2008 United States presidential election in Louisiana

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Main article: 2008 United States presidential election
2008 United States presidential election in Louisiana
← 2004 November 4, 2008 2012 →
  John McCain 2009 Official.jpg Obama portrait crop.jpg
Nominee John McCain Barack Obama
Party Republican Democratic
Home state Arizona Illinois
Running mate Sarah Palin Joe Biden
Electoral vote 9 0
Popular vote 1,148,275 782,989
Percentage 58.56% 39.93%
Louisiana Presidential Election Results 2008.svg
Parish Results
President before election

George W. Bush
Republican

Elected President

Barack Obama
Democratic

Elections in Louisiana
Federal government
State government
Ballot measures
Baton Rouge
New Orleans
Shreveport
Category Government
  • v
  • t

The 2008 United States presidential election in Louisiana which took place on November 4, 2008, was part of the 2008 United States presidential election. Voters chose nine representatives, or electors to the Electoral College, who voted for president and vice president.

Louisiana was won by Republican nominee John McCain by an 18.6% margin of victory. Prior to the election, all 17 news organizations considered this a state McCain would win, or otherwise a "red state". Although Bill Clinton carried the state twice, it has since shifted strongly toward the Republican Party, despite having one of the largest percentages of African Americans in the country. It was one of five states to swing Republican from 2004. This marked the first time that Louisiana failed to back the winning candidate since 1968, when it voted for third-party candidate George Wallace. In doing so, Obama became the first winning Democratic presidential nominee to lose Louisiana since Lyndon B. Johnson in 1964, and to lose Calcasieu Parish since the parish's founding in 1840.

Primaries[]

Campaign[]

Predictions[]

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

Polling[]

Main article: Statewide opinion polling for the 2008 United States presidential election: Louisiana

McCain won every pre-election poll. The final 3 polls averaged McCain leading 50% to 40%.[14]

Fundraising[]

John McCain raised a total of $2,175,416 in the state. Barack Obama raised $1,438,276.[15]

Advertising and visits[]

Obama spent $368,039. McCain and his interest groups spent $6,019.[16] McCain visited the state once, in New Orleans.[17]

Analysis[]

Voters wait in queue at a polling station in New Orleans

Polling in Louisiana gave a strong lead to McCain, sometimes as high as 19%,[18] and Barack Obama did not seriously contest the state. Governor Bobby Jindal endorsed McCain early on in the primary season. Louisiana was also one of only two states to list Ron Paul on their official ballot (the other being Montana which gave the largest percentage to any third-party candidate nationwide).

In 2008, Louisiana was one of five states that swung even more Republican from 2004. John McCain carried Louisiana with 58.56% of the vote, a tad bit better than George W. Bush's 56.72% of the vote in 2004.

At the same time, however, incumbent Democratic U.S. Senator Mary Landrieu avoided the Republican trend in the state and held onto her U.S. Senate seat, taking in 52.11% of the vote to State Treasurer John N. Kennedy, a Democrat who switched parties to run against Landrieu. Republicans picked up two U.S. House seats in Louisiana (LA-02 and LA-06 with Joseph Cao and Bill Cassidy, respectively). In an extremely bad year for the Republican Party nationwide, Louisiana provided the GOP with a ray of hope and optimism.

Results[]

2008 United States presidential election in Louisiana[19]
Party Candidate Running mate Votes Percentage Electoral votes
Republican John McCain Sarah Palin 1,148,275 58.56% 9
Democratic Barack Obama Joe Biden 782,989 39.93% 0
Louisiana Taxpayers Ron Paul (no campaign) Barry Goldwater Jr. 9,368 0.48% 0
Green Cynthia McKinney Rosa Clemente 9,187 0.47% 0
Independent Ralph Nader Matt Gonzalez 6,997 0.36% 0
Constitution Chuck Baldwin Darrell Castle 2,581 0.13% 0
Socialist Workers James Harris Alyson Kennedy 735 0.04% 0
Socialism and Liberation Gloria La Riva Eugene Puryear 354 0.02% 0
Prohibition Gene Amondson Leroy Pletten 275 0.01% 0
Totals 1,960,761 100.00% 9
Voter turnout (Voting age population) 62.0%

Results breakdown[]

By parish[]

Parish Obama% Obama# McCain% McCain# Others% Others# Total
Acadia 26.31% 7,028 71.99% 19,229 1.70% 454 26,711
Allen 30.54% 2,891 66.90% 6,333 2.57% 243 9,467
Ascension 31.40% 14,625 67.08% 31,239 1.52% 707 46,571
Assumption 43.39% 4,756 54.57% 5,981 2.03% 223 10,960
Avoyelles 37.35% 6,327 60.43% 10,236 2.21% 375 16,938
Beauregard 21.82% 3,071 76.15% 10,718 2.03% 285 14,074
Bienville 48.30% 3,589 50.82% 3,776 0.87% 65 7,430
Bossier 27.71% 12,703 71.37% 32,713 0.91% 419 45,835
Caddo 51.11% 55,536 48.07% 52,228 0.82% 896 108,660
Calcasieu 36.82% 30,244 61.43% 50,449 1.75% 1,438 82,131
Caldwell 22.85% 1,118 75.54% 3,696 1.61% 79 4,893
Cameron 16.16% 613 81.44% 3,089 2.40% 91 3,793
Catahoula 31.75% 1,659 66.72% 3,486 1.53% 80 5,225
Claiborne 44.22% 3,025 54.82% 3,750 0.96% 66 6,841
Concordia 39.53% 3,766 59.49% 5,668 0.98% 93 9,527
De Soto 42.77% 5,242 56.16% 6,883 1.08% 132 12,257
East Baton Rouge 50.50% 99,652 48.34% 95,390 1.17% 2,307 197,349
East Carroll 63.70% 2,267 35.23% 1,254 1.07% 38 3,559
East Feliciana 44.06% 4,383 54.61% 5,432 1.33% 132 9,947
Evangeline 36.64% 5,853 61.30% 9,793 2.07% 330 15,976
Franklin 31.64% 2,961 67.09% 6,278 1.27% 119 9,358
Grant 17.22% 1,474 80.71% 6,907 2.07% 177 8,558
Iberia 37.66% 12,492 60.68% 20,127 1.66% 549 33,168
Iberville 54.95% 9,023 43.75% 7,185 1.30% 213 16,421
Jackson 31.75% 2,456 67.09% 5,190 1.16% 90 7,736
Jefferson 35.94% 65,096 62.50% 113,191 1.56% 2,833 181,120
Jefferson Davis 29.06% 3,923 68.72% 9,278 2.22% 300 13,501
Lafayette 33.61% 32,145 64.88% 62,055 1.51% 1,442 95,642
Lafourche 25.50% 9,662 71.49% 27,089 3.01% 1,142 37,893
LaSalle 13.12% 860 85.49% 5,602 1.39% 91 6,553
Lincoln 43.23% 8,292 55.69% 10,680 1.08% 207 19,179
Livingston 13.13% 6,681 85.02% 43,269 1.85% 942 50,892
Madison 58.49% 3,100 40.60% 2,152 0.91% 48 5,300
Morehouse 43.88% 5,792 54.98% 7,258 1.14% 150 13,200
Natchitoches 45.71% 7,801 53.05% 9,054 1.24% 212 17,067
Orleans 79.42% 117,102 19.08% 28,130 1.50% 2,207 147,439
Ouachita 36.90% 24,813 62.07% 41,741 1.03% 690 67,244
Plaquemines 32.35% 3,380 65.98% 6,894 1.67% 175 10,449
Pointe Coupee 44.36% 5,516 53.90% 6,702 1.75% 217 12,435
Rapides 34.99% 20,127 63.65% 36,611 1.36% 783 57,521
Red River 44.93% 2,080 53.66% 2,484 1.40% 65 4,629
Richland 36.06% 3,311 62.64% 5,751 1.30% 119 9,181
Sabine 23.26% 2,245 74.87% 7,226 1.88% 181 9,652
St. Bernard 25.78% 3,491 71.21% 9,643 3.01% 407 13,541
St. Charles 33.56% 8,522 64.80% 16,457 1.65% 418 25,397
St. Helena 57.68% 3,567 40.78% 2,522 1.54% 95 6,184
St. James 55.67% 6,994 43.23% 5,432 1.10% 138 12,564
St. John the Baptist 57.37% 12,424 41.15% 8,912 1.48% 320 21,656
St. Landry 47.70% 20,268 50.95% 21,650 1.35% 575 42,493
St. Martin 38.84% 9,419 59.55% 14,443 1.61% 390 24,252
St. Mary 40.80% 9,345 57.56% 13,183 1.64% 375 22,903
St. Tammany 22.45% 24,596 75.84% 83,078 1.71% 1,868 109,542
Tangipahoa 33.82% 16,438 64.68% 31,434 1.50% 730 48,602
Tensas 54.14% 1,646 44.97% 1,367 0.89% 27 3,040
Terrebonne 28.46% 11,581 69.32% 28,210 2.22% 905 40,696
Union 28.55% 3,103 70.10% 7,619 1.34% 146 10,868
Vermilion 25.23% 6,266 72.76% 18,069 2.01% 498 24,833
Vernon 22.41% 3,534 75.76% 11,946 1.83% 289 15,769
Washington 32.87% 6,122 65.59% 12,215 1.54% 287 18,624
Webster 36.18% 6,610 62.49% 11,417 1.33% 243 18,270
West Baton Rouge 42.50% 5,043 56.08% 6,654 1.42% 169 11,866
West Carroll 17.61% 878 81.11% 4,045 1.28% 64 4,987
West Feliciana 42.97% 2,415 56.05% 3,150 0.98% 55 5,620
Winn 30.23% 2,047 68.40% 4,632 1.37% 93 6,772

By congressional district[]

John McCain carried 6 of the state’s 7 congressional districts.

District McCain Obama Representative
1st 72.72% 25.68% Bobby Jindal (110th Congress)
Steve Scalise (111th Congress)
2nd 24.86% 74.13% William J. Jefferson (110th Congress)
Joseph Cao (111th Congress)
3rd 60.99% 37.03% Charles Melancon
4th 59.28% 39.57% Jim McCrery (110th Congress)
John C. Fleming (111th Congress)
5th 61.75% 36.96% Rodney Alexander
6th 57.40% 41.26% Don Cazayoux (110th Congress)
Bill Cassidy (111th Congress)
7th 63.14% 35.20% Charles Boustany

Electors[]

Main article: List of 2008 United States presidential electors

Technically the voters of Louisiana cast their ballots for electors: representatives to the Electoral College. Louisiana is allocated 9 electors because it has 7 congressional districts and 2 senators. All candidates who appear on the ballot or qualify to receive write-in votes must submit a list of 9 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 9 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.[20] An elector who votes for someone other than his or her candidate is known as a faithless elector.

The electors of each state and the District 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 9 were pledged to John McCain and Sarah Palin:[21]

  1. Lynn Skidmore
  2. Joe Lavigne
  3. Gordon Giles - He replaced Billy Nungesser, who was absent due to illness.[22]
  4. Alan Seabaugh
  5. Karen Haymon
  6. Charles Davis
  7. Charlie Buckels
  8. Dianne Christopher

See also[]

References[]

  1. ^ "D.C.'s Political Report: The complete source for campaign summaries". web.archive.org. 2009-01-01. Retrieved 2021-08-23.
  2. ^ "Presidential". web.archive.org. 2015-05-05. Retrieved 2021-08-23.
  3. ^ "Vote 2008 - The Takeaway - Track the Electoral College vote predictions". web.archive.org. 2009-04-22. Retrieved 2021-08-23.
  4. ^ "Electoral-vote.com: President, Senate, House Updated Daily". electoral-vote.com. Retrieved 2021-08-23.
  5. ^ Jump up to: a b c d Based on Takeaway
  6. ^ "POLITICO's 2008 Swing State Map - POLITICO.com". www.politico.com. Retrieved 2016-09-22.
  7. ^ http://www.realclearpolitics.com/epolls/maps/obama_vs_mccain/?map=5
  8. ^ "CQ Presidential Election Maps, 2008". CQ Politics. Archived from the original on June 14, 2009. Retrieved December 20, 2009.
  9. ^ Nagourney, Adam; Zeleny, Jeff; Carter, Shan (2008-11-04). "The Electoral Map: Key States". The New York Times. Retrieved May 26, 2010.
  10. ^ "October – 2008 – CNN Political Ticker - CNN.com Blogs". CNN. 2008-10-31. Retrieved May 26, 2010.
  11. ^ "Winning The Electoral College". Fox News. April 27, 2010.
  12. ^ "roadto270". hosted.ap.org. Retrieved 2016-09-22.
  13. ^ "Election 2008: Electoral College Update - Rasmussen Reports™". www.rasmussenreports.com. Retrieved 2016-09-22.
  14. ^ Election 2008 Polls - Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections
  15. ^ "Presidential Campaign Finance". Archived from the original on 2009-03-24. Retrieved 2009-08-20.
  16. ^ "Map: Campaign Ad Spending - Election Center 2008 from CNN.com". CNN. Retrieved May 26, 2010.
  17. ^ "Map: Campaign Candidate Visits - Election Center 2008 from CNN.com". CNN. Retrieved May 26, 2010.
  18. ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2009-01-31. Retrieved 2008-12-16.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  19. ^ "Official General Election Results". The Green Papers. Retrieved 2008-12-12.
  20. ^ "Electoral College". California Secretary of State. Archived from the original on October 30, 2008. Retrieved 2008-11-01.
  21. ^ "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on November 8, 2008. Retrieved November 8, 2008.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  22. ^ http://www.katc.com/Global/story.asp?S=9525360[permanent dead link]
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