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| Turnout | 57.92%[1] | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
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 County results Congressional district results Precinct results
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The2008 United States presidential election in West Virginia took place on November 4, 2008, and was part of the2008 United States presidential election. Voters chose 5 representatives, or electors to theElectoral College, who voted forpresident andvice president.
West Virginia was won by Republican nomineeJohn McCain by a 13.1% margin of victory. Prior to the election, all 17 news organizations considered this a state McCain would win, or otherwise considered as a safered state. Despite its past voting record of heavily favoring Democratic presidential nominees, the state had since 2000 been trending more Republican in presidential elections. Obama became the first Democratic presidential nominee sinceWoodrow Wilson in1916 to win the nationwide presidential election without carrying West Virginia, and in that election Wilson had managed to win a single electoral vote, making Obama the first Democrat to win without carrying any electoral votes from the state. Obama also became the first Democrat since1928 to loseLogan County, a strongly unionized coal-dependent county that was the only county in West Virginia to vote forGeorge McGovern in his landslide1972 loss.
In contrast to West Virginia,Virginia voted for Obama, marking the first time Virginia voted for the Democratic nominee since1964. Starting in 2008, West Virginia has always voted for the Republican nominee and Virginia has always voted for the Democratic nominee.[2]
As of the2024 presidential election, this is the last time that the Democratic presidential nominee won any county in West Virginia, includingBoone,Braxton,Jefferson,Marion,McDowell,Monongalia andWebster. This is also the last presidential election in which the Democratic nominee received more than 40% of the vote in West Virginia. West Virginia was one of five states where Obama underperformed Kerry, the others beingArkansas,Louisiana,Oklahoma, andTennessee.
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[3] | Likely R |
| Cook Political Report[4] | Lean R |
| The Takeaway[5] | Lean R |
| Electoral-vote.com[6] | Lean R |
| Washington Post[7] | Lean R |
| Politico[8] | Solid R |
| RealClearPolitics[9] | Lean R |
| FiveThirtyEight[7] | Lean R |
| CQ Politics[10] | Lean R |
| The New York Times[11] | Lean R |
| CNN[12] | Lean R |
| NPR[7] | Lean R |
| MSNBC[7] | Lean R |
| Fox News[13] | Likely R |
| Associated Press[14] | Likely R |
| Rasmussen Reports[15] | Safe R |
McCain lead in 16 of 17 pre-election polls. The final three polls showed McCain leading by an average of 53% to 41%.[16]
John McCain raised a total of $291,184 in the state. Barack Obama raised $713,231.
Obama and his interest groups spent $1,437,178. McCain and his interest groups spent $1,920,720.[17] Each ticket visited the state once.[18]
More than any other state, West Virginia highlighted Obama's trouble inAppalachian America. It swung heavily to the Democrats during the days ofFranklin D. Roosevelt and remained reliably Democratic for most of the next 68 years. During that time, it only voted Republican three times, all in national Republican landslides--1956,1972 and1984. It also voted for Democrats (such asJimmy Carter andMichael Dukakis) who went on to big national defeats. This was largely due to its blue-collar, heavily unionized workers, especially coal miners, who favored Democratic economic policy.
Starting with the campaign ofAl Gore, however, the state's voters became more concerned with the national Democratic Party's perceived hostility toward the coal industry, which is a core part of the West Virginia economy. As a result, the state has been trending Republican in national elections. In 2008, neither presidential nominee campaigned heavily in the state.
On Election Day, McCain won West Virginia by 13.09 points while losing nationwide. McCain did well throughout the state, losing only a handful of counties. While his margins were best in the more conservative northern part of the state, he also improved significantly in Southern West Virginia. This coal-mining, union-heavy region was one of the most heavily Democratic places in the nation;Logan County, for example, cast 72% of its ballot for Bill Clinton.[19] In 2008, however, John McCain won the county by double digits, becoming the first Republican to win it sinceHerbert Hoover in 1928.
On the other hand, Barack Obama did make gains in the area betweenMaryland andVirginia, counties which are a part of theWashington Metropolitan Area. Obama also ran close in Central West Virginia (the counties around the capitalCharleston). Despite the recent Republican success nationally, Democrats still dominated at the state and local levels. After the 2008 election, Democrats held the governorship and every statewide office, two out of the state's three congressional districts in theU.S. House of Representatives, bothU.S. Senate seats and supermajorities in both chambers of the state legislature.[20]
During the same election, popular incumbent DemocraticGovernorJoe Manchin III was soundly reelected to a second term with 69.79% of the vote over Republican Russ Weeks, who took in 25.75%, while Jesse Johnson of the Mountain Party received 4.46%. Incumbent DemocraticU.S. SenatorJay Rockefeller IV was also soundly reelected with 63.71% of the vote over Republican Jay Wolfe, who took in 36.27%. At the state level, Democrats picked up three seats in theWest Virginia Senate, while Republicans picked up one seat in theWest Virginia House of Delegates.
| 2008 United States presidential election in West Virginia[21] | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Running mate | Popular vote | Electoral vote | Swing | ||||
| Count | % | Count | % | ||||||
| Republican | John McCain ofArizona | Sarah Palin ofAlaska | 397,466 | 55.60% | 5 | 100.00% |  0.48% | ||
| Democratic | Barack Obama ofIllinois | Joe Biden ofDelaware | 303,857 | 42.51% | 0 | 0.00% | 0.71% | ||
| Independent | Ralph Nader ofConnecticut | Matt Gonzalez ofCalifornia | 7,219 | 1.01% | 0 | 0.00% |  0.47% | ||
| Constitution | Chuck Baldwin ofFlorida | Darrell Castle ofTennessee | 2,465 | 0.34% | 0 | 0.00% | 0.34% | ||
| Mountain | Cynthia McKinney ofGeorgia | Rosa Clemente ofNorth Carolina | 2,355 | 0.33% | 0 | 0.00% | 0.33% | ||
| Write-in | Various candidates | 1,761 | 0.25% | 0 | 0.00% | 0.24% | |||
| Total | 713,451 | 100.00% | 5 | 100.00% | |||||
| County | John McCain Republican | Barack Obama Democratic | Various candidates Other parties | Margin | Total | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| # | % | # | % | # | % | # | % | ||
| Barbour | 3,685 | 59.13% | 2,419 | 38.82% | 128 | 2.06% | 1,266 | 20.31% | 6,232 |
| Berkeley | 20,841 | 55.72% | 15,994 | 42.76% | 565 | 1.51% | 4,847 | 12.96% | 37,400 |
| Boone | 3,632 | 43.39% | 4,529 | 54.11% | 209 | 2.50% | -897 | -10.72% | 8,370 |
| Braxton | 2,629 | 48.55% | 2,704 | 49.94% | 82 | 1.52% | -75 | -1.39% | 5,415 |
| Brooke | 4,961 | 50.33% | 4,717 | 47.85% | 179 | 1.81% | 244 | 2.48% | 9,857 |
| Cabell | 18,793 | 54.11% | 15,292 | 44.03% | 647 | 1.86% | 3,501 | 10.08% | 34,732 |
| Calhoun | 1,366 | 56.24% | 993 | 40.88% | 70 | 2.88% | 373 | 15.36% | 2,429 |
| Clay | 1,755 | 53.75% | 1,421 | 43.52% | 89 | 2.73% | 334 | 10.23% | 3,265 |
| Doddridge | 2,218 | 73.49% | 735 | 24.35% | 65 | 2.16% | 1,483 | 49.14% | 3,018 |
| Fayette | 7,658 | 50.40% | 7,242 | 47.66% | 294 | 1.94% | 416 | 2.74% | 15,194 |
| Gilmer | 1,445 | 57.32% | 1,004 | 39.83% | 72 | 2.85% | 441 | 17.49% | 2,521 |
| Grant | 3,166 | 75.06% | 997 | 23.64% | 55 | 1.30% | 2,169 | 51.42% | 4,218 |
| Greenbrier | 7,567 | 55.10% | 5,881 | 42.83% | 284 | 2.07% | 1,686 | 12.27% | 13,732 |
| Hampshire | 5,222 | 62.56% | 2,983 | 35.74% | 142 | 1.70% | 2,239 | 26.82% | 8,347 |
| Hancock | 7,518 | 56.87% | 5,504 | 41.63% | 198 | 1.50% | 2,014 | 15.24% | 13,220 |
| Hardy | 3,376 | 62.44% | 1,901 | 35.16% | 130 | 2.40% | 1,475 | 27.28% | 5,407 |
| Harrison | 17,824 | 55.56% | 13,582 | 42.34% | 672 | 2.10% | 4,242 | 13.22% | 32,078 |
| Jackson | 7,148 | 58.42% | 4,861 | 39.73% | 227 | 1.85% | 2,287 | 18.69% | 12,236 |
| Jefferson | 10,600 | 46.78% | 11,687 | 51.58% | 372 | 1.64% | -1,087 | -4.80% | 22,659 |
| Kanawha | 40,952 | 49.41% | 40,594 | 48.98% | 1,341 | 1.61% | 358 | 0.43% | 82,887 |
| Lewis | 4,335 | 65.60% | 2,109 | 31.92% | 164 | 2.48% | 2,226 | 33.68% | 6,608 |
| Lincoln | 3,637 | 53.21% | 3,029 | 44.32% | 169 | 2.47% | 608 | 8.89% | 6,835 |
| Logan | 7,326 | 54.17% | 5,873 | 43.43% | 325 | 2.40% | 1,453 | 10.74% | 13,524 |
| Marion | 11,501 | 48.45% | 11,618 | 48.94% | 621 | 2.61% | -117 | -0.49% | 23,740 |
| Marshall | 7,759 | 55.42% | 5,996 | 42.83% | 246 | 1.75% | 1,763 | 12.59% | 14,001 |
| Mason | 5,853 | 55.20% | 4,484 | 42.29% | 266 | 2.51% | 1,369 | 12.91% | 10,603 |
| McDowell | 2,882 | 44.82% | 3,430 | 53.34% | 118 | 1.84% | -548 | -8.52% | 6,430 |
| Mercer | 13,246 | 62.81% | 7,450 | 35.33% | 393 | 1.86% | 5,796 | 27.48% | 21,089 |
| Mineral | 7,616 | 65.96% | 3,750 | 32.48% | 181 | 1.56% | 3,866 | 33.48% | 11,547 |
| Mingo | 4,587 | 55.01% | 3,582 | 42.96% | 169 | 2.03% | 1,005 | 12.05% | 8,338 |
| Monongalia | 15,775 | 46.99% | 17,060 | 50.82% | 734 | 2.19% | -1,285 | -3.83% | 33,569 |
| Monroe | 3,397 | 60.93% | 2,014 | 36.13% | 164 | 2.94% | 1,383 | 24.80% | 5,575 |
| Morgan | 4,428 | 60.86% | 2,721 | 37.40% | 127 | 1.74% | 1,707 | 23.46% | 7,276 |
| Nicholas | 4,804 | 51.32% | 4,357 | 46.54% | 200 | 2.14% | 447 | 4.78% | 9,361 |
| Ohio | 10,694 | 54.73% | 8,593 | 43.98% | 253 | 1.29% | 2,101 | 10.75% | 19,540 |
| Pendleton | 2,035 | 59.94% | 1,310 | 38.59% | 50 | 1.47% | 725 | 21.35% | 3,395 |
| Pleasants | 1,772 | 59.56% | 1,142 | 38.39% | 61 | 2.05% | 630 | 21.17% | 2,975 |
| Pocahontas | 2,011 | 55.22% | 1,548 | 42.50% | 83 | 2.28% | 463 | 12.72% | 3,642 |
| Preston | 7,325 | 62.10% | 4,205 | 35.65% | 266 | 2.25% | 3,120 | 26.45% | 11,796 |
| Putnam | 15,162 | 60.92% | 9,334 | 37.51% | 391 | 1.57% | 5,828 | 23.41% | 24,887 |
| Raleigh | 17,548 | 62.10% | 10,237 | 36.23% | 474 | 1.67% | 7,311 | 25.87% | 28,259 |
| Randolph | 6,060 | 55.94% | 4,539 | 41.90% | 234 | 2.16% | 1,521 | 14.04% | 10,833 |
| Ritchie | 2,781 | 72.31% | 998 | 25.95% | 67 | 1.74% | 1,783 | 46.36% | 3,846 |
| Roane | 2,943 | 52.78% | 2,511 | 45.03% | 122 | 2.19% | 432 | 7.75% | 5,576 |
| Summers | 2,891 | 54.38% | 2,290 | 43.08% | 135 | 2.54% | 601 | 11.30% | 5,316 |
| Taylor | 3,605 | 58.12% | 2,462 | 39.69% | 136 | 2.19% | 1,143 | 18.43% | 6,203 |
| Tucker | 2,123 | 60.54% | 1,288 | 36.73% | 96 | 2.73% | 835 | 23.81% | 3,507 |
| Tyler | 2,415 | 64.55% | 1,241 | 33.17% | 85 | 2.28% | 1,174 | 31.38% | 3,741 |
| Upshur | 5,911 | 65.89% | 2,925 | 32.61% | 135 | 1.50% | 2,986 | 33.28% | 8,971 |
| Wayne | 8,947 | 57.98% | 6,137 | 39.77% | 346 | 2.25% | 2,810 | 18.21% | 15,430 |
| Webster | 1,386 | 45.34% | 1,552 | 50.77% | 119 | 3.89% | -166 | -5.43% | 3,057 |
| Wetzel | 3,342 | 51.78% | 2,942 | 45.58% | 170 | 2.62% | 400 | 6.20% | 6,454 |
| Wirt | 1,496 | 64.32% | 782 | 33.62% | 48 | 2.06% | 714 | 30.70% | 2,326 |
| Wood | 22,896 | 63.38% | 12,573 | 34.80% | 657 | 1.82% | 10,323 | 28.58% | 36,126 |
| Wyoming | 4,621 | 61.37% | 2,735 | 36.32% | 174 | 2.31% | 1,886 | 25.05% | 7,530 |
| Totals | 397,466 | 55.58% | 303,857 | 42.49% | 13,800 | 1.93% | 93,609 | 13.09% | 715,123 |
| Democratic Hold Gain from Republican | Republican Hold Gain from Democratic |
McCain swept all three of the state's three congressional districts, including the two districts held by Democrats.
| District | McCain | Obama | Representative |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | 56.77% | 41.51% | Alan Mollohan |
| 2nd | 54.63% | 43.77% | Shelley Moore Capito |
| 3rd | 55.76% | 42.29% | Nick Rahall |
Technically the voters of West Virginia cast their ballots for electors: representatives to theElectoral College. West Virginia is allocated 5 electors because it has 3congressional districts and 2senators. All candidates who appear on the ballot or qualify to receive write-in votes must submit a list of 5 electors, who pledge to vote for their candidate and their running mate. Whoever wins the majority of votes in the state is awarded all 5 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.[22] 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.
All 5 were pledged toJohn McCain andSarah Palin:[23]
But by 2000, tectonic changes in the state's politics were underway. West Virginians tended to be economically liberal but socially conservative, and as social issues like abortion came to the forefront in national politics, the state started looking better for Republicans. The leftward tilt of the national Democratic Party helped matters, too.
State and district results of the2008 United States presidential election | ||
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