled toFlorida over the Easter holiday, where he said rain forced him to stay inside and think about the election. Obama's ability to "transcend" the racial divide and his ability to engage younger voters proved decisive to his decision. According to sources, Casey's four daughters lobbied their dad to endorse Obama.[15]
On March 29, the Obama bus tour stopped at the Pleasant Valley Recreation Center inAltoona, where he famously bowled a 37.[16] Both Obama and Senator Casey (who rolled a score of 71) lost to local homemaker Roxanne Hart, who rolled a score of 82.[17] OnApril Fool's Day, Senator Clinton jokingly challenged Obama to a "bowl-off," with the winner taking all the delegates.[18]
On April 11, 2008,Huffington Postblogger Mayhill Fowler, a self-admitted Barack Obama supporter, reported that during an April 6 "closed press" fundraising event inSan Francisco, California, Obama recounted the obstacles facing his campaign in the Pennsylvania primary as it pertained to rural, white voters.[19] Fowler wrote that during the speech, Obama said the following:
You go into these small towns in Pennsylvania and, like a lot of small towns in theMidwest, the jobs have been gone now for 25 years and nothing's replaced them ... And they fell through theClinton Administration, and theBush Administration, and each successive administration has said that somehow these communities are gonna regenerate and they have not. And it's not surprising then they get bitter, they cling to guns or religion or antipathy to people who aren't like them oranti-immigrant sentiment or anti-trade sentiment as a way to explain their frustrations.
Fowler later posted a three-minute 30 second audio snippet confirming the accuracy of the remark. Senators Clinton andJohn McCain both issued statements condemning the remarks.[20] Obama later defended his comments, but conceded: "I didn't say it as well as I should have."[21] However, he also added: "I said something that everybody knows is true."[22] Obama had addressed similar themes of guns, religion, and economics in 2004 during an interview withCharlie Rose.[23]
On the last Friday before the primary, Senator Obama spoke onIndependence Mall inPhiladelphia, Pennsylvania, to a crowd of more than 35,000, the largest audience yet drawn by either candidate during the campaign.[24] The crowd was nearly twice what had been projected and spilled over into nearby streets.[25] The next day, Obama conducted awhistle stop train tour from Philadelphia toHarrisburg, drawing a crowd of 6,000 at a stop inWynnewood and 3,000 at a stop inPaoli. On Monday, Sen. Obama held the final events of his Pennsylvania campaign inScranton,McKeesport and at theUniversity of Pittsburgh's Petersen Events Center.[26]
The Saturday before the primary, Senator Clinton spoke in 5 Pennsylvania cities, includingWest Chester andYork, Pennsylvania. More than 300 people showed up at the West Chester firehouse to hear the New York Senator speak.[27] At the Wilson high gymnasium in West Lawn, Pennsylvania, Clinton told several hundred more supporters: "The job of a leader is to bring people together to solve problems . . . to understand that sometimes we have to fight to get the political will and the votes to make that happen". On Monday, April 21, Senator Clinton along with husband Bill Clinton spoke to a crowd of 6,000 in Downtown Pittsburgh. Other events were held Monday in Scranton, Harrisburg, and Philadelphia.[28] Both candidates refused to participate in the political custom ofstreet money.[29]
Public opinion polling from early January 2007 through mid-February 2008 consistently gave Hillary Clinton a double digit lead over Barack Obama.[30] By the beginning of April, polls of Pennsylvanians showed Obama trailing Clinton by an average of 5 points.[31] According to 2 polls taken one day before the primary, Hillary Clinton was leading Barack Obama by 49%–42% and 51%–41%. Other polls showed Clinton leading by an average of about 6%.[32]
Some superdelegates also announced their preferred candidates before the primary. As of April 30, 16 superdelegates had announced support for Senator Clinton and 5 had announced support for Senator Obama.[33]
Primary date: April 22, 2008
National pledged delegates determined: 158
| Pennsylvania Democratic presidential primary, 2008 Official Results[34] | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Votes | Percentage | Estimated national delegates[6] |
| Hillary Clinton | 1,275,039 | 54.57% | 85 |
| Barack Obama | 1,061,441 | 45.43% | 73 |
| Totals | 2,336,480 | 100.0% | 158 |
The Republican primary was also held on April 22 and voters also chose the Pennsylvania Republican Party's candidates for various state and local offices.
Polls opened at 7:00 am and closed at 8:00 pm.John McCain was the winner. He had already been declared the presumptive Republican presidential nominee, having secured enough delegate votes in earlier primary contests to win the nomination at the2008 Republican National Convention.
Unlike on the Democratic side, little campaigning took place as John McCain had already clinched the nomination. Outsider candidateRon Paul made several stops in the state, including his birthplace of Pittsburgh.
| Candidate | Votes | Percentage | Delegates |
|---|---|---|---|
| John McCain | 594,061 | 72.86% | 74* |
| Ron Paul | 129,246 | 15.85% | 0 |
| Mike Huckabee* | 92,057 | 11.29% | 0 |
| Total | 815,364 | 100% | 74 |
*Delegates are essentially unpledged in the Pennsylvania Republican primary.
Some media sources noted thatRon Paul andMike Huckabee combined took in around 220,000 votes (about 27% of the vote), despite McCain's status as presumptive nominee and the statistical irrelevance of Pennsylvania, as a possible sign of continuing social conservative or libertarian unease with McCain's nomination and have speculated about whether these results could potentially affect McCain in the Novembergeneral election. Although some strategists disputed this theory, pointing to low turnout among McCain supporters and arguing that primary results would not necessarily influence the November election.[35][36][37]
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[38] | Likely D |
| Cook Political Report[39] | Lean D |
| The Takeaway[40] | Lean D |
| Electoral-vote.com[41] | Lean D |
| Washington Post[42] | Lean D |
| Politico[43] | Lean D |
| RealClearPolitics[44] | Lean D |
| FiveThirtyEight[42] | Lean D |
| CQ Politics[45] | Lean D |
| The New York Times[46] | Lean D |
| CNN[47] | Lean D |
| NPR[42] | Lean D |
| MSNBC[42] | Lean D |
| Fox News[48] | Likely D |
| Associated Press[49] | Likely D |
| Rasmussen Reports[50] | Safe D |
Both McCain and Obama led in various state polls taken from February until the end of April, when Obama took a steady, moderate lead in the state polling. Obama's lead was temporarily reduced to within margins of error and ties whenGovernorSarah Palin ofAlaska was announced as McCain's running mate in late August, but when the2008 financial crisis became a more potent election issue near the end of September, Obama then took a double-digit lead in the state polls, causing many analysts to no longer consider Pennsylvania a swing state in 2008.[51] Nevertheless, John McCain campaigned heavily in the state near Election Day and some polls showed Obama's lead narrowing down to single digits. McCain hoped that Pennsylvania might be the swing state that ensured him a narrow victory. However, the economic crisis weighed heavily on the minds of voters across the country and in Pennsylvania it was no different where many voters blamed the Republicans for the collapse, ultimately helping Obama who ended up carrying Pennsylvania by a strong margin of 10.32%.
Obama raised $14,043,740. McCain raised $5,188,757.[52]
Obama spent almost $42 million, while McCain spent almost $30 million.[53] The Obama campaign visited the state 16 times. The McCain campaign visited here 31 times.[54]
McCain did win more counties than Obama, but the counties carried by Obama were by far the most populated of the state, includingPhiladelphia,Allegheny andLehigh counties, home to the state's three largest cities:Philadelphia,Pittsburgh andAllentown respectively.[55]
Obama did extremely well throughout eastern Pennsylvania. He won more than 80% of voters in the city of Philadelphia, and two of its suburban counties gave him 3-to-2 margins (the other suburban counties also voted for Obama).[56] Democratic margins from Philadelphia and its suburbs were more than Obama's statewide margin of victory. North of Philadelphia, the heavily industrialized, pro-union counties characterized by cities such asScranton (birthplace of Obama's running mate,Joe Biden),Wilkes-Barre andAllentown strongly backed Obama as well. African-American and Latino voters, as well as younger college-age voters, inMonroe County and even in very Republican Pike and Wayne counties gave Obama a much greater share of the vote than Kerry received in 2004. He also managed to win four traditionally Republican counties in the eastern part of the state,Dauphin (home to the state capital,Harrisburg),Monroe,Chester, andBerks; the last Democrat to carry these counties wasLyndon Johnson in 1964. In addition, Obama remained competitive in the two most Republican counties in the eastern region:Lancaster (which gave George W. Bush his largest margin of victory in the entire state) andYork. WhileJohn Kerry lost Lancaster by 32%, Obama lost the county by only 12%, a substantial improvement. However, McCain flippedWashington,Beaver, andFayette counties for the first time since 1972.[56]
John McCain, however, did best in Southwestern Pennsylvania around Pittsburgh, a part ofAppalachia and the central, rural "T". Central Pennsylvania is a Republican stronghold; John McCain won the vast majority of its counties, often by substantial margins. However, Southwestern Pennsylvania, until recently, was the most Democratic region of the state outside of Philadelphia. Historically, when a Democrat carried Pennsylvania, the entire lower-left corner of the state from Pittsburgh toJohnstown was coated blue. The heavily unionized, Appalachian counties in and around Pittsburgh strongly voted againstRonald Reagan in1984; in that election the only other county in the state to vote Democratic was Philadelphia.[57] In 2008, however, the Republicans won every single county in Southwestern Pennsylvania except forAllegheny County, home to Pittsburgh. It was one of the few regions of the country in which Obama did worse than John Kerry. This largely mirrored Obama's struggles in Appalachia throughout the Democratic primary, when voters in this region strongly backedHillary Clinton.
As of the2024 presidential election[update], this is the last election in whichCarbon County,Elk County,Cambria County, andBerks County voted for the Democratic candidate. During the same election at the state level, Democrats picked up two seats in thePennsylvania House of Representatives, but Republicans picked up one seat in thePennsylvania Senate. Democrats also picked up a seat in theU.S. House of Representatives inPennsylvania's 3rd Congressional District as DemocratKathy Dahlkemper defeated seven-term incumbent RepublicanPhil English by a 2.48% margin of victory. Dahlkemper received 51.24% of the vote while English took in 48.76%.
| 2008 United States presidential election in Pennsylvania | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Running mate | Votes | Percentage | Electoral votes | |
| Democratic | Barack Obama | Joe Biden | 3,276,363 | 54.47% | 21 | |
| Republican | John McCain | Sarah Palin | 2,655,885 | 44.15% | 0 | |
| Independent | Ralph Nader | Matt Gonzalez | 42,977 | 0.71% | 0 | |
| Libertarian | Bob Barr | Wayne Allyn Root | 19,912 | 0.33% | 0 | |
| Constitution | Chuck Baldwin | Darrell Castle | 1,348 | 0.02% | 0 | |
| Write-ins | Write-ins | 17,043 | 0.28% | 0 | ||
| Totals | 6,015,477 | 100.00% | 21 | |||
| Voter turnout (Voting age population) | 63.7% | |||||
| County[58] | Barack Obama Democratic | John McCain Republican | Ralph Nader Independent | Bob Barr Libertarian | Various candidates Other parties | Margin | Total votes cast | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| # | % | # | % | # | % | # | % | # | % | # | % | ||
| Adams | 17,633 | 39.41% | 26,349 | 58.89% | 355 | 0.79% | 154 | 0.34% | 250 | 0.55% | -8,716 | -19.48% | 44,741 |
| Allegheny | 373,153 | 57.05% | 272,347 | 41.64% | 3,927 | 0.60% | 2,009 | 0.31% | 2,603 | 0.39% | 100,806 | 15.41% | 654,039 |
| Armstrong | 11,138 | 36.80% | 18,542 | 61.27% | 263 | 0.87% | 138 | 0.46% | 182 | 0.60% | -7,404 | -24.47% | 30,263 |
| Beaver | 40,499 | 47.63% | 42,895 | 50.45% | 826 | 0.97% | 268 | 0.32% | 544 | 0.64% | -2,396 | -2.82% | 85,032 |
| Bedford | 6,059 | 26.87% | 16,124 | 71.51% | 164 | 0.73% | 96 | 0.43% | 105 | 0.46% | -10,065 | -44.64% | 22,548 |
| Berks | 97,047 | 53.76% | 80,513 | 44.60% | 1,614 | 0.89% | 826 | 0.46% | 511 | 0.28% | 16,534 | 9.16% | 180,511 |
| Blair | 19,813 | 37.17% | 32,708 | 61.37% | 335 | 0.63% | 246 | 0.46% | 196 | 0.37% | -12,895 | -24.20% | 53,298 |
| Bradford | 10,306 | 39.81% | 15,057 | 58.16% | 302 | 1.17% | 122 | 0.47% | 102 | 0.39% | -4,751 | -18.35% | 25,889 |
| Bucks | 179,031 | 53.71% | 150,248 | 45.08% | 2,405 | 0.72% | 1,240 | 0.37% | 400 | 0.12% | 28,783 | 8.63% | 333,324 |
| Butler | 32,260 | 35.54% | 57,074 | 62.88% | 722 | 0.80% | 369 | 0.41% | 336 | 0.37% | -24,814 | -27.34% | 90,761 |
| Cambria | 32,451 | 49.16% | 31,995 | 48.47% | 905 | 1.37% | 319 | 0.48% | 336 | 0.51% | 456 | 0.69% | 66,006 |
| Cameron | 879 | 38.95% | 1,323 | 58.62% | 34 | 1.51% | 9 | 0.40% | 12 | 0.53% | -444 | -19.67% | 2,257 |
| Carbon | 13,464 | 49.77% | 12,957 | 47.90% | 379 | 1.40% | 123 | 0.45% | 127 | 0.47% | 507 | 1.87% | 27,050 |
| Centre | 41,950 | 55.12% | 32,992 | 43.35% | 488 | 0.64% | 333 | 0.44% | 348 | 0.46% | 8,958 | 11.77% | 76,111 |
| Chester | 137,833 | 54.00% | 114,421 | 44.83% | 1,230 | 0.48% | 870 | 0.34% | 898 | 0.35% | 23,412 | 9.17% | 255,252 |
| Clarion | 6,756 | 37.79% | 10,737 | 60.06% | 169 | 0.95% | 104 | 0.58% | 111 | 0.62% | -3,981 | -22.27% | 17,877 |
| Clearfield | 14,555 | 42.78% | 18,662 | 54.85% | 443 | 1.30% | 153 | 0.45% | 209 | 0.61% | -4,107 | -12.07% | 34,022 |
| Clinton | 7,097 | 47.98% | 7,504 | 50.73% | 136 | 0.92% | 54 | 0.37% | 0 | 0.00% | -407 | -2.75% | 14,791 |
| Columbia | 13,230 | 46.79% | 14,477 | 51.20% | 264 | 0.93% | 92 | 0.33% | 215 | 0.76% | -1,247 | -4.41% | 28,278 |
| Crawford | 16,780 | 43.80% | 20,750 | 54.17% | 437 | 1.14% | 167 | 0.44% | 173 | 0.45% | -3,970 | -10.37% | 38,307 |
| Cumberland | 48,306 | 42.44% | 63,739 | 56.00% | 789 | 0.69% | 470 | 0.41% | 521 | 0.46% | -15,433 | -13.56% | 113,825 |
| Dauphin | 69,975 | 53.89% | 58,238 | 44.85% | 816 | 0.63% | 500 | 0.39% | 316 | 0.24% | 11,737 | 9.04% | 129,845 |
| Delaware | 178,870 | 60.12% | 115,273 | 38.75% | 1,955 | 0.66% | 906 | 0.30% | 506 | 0.17% | 63,597 | 21.37% | 297,510 |
| Elk | 7,290 | 50.76% | 6,676 | 46.48% | 220 | 1.53% | 85 | 0.59% | 91 | 0.63% | 614 | 4.28% | 14,362 |
| Erie | 75,775 | 59.07% | 50,351 | 39.25% | 1,167 | 0.91% | 398 | 0.31% | 580 | 0.45% | 25,424 | 19.82% | 128,271 |
| Fayette | 25,866 | 48.95% | 26,081 | 49.35% | 456 | 0.86% | 157 | 0.30% | 284 | 0.53% | -215 | -0.40% | 52,844 |
| Forest | 1,038 | 42.06% | 1,366 | 55.35% | 30 | 1.22% | 10 | 0.41% | 24 | 0.97% | -328 | -13.29% | 2,468 |
| Franklin | 21,169 | 33.12% | 41,906 | 65.56% | 370 | 0.58% | 196 | 0.31% | 276 | 0.43% | -20,737 | -32.44% | 63,917 |
| Fulton | 1,576 | 24.99% | 4,642 | 73.61% | 57 | 0.90% | 31 | 0.49% | 0 | 0.00% | -3,066 | -48.62% | 6,306 |
| Greene | 7,829 | 48.59% | 7,889 | 48.96% | 219 | 1.36% | 39 | 0.24% | 138 | 0.85% | -60 | -0.37% | 16,114 |
| Huntingdon | 6,621 | 35.35% | 11,745 | 62.70% | 196 | 1.05% | 70 | 0.37% | 99 | 0.53% | -5,124 | -27.35% | 18,731 |
| Indiana | 17,065 | 45.75% | 19,727 | 52.88% | 357 | 0.96% | 153 | 0.41% | 0 | 0.00% | -2,662 | -7.13% | 37,302 |
| Jefferson | 6,447 | 34.09% | 12,057 | 63.75% | 192 | 1.02% | 106 | 0.56% | 110 | 0.58% | -5,610 | -29.66% | 18,912 |
| Juniata | 3,068 | 31.25% | 6,484 | 66.04% | 107 | 1.09% | 52 | 0.53% | 108 | 1.10% | -3,416 | -34.79% | 9,819 |
| Lackawanna | 67,520 | 62.21% | 39,488 | 36.38% | 702 | 0.65% | 166 | 0.15% | 663 | 0.61% | 28,032 | 25.83% | 108,539 |
| Lancaster | 99,586 | 43.44% | 126,568 | 55.21% | 1,218 | 0.53% | 765 | 0.33% | 1,112 | 0.49% | -26,982 | -11.77% | 229,249 |
| Lawrence | 19,711 | 46.54% | 21,851 | 51.60% | 395 | 0.93% | 146 | 0.34% | 246 | 0.58% | -2,140 | -5.06% | 42,349 |
| Lebanon | 23,310 | 39.80% | 34,314 | 58.59% | 449 | 0.77% | 224 | 0.38% | 266 | 0.46% | -11,004 | -18.79% | 58,563 |
| Lehigh | 87,089 | 57.12% | 63,382 | 41.57% | 1,477 | 0.97% | 525 | 0.34% | 0 | 0.00% | 23,707 | 15.55% | 152,473 |
| Luzerne | 72,492 | 53.32% | 61,127 | 44.96% | 1,139 | 0.84% | 417 | 0.31% | 793 | 0.58% | 11,365 | 8.36% | 135,968 |
| Lycoming | 18,381 | 37.17% | 30,280 | 61.24% | 383 | 0.77% | 193 | 0.39% | 210 | 0.42% | -11,899 | -24.07% | 49,447 |
| McKean | 6,465 | 40.38% | 9,224 | 57.61% | 200 | 1.25% | 58 | 0.36% | 63 | 0.39% | -2,759 | -17.23% | 16,010 |
| Mercer | 26,411 | 48.76% | 26,565 | 49.04% | 611 | 1.13% | 234 | 0.43% | 347 | 0.64% | -154 | -0.28% | 54,168 |
| Mifflin | 5,375 | 32.40% | 10,929 | 65.89% | 157 | 0.95% | 41 | 0.25% | 85 | 0.51% | -5,554 | -33.49% | 16,587 |
| Monroe | 39,453 | 57.50% | 28,293 | 41.23% | 498 | 0.73% | 199 | 0.29% | 175 | 0.26% | 11,160 | 16.27% | 68,618 |
| Montgomery | 253,393 | 59.94% | 165,552 | 39.16% | 2,091 | 0.49% | 1,383 | 0.33% | 322 | 0.08% | 87,841 | 20.78% | 422,741 |
| Montour | 3,364 | 41.65% | 4,574 | 56.64% | 67 | 0.83% | 18 | 0.22% | 53 | 0.66% | -1,210 | -14.99% | 8,076 |
| Northampton | 75,255 | 55.35% | 58,551 | 43.07% | 1,253 | 0.92% | 528 | 0.39% | 367 | 0.27% | 16,704 | 12.28% | 135,954 |
| Northumberland | 14,329 | 42.00% | 19,018 | 55.75% | 415 | 1.22% | 177 | 0.52% | 175 | 0.52% | -4,689 | -13.75% | 34,114 |
| Perry | 6,396 | 32.22% | 13,058 | 65.79% | 198 | 1.00% | 93 | 0.47% | 103 | 0.52% | -6,662 | -33.57% | 19,848 |
| Philadelphia | 595,980 | 83.00% | 117,221 | 16.33% | 3,071 | 0.43% | 1,057 | 0.15% | 696 | 0.10% | 478,759 | 66.67% | 718,025 |
| Pike | 11,493 | 47.33% | 12,518 | 51.55% | 186 | 0.77% | 87 | 0.36% | 0 | 0.00% | -1,025 | -4.22% | 24,284 |
| Potter | 2,300 | 30.46% | 5,109 | 67.66% | 63 | 0.83% | 35 | 0.46% | 44 | 0.58% | -2,809 | -37.20% | 7,551 |
| Schuylkill | 28,300 | 44.49% | 33,767 | 53.09% | 702 | 1.10% | 288 | 0.45% | 548 | 0.86% | -5,467 | -8.60% | 63,605 |
| Snyder | 5,382 | 34.58% | 9,900 | 63.60% | 139 | 0.89% | 58 | 0.37% | 87 | 0.56% | -4,518 | -29.02% | 15,566 |
| Somerset | 12,878 | 36.41% | 21,686 | 61.32% | 401 | 1.13% | 203 | 0.57% | 200 | 0.08% | -8,808 | -24.91% | 35,368 |
| Sullivan | 1,233 | 39.44% | 1,841 | 58.89% | 32 | 1.02% | 14 | 0.45% | 6 | 0.19% | -608 | -19.45% | 3,126 |
| Susquehanna | 8,381 | 43.17% | 10,633 | 54.77% | 191 | 0.98% | 81 | 0.42% | 129 | 0.66% | -2,252 | -11.60% | 19,415 |
| Tioga | 6,390 | 35.25% | 11,326 | 62.48% | 177 | 0.98% | 91 | 0.50% | 142 | 0.77% | -4,936 | -27.23% | 18,126 |
| Union | 7,333 | 41.96% | 9,859 | 56.42% | 136 | 0.78% | 72 | 0.41% | 75 | 0.43% | -2,526 | -14.46% | 17,475 |
| Venango | 9,238 | 39.34% | 13,718 | 58.42% | 250 | 1.06% | 101 | 0.43% | 174 | 0.74% | -4,480 | -19.08% | 23,481 |
| Warren | 8,537 | 45.74% | 9,685 | 51.89% | 222 | 1.20% | 73 | 0.39% | 146 | 0.78% | -1,148 | -6.15% | 18,663 |
| Washington | 46,122 | 46.82% | 50,752 | 51.52% | 841 | 0.85% | 332 | 0.34% | 469 | 0.48% | -4,630 | -4.70% | 98,516 |
| Wayne | 9,892 | 43.14% | 12,702 | 55.39% | 191 | 0.83% | 50 | 0.22% | 97 | 0.41% | -2,810 | -12.25% | 22,932 |
| Westmoreland | 72,721 | 40.96% | 102,294 | 57.62% | 1,301 | 0.73% | 557 | 0.31% | 674 | 0.38% | -29,573 | -16.66% | 177,547 |
| Wyoming | 5,985 | 45.26% | 6,983 | 52.81% | 120 | 0.91% | 50 | 0.38% | 85 | 0.64% | -998 | -7.55% | 13,223 |
| York | 82,839 | 42.42% | 109,268 | 55.95% | 1,372 | 0.70% | 731 | 0.37% | 1,076 | 0.55% | -26,429 | -13.53% | 195,286 |
| Totals | 3,276,363 | 54.47% | 2,655,885 | 44.15% | 42,977 | 0.71% | 19,912 | 0.33% | 20,339 | 0.34% | 620,478 | 10.32% | 6,015,476 |
| Democratic Hold Gain from Republican | Republican Hold Gain from Democratic |
Although Barack Obama won Pennsylvania, John McCain carried ten of the commonwealth's 19 congressional districts, including four districts held by Democrats. One district,PA-03, was extremely close, however, with McCain only winning by 17 votes.[59] Obama won nine districts, including two districts held by Republicans.
| District | McCain | Obama | Representative |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | 11.71% | 87.74% | Bob Brady |
| 2nd | 9.51% | 89.97% | Chaka Fattah |
| 3rd | 49.072% | 49.067% | Phil English (110th Congress) |
| Kathy Dahlkemper (111th Congress) | |||
| 4th | 54.51% | 44.04% | Jason Altmire |
| 5th | 54.23% | 43.86% | John E. Peterson (110th Congress) |
| Glenn Thompson (111th Congress) | |||
| 6th | 41.15% | 57.64% | Jim Gerlach |
| 7th | 43.13% | 55.75% | Joe Sestak |
| 8th | 44.97% | 53.82% | Patrick Murphy |
| 9th | 63.20% | 35.23% | Bill Shuster |
| 10th | 53.28% | 45.02% | Chris Carney |
| 11th | 41.80% | 56.55% | Paul Kanjorski |
| 12th | 49.24% | 48.92% | John Murtha |
| 13th | 40.53% | 58.48% | Allyson Schwartz |
| 14th | 28.84% | 69.78% | Mike Doyle |
| 15th | 43.16% | 55.44% | Charlie Dent |
| 16th | 51.03% | 47.67% | Joe Pitts |
| 17th | 50.94% | 47.41% | Tim Holden |
| 18th | 54.67% | 44.02% | Tim Murphy |
| 19th | 55.92% | 42.45% | Todd Platts |
Technically the voters of Pennsylvania cast their ballots for electors: representatives to theElectoral College. Pennsylvania is allocated 21 electors because it has 19congressional districts and 2senators. All candidates who appear on the ballot or qualify to receive write-in votes must submit a list of 21 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 21 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.[60] 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 20 were pledged toBarack Obama andJoe Biden:[61]
State and district results of the2008 United States presidential election | ||
|---|---|---|
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