2008 United States presidential election in Nebraska

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Main article: 2008 United States presidential election
2008 United States presidential election in Nebraska
← 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 4 1
Popular vote 452,979 333,319
Percentage 56.53% 41.60%
Nebraska Presidential Election Results 2008.svg
2008 United States presidential election in Nebraska - Results by congressional district.svg
President before election

George W. Bush
Republican

Elected President

Barack Obama
Democratic

Elections in Nebraska
Federal offices
State government
Yes check.svg Ballot measures
Flag of Lincoln, Nebraska.jpg Lincoln
Flag of Omaha, Nebraska.jpg Omaha
Category Government
  • v
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The 2008 United States presidential election in Nebraska took place on November 4, 2008, as part of the 2008 United States presidential election. Voters chose 5 electors to the Electoral College, who voted for president and vice president. However, Nebraska is one of the two states of the U.S. that, instead of giving all of its electors to the winner based on its statewide results, allocates just 2 electoral votes to the winner of the statewide popular vote. The other three electors vote based on their individual congressional district results.

Nebraska, statewide, was not a swing state in 2008. Located in the Great Plains of the United States, it is one of the most staunchly Republican states in the country. While some hypothetical general election match-up polls between Republican John McCain and Democrat Barack Obama showed the race to be seemingly close, they were largely regarded as outliers as more polls released showed McCain leading in double digits. McCain wound up carrying the popular vote in Nebraska by 14.93 points, taking in 56.53% of the total statewide vote. However, Obama narrowly defeated McCain in Nebraska's 2nd congressional district, which contains Omaha and the surrounding areas. Due to Nebraska's system of allocating electoral votes to winners of Congressional Districts, Obama was able to win one electoral vote while John McCain received the state's other four electoral votes. On top of this, his 41.6% of the statewide popular vote is the highest a Democratic presidential candidate has won in the Cornhusker State since Lyndon B. Johnson in 1964.

Primaries & caucuses[]

  • 2008 Nebraska Democratic caucuses
  • 2008 Nebraska Republican primary

Campaign statewide[]

Polling[]

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

McCain led in every single pre-election poll. Since May, he led in each poll by a double-digit margin of victory and each with at least 52% of the vote.[1]

Fundraising[]

John McCain raised a total of $678,059 in the state, while Barack Obama raised $864,393.[2]

Advertising and visits[]

Obama spent $55,807 while McCain and the Republican Trust PAC spent a total of just $1,225.[3] Both Obama and McCain visited the state once. Obama held a downtown rally at Omaha[4] and McCain traveled to both Omaha and Ashland. Palin also visited Omaha once.[5]

Campaign in Omaha[]

Nebraska has two electoral votes that go to the winner of the popular vote in the state, while the other three are split based on whichever candidate wins the popular vote in each of Nebraska's three congressional districts, all of which have trended Republican in the past elections. However Nebraska's 2nd Congressional District, based in the city of Omaha, is significantly less conservative.

The second CD of Nebraska was actually considered as a battleground area by some, leading the Obama campaign to open a single campaign office in Omaha with 15 staff members to cover the congressional district in September 2008.[6] More than 900 people attended the opening of those offices. Democratic Mayor Mike Fahey of Omaha said that he would do whatever it takes to deliver the electoral vote tied to the 2nd Congressional District to Obama, and the Obama Campaign considered Nebraska's 2nd congressional district "in play".[7] Former Democratic U.S. Senator Bob Kerrey and then senior U.S. Senator Ben Nelson campaigned in the city for Obama.[8]

Analysis[]

Nebraska, part of the conservative Great Plains region, is one of the most Republican states in the nation. It has only gone Democratic in a presidential election seven times since statehood. Continuing on that trend, McCain won the Cornhusker State by nearly 15 points. Obama was only able to win four counties: Douglas County, which contains Omaha; Lancaster County, which contains the state capital of Lincoln and the University of Nebraska; Saline County; and Thurston County, which contains a Native American reservation and was the only county to be won by John Kerry in 2004. No Democratic presidential nominee since Lyndon B. Johnson's landslide 1964 victory has ever won more than four counties in Nebraska.[9] In 2008, McCain won Nebraska's 1st Congressional District and Nebraska's 3rd Congressional District by fairly safe margins,[10] along with the state as a whole, but Obama managed to carry Nebraska's 2nd Congressional District, based in Omaha, by a slim margin of 1,260 votes, resulting in one of Nebraska's five electoral votes being awarded to Obama.[11] This was a particularly notable win, because with Nebraska's split electoral vote system Obama became the first Democratic presidential candidate to win an electoral vote from Nebraska since 1964.[12]

Obama did particularly well in the state's two most populated counties, Douglas and Lancaster. While John Kerry had lost these counties by double digits, Obama was able to carve out small victories in a state he lost by a landslide.[13]

During the same election, Republicans held the open U.S. Senate seat vacated by Republican Chuck Hagel who retired. Former Republican Governor Mike Johanns easily defeated Democrat Scott Kleeb, a rancher, by 17.46 points. Johanns received 57.52% of the total vote while Kleeb took in 40.06%. At the state level, a candidate known to be a Republican picked up a seat in the nonpartisan and unicameral Nebraska Legislature in 2008.

As of the 2020 presidential election, this is the last election in which Saline County voted Democratic.

Results[]

Statewide[]

2008 United States presidential election in Nebraska
Party Candidate Running mate Votes Percentage Electoral votes
Republican John McCain Sarah Palin 452,979 56.53% 4
Democratic Barack Obama Joe Biden 333,319 41.60% 1
Independent Ralph Nader Matt Gonzalez 5,406 0.67% 0
Constitution Chuck Baldwin Darrell Castle 2,972 0.37% 0
Write-ins Write-in candidates 2,837 0.35% 0
Libertarian Bob Barr Wayne Allyn Root 2,740 0.34% 0
Green Cynthia McKinney Rosa Clemente 1,028 0.13% 0
Totals 801,281 100.00% 5
Voter turnout n/a —

Congressional district[]

John McCain carried two of the state's three congressional districts, while Barack Obama carried one congressional district held by a Republican.

District McCain Obama Representative
1st 54.10% 44.33% Jeff Fortenberry
2nd 48.75% 49.97% Lee Terry
3rd 68.64% 29.63% Adrian Smith

By county[]

County Barack Hussein Obama

Democratic

John Sidney McCain III

Republican

Other candidates

Various parties

Total
% # % # % #
Adams 35.47% 4,685 62.47% 8,252 2.07% 273 13,210
Antelope 23.77% 757 74.82% 2,383 1.41% 45 3,185
Arthur 14.83% 39 82.51% 217 2.66% 7 263
Banner 14.90% 62 83.65% 348 1.44% 6 416
Blaine 13.61% 43 84.18% 266 2.22% 7 316
Boone 26.16% 742 72.00% 2,042 1.83% 52 2,836
Box Butte 38.83% 1,886 60.37% 2,932 0.80% 39 4,857
Boyd 22.52% 250 75.59% 839 1.89% 21 1,110
Brown 19.85% 311 77.09% 1,208 3.06% 48 1,567
Buffalo 30.41% 5,867 67.88% 13,097 1.71% 329 19,293
Burt 41.72% 1,413 56.30% 1,907 1.98% 67 3,387
Butler 31.00% 1,190 66.61% 2,557 2.40% 92 3,839
Cass 39.21% 4,753 58.74% 7,120 2.05% 249 12,122
Cedar 28.51% 1,190 69.77% 2,912 1.72% 72 4,174
Chase 18.49% 341 80.10% 1,477 1.41% 26 1,844
Cherry 19.58% 599 77.15% 2,360 3.27% 100 3,059
Cheyenne 24.24% 1,173 73.82% 3,572 1.94% 94 4,839
Clay 25.72% 780 71.78% 2,177 2.51% 76 3,033
Colfax 35.12% 1,125 63.00% 2,018 1.87% 60 3,203
Cuming 31.17% 1,274 66.85% 2,732 1.98% 81 4,087
Custer 21.37% 1,192 77.11% 4,301 1.52% 85 5,578
Dakota 46.81% 2,994 51.47% 3,292 1.72% 110 6,396
Dawes 34.04% 1,285 62.94% 2,376 3.02% 114 3,775
Dawson 30.04% 2,399 68.37% 5,460 1.59% 127 7,986
Deuel 24.47% 243 73.72% 732 1.81% 18 993
Dixon 33.86% 946 63.89% 1,785 2.25% 63 2,794
Dodge 43.02% 6,689 55.03% 8,557 1.95% 304 15,550
Douglas 51.53% 116,810 46.89% 106,291 1.59% 3,600 226,701
Dundy 21.39% 218 76.84% 783 1.77% 18 1,019
Fillmore 32.64% 962 64.91% 1,913 2.44% 72 2,947
Franklin 28.48% 442 69.52% 1,079 2.00% 31 1,552
Frontier 24.86% 349 73.65% 1,034 1.50% 21 1,404
Furnas 23.88% 556 74.10% 1,725 2.02% 47 2,328
Gage 44.03% 4,473 53.49% 5,435 2.48% 252 10,160
Garden 24.87% 283 74.17% 844 0.97% 11 1,138
Garfield 20.58% 212 77.67% 800 1.75% 18 1,030
Gosper 24.81% 260 74.05% 776 1.15% 12 1,048
Grant 11.17% 41 86.65% 318 2.18% 8 367
Greeley 38.20% 458 59.63% 715 2.17% 26 1,199
Hall 36.93% 7,855 61.01% 12,977 2.06% 439 21,271
Hamilton 27.76% 1,332 70.62% 3,389 1.63% 78 4,799
Harlan 22.76% 402 75.25% 1,329 1.98% 35 1,766
Hayes 15.37% 85 83.36% 461 1.27% 7 553
Hitchcock 25.09% 346 72.59% 1,001 2.32% 32 1,379
Holt 21.89% 1,089 75.31% 3,746 2.79% 139 4,974
Hooker 17.12% 75 81.05% 355 1.83% 8 438
Howard 36.15% 1,083 61.65% 1,847 2.20% 66 2,996
Jefferson 41.11% 1,520 56.88% 2,103 2.00% 74 3,697
Johnson 43.32% 914 54.12% 1,142 2.56% 54 2,110
Kearney 27.81% 876 70.60% 2,224 1.59% 50 3,150
Keith 24.55% 974 74.14% 2,942 1.31% 52 3,968
Keya Paha 21.58% 115 76.74% 409 1.69% 9 533
Kimball 24.24% 439 74.32% 1,346 1.44% 26 1,811
Knox 30.73% 1,255 66.80% 2,728 2.47% 101 4,084
Lancaster 51.56% 65,734 46.59% 59,398 1.85% 2,358 127,490
Lincoln 31.00% 5,046 66.46% 10,817 2.54% 414 16,277
Logan 19.47% 81 78.61% 327 1.92% 8 416
Loup 21.88% 86 76.84% 302 1.27% 5 393
McPherson 29.57% 4,142 68.93% 9,655 1.50% 210 14,007
Madison 15.36% 45 81.91% 240 2.73% 8 293
Merrick 28.74% 986 69.22% 2,375 2.04% 70 3,431
Morrill 23.69% 557 73.37% 1,725 2.93% 69 2,351
Nance 32.16% 549 65.38% 1,116 2.46% 42 1,707
Nemaha 35.69% 1,240 61.43% 2,134 2.88% 100 3,474
Nuckolls 29.58% 657 67.45% 1,498 2.97% 66 2,221
Otoe 41.10% 2,915 56.87% 4,033 2.03% 144 7,092
Pawnee 34.90% 483 62.07% 859 3.03% 42 1,384
Perkins 21.83% 310 76.90% 1,092 1.27% 18 1,420
Phelps 23.47% 1,050 75.12% 3,360 1.41% 63 4,473
Pierce 24.27% 783 73.93% 2,385 1.80% 58 3,226
Platte 28.37% 3,796 70.04% 9,373 1.59% 213 13,382
Polk 26.27% 668 71.65% 1,822 2.08% 53 2,543
Red Willow 24.11% 1,216 74.05% 3,735 1.84% 93 5,044
Richardson 38.13% 1,513 59.02% 2,342 2.85% 113 3,968
Rock 17.35% 139 79.90% 640 2.75% 22 801
Saline 50.92% 2,674 46.35% 2,434 2.72% 143 5,251
Sarpy 41.18% 28,010 57.06% 38,816 1.76% 1,196 68,022
Saunders 36.89% 3,767 60.60% 6,188 2.52% 257 10,212
Scotts Bluff 32.21% 4,745 65.91% 9,708 1.88% 277 14,730
Seward 35.90% 2,703 61.72% 4,647 2.38% 179 7,529
Sheridan 18.44% 454 78.84% 1,941 2.72% 67 2,462
Sherman 37.21% 585 60.43% 950 2.35% 37 1,572
Sioux 15.98% 117 82.38% 603 1.64% 12 732
Stanton 26.61% 664 71.38% 1,781 2.00% 50 2,495
Thayer 32.34% 860 65.78% 1,749 1.88% 50 2,659
Thomas 13.08% 51 84.87% 331 2.05% 8 390
Thurston 52.68% 1,120 45.72% 972 1.60% 34 2,126
Valley 29.14% 706 68.39% 1,657 2.48% 60 2,423
Washington 36.03% 3,711 62.38% 6,425 1.59% 164 10,300
Wayne 32.80% 1,249 65.73% 2,503 1.47% 56 3,808
Webster 30.38% 552 67.86% 1,233 1.76% 32 1,817
Wheeler 21.82% 96 75.91% 334 2.27% 10 440
York 24.47% 1,607 73.81% 4,848 1.72% 113 6,568

Electors[]

Main article: List of 2008 United States presidential electors

Technically the voters of Nebraska cast their ballots for electors: representatives to the Electoral College. Nebraska is allocated 5 electors because it has 3 congressional districts and 2 senators. 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 his or her running mate. Whoever wins the majority of votes in the state is awarded 2 electoral votes, and the other 3 are allocated via the individual results of the congressional districts. 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.[14] 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 5 members of the Electoral College from the state. 4 of the electors were pledged to John McCain and Sarah Palin; 2 at large, 1 for each of the 1st and 3rd Congressional districts. 1 was pledged to Barack Obama and Joe Biden:

References[]

  1. ^ Election 2008 Polls – Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections
  2. ^ "Presidential Campaign Finance". Archived from the original on March 24, 2009. Retrieved August 19, 2009.
  3. ^ "Map: Campaign Ad Spending - Election Center 2008 from CNN.com". CNN. Retrieved May 26, 2010.
  4. ^ YouTube – Barack Obama Omaha Rally
  5. ^ "Map: Campaign Candidate Visits - Election Center 2008 from CNN.com". CNN. Retrieved May 26, 2010.
  6. ^ "Obama Camp Targets Omaha: Obama Makes A Play In Nebraska, One Of Only Two States That Can Split It's Electoral Votes", CBS. Retrieved 9/27/08.
  7. ^ Bratton, A.J. "Hundreds visit Obama's Omaha headquarters", Associated Press. September 10, 2008. Retrieved 9/27/08.
  8. ^ "Senators To Campaign In Omaha For Obama" Archived September 27, 2011, at the Wayback Machine, KETV. September 12, 2008. Retrieved 9/27/08.
  9. ^ Leip, David. "Presidential General Election Map Comparison Nebraska". Retrieved April 19, 2009.
  10. ^ "CNN Election Center 2008 – Nebraska Results". Retrieved November 23, 2008.
  11. ^ "Omaha.com Elections Section". Archived from the original on November 10, 2008. Retrieved November 23, 2008.
  12. ^ "Obama wins electoral votes in Omaha", Omaha World-Herald. November 8, 2008. Retrieved 11/11/08.
  13. ^ "Election Results 2008". New York Times. Archived from the original on November 3, 2004. Retrieved April 19, 2009.
  14. ^ "Electoral College". California Secretary of State. Archived from the original on October 30, 2008. Retrieved November 1, 2008.
  15. ^ Jump up to: a b c d e Nebraska Certificate of Ascertainment, page 1 of 3.. National Archives and Record Administration.
  16. ^ Elector casts first Nebraska Democratic vote in 44 years, Omaha World-Herald.
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