2008 United States presidential election in Kansas
The 2008 United States presidential election in Kansas took place on November 4, 2008, and was part of the 2008 United States presidential election . Voters chose six representatives, or electors to the Electoral College , who voted for president and vice president .
Kansas was won by Republican nominee John McCain by a 14.9% margin of victory. Prior to the election, all 17 news organizations considered this a state McCain would win, or otherwise considered as a safe red state . He won all but three counties and one congressional district in the state. Obama still performed significantly better than Kerry, and his 41.55% of the vote remains the highest for a Democrat in the 21st century, although his running mate Joe Biden nearly matched that percentage 12 years later , with a slight reduction in margin of defeat.
As of 2020 , this is the last time that Crawford County went for the Democratic candidate in a presidential election.
Caucuses
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
McCain won every pre-election poll. Since March 16, McCain won each poll with a double-digit margin and at least 47% of the vote.[14]
Fundraising
John McCain raised a total of $1,219,074 in the state. Barack Obama raised $1,548,322.[15]
Advertising and visits
Obama spent $62,108. McCain and his interest groups spent $13,693.[16] Neither campaign visited the state.[17]
Analysis
Kansas has always been a Republican stronghold at the presidential level, voting for GOP nominees in all but seven elections since statehood. The last Democratic presidential nominee to carry Kansas was Lyndon B. Johnson in his landslide in 1964 . Although the state did receive attention from Barack Obama, whose mother was born in Kansas, it wasn't enough to overcome the deeply planted GOP roots in the state. John McCain carried Kansas by a comfortable 15-percent margin of victory. McCain's margin of victory in Kansas, however, was less than that of George W. Bush who carried the state in 2004 with 62% of the vote over John Kerry 's 36.62% showing in the state - a 10-point swing to the Democrats in 2008.
Obama only won three counties - Crawford (home to Pittsburg ), Douglas (home to Lawrence ), and Wyandotte (home to Kansas City ). The first two were home to large college populations, while Wyandotte had a significant African-American population. He did, however, succeed in winning 41% of the state's popular vote. The other Democrats to have cracked the 40 percent barrier in the state since Johnson's 1964 landslide are Jimmy Carter in 1976 , Michael Dukakis in 1988 , and Joe Biden in 2020 .
To highlight its status as a reliably red state , former State Treasurer Lynn Jenkins , a Republican, ousted incumbent Democratic U.S. Representative Nancy Boyda to win back Kansas's 2nd Congressional District seat in the U.S. House of Representatives . Jenkins received 50.80% of the vote to Boyda's 45.97%. At the same time, incumbent Republican U.S. Senator Pat Roberts was reelected with 60.06% of the vote over former Democratic U.S. Representative Jim Slattery . Republicans also made gains in the Kansas Senate , picking up one seat.
As of the 2020 presidential election [update] , this is the last election in which Crawford County voted for the Democratic candidate. Obama became the first Democrat to win the White House without carrying Atchison County since John F. Kennedy in 1960 .
Results
Results by county
County[19]
John McCain Republican
Barack Obama Democratic
Ralph Nader Independent
Bob Barr Libertarian
Various candidates Other parties
Margin
Total votes cast
#
%
#
%
#
%
#
%
#
%
#
%
Allen
3,552
60.67%
2,189
37.39%
67
1.14%
30
0.51%
17
0.29%
1,363
23.28%
5,855
Anderson
2,362
65.14%
1,175
32.40%
50
1.38%
24
0.66%
15
0.41%
1,187
32.74%
3,626
Atchison
3,791
52.72%
3,241
45.07%
99
1.38%
37
0.51%
23
0.32%
550
7.65%
7,191
Barber
1,833
74.45%
598
24.29%
14
0.57%
9
0.37%
8
0.32%
1,235
50.16%
2,462
Barton
7,802
70.56%
3,027
27.38%
142
1.28%
52
0.47%
34
0.31%
4,775
43.18%
11,057
Bourbon
4,240
62.53%
2,394
35.30%
80
1.18%
32
0.47%
35
0.52%
1,846
27.23%
6,781
Brown
2,985
68.21%
1,317
30.10%
42
0.96%
16
0.37%
16
0.37%
1,668
38.11%
4,376
Butler
18,155
65.13%
9,159
32.86%
253
0.91%
170
0.61%
136
0.49%
8,996
32.27%
27,873
Chase
976
70.52%
383
27.67%
12
0.87%
9
0.65%
4
0.29%
593
42.85%
1,384
Chautauqua
1,418
76.57%
401
21.65%
17
0.92%
8
0.43%
8
0.43%
1,017
54.92%
1,852
Cherokee
5,886
60.90%
3,594
37.19%
118
1.22%
45
0.47%
22
0.23%
2,292
23.71%
9,665
Cheyenne
1,148
76.64%
323
21.56%
13
0.87%
7
0.47%
7
0.47%
825
55.08%
1,498
Clark
897
77.39%
245
21.14%
6
0.52%
2
0.17%
9
0.78%
652
56.25%
1,159
Clay
2,998
73.95%
1,009
24.89%
28
0.69%
13
0.32%
6
0.15%
1,989
49.06%
4,054
Cloud
3,121
70.12%
1,233
27.70%
51
1.15%
26
0.58%
20
0.45%
1,888
42.42%
4,451
Coffey
3,054
72.16%
1,121
26.49%
28
0.66%
19
0.45%
10
0.24%
1,933
45.67%
4,232
Comanche
765
78.54%
194
19.92%
12
1.23%
1
0.10%
2
0.21%
571
58.62%
974
Cowley
8,492
61.59%
5,012
36.35%
162
1.18%
72
0.52%
49
0.36%
3,480
25.24%
13,787
Crawford
7,735
48.12%
7,957
49.50%
227
1.41%
94
0.58%
62
0.39%
-222
-1.38%
16,075
Decatur
1,189
76.81%
343
22.16%
9
0.58%
3
0.19%
4
0.26%
846
54.65%
1,548
Dickinson
6,081
70.16%
2,422
27.95%
75
0.87%
60
0.69%
29
0.33%
3,659
42.21%
8,667
Doniphan
2,372
66.55%
1,115
31.29%
32
0.90%
25
0.70%
20
0.56%
1,257
35.26%
3,564
Douglas
17,929
33.42%
34,398
64.13%
622
1.16%
307
0.57%
385
0.71%
-16,469
-30.71%
53,641
Edwards
995
73.32%
333
24.54%
15
1.11%
12
0.88%
2
0.15%
662
48.78%
1,357
Elk
1,042
72.66%
363
25.31%
10
0.70%
15
1.05%
4
0.28%
679
47.35%
1,434
Ellis
8,207
65.94%
4,010
32.22%
128
1.03%
63
0.51%
39
0.31%
4,197
33.72%
12,447
Ellsworth
2,021
68.79%
851
28.97%
39
1.33%
18
0.61%
9
0.31%
1,170
39.82%
2,938
Finney
6,926
66.89%
3,275
31.63%
78
0.75%
48
0.46%
27
0.26%
3,651
35.26%
10,354
Ford
5,730
64.64%
2,991
33.74%
57
0.64%
56
0.63%
30
0.34%
2,739
30.90%
8,864
Franklin
7,079
60.04%
4,433
37.60%
121
1.03%
66
0.56%
92
0.78%
2,646
22.44%
11,791
Geary
4,492
55.50%
3,491
43.13%
68
0.84%
23
0.28%
20
0.25%
1,001
12.37%
8,094
Gove
1,136
80.11%
261
18.41%
10
0.71%
3
0.21%
8
0.56%
875
61.70%
1,418
Graham
1,060
74.49%
325
22.84%
27
1.90%
7
0.49%
4
0.28%
735
51.65%
1,423
Grant
1,995
74.97%
635
23.86%
12
0.45%
9
0.34%
10
0.38%
1,360
51.11%
2,661
Gray
1,643
77.54%
436
20.58%
18
0.85%
15
0.71%
7
0.33%
1,207
56.96%
2,119
Greeley
591
79.33%
151
20.27%
2
0.27%
1
0.13%
0
0.00%
440
59.06%
745
Greenwood
1,619
71.04%
622
27.29%
16
0.70%
14
0.61%
8
0.35%
997
43.75%
2,279
Hamilton
844
77.01%
233
21.26%
7
0.64%
8
0.73%
4
0.36%
611
55.75%
1,096
Harper
1,999
71.49%
736
26.32%
35
1.25%
15
0.54%
11
0.39%
1,263
45.17%
2,796
Harvey
9,006
57.40%
6,318
40.27%
165
1.05%
77
0.49%
125
0.80%
2,688
17.13%
15,691
Haskell
1,277
81.34%
278
17.71%
8
0.51%
4
0.25%
3
0.19%
999
63.63%
1,570
Hodgeman
865
78.92%
211
19.25%
9
0.82%
6
0.55%
5
0.46%
654
59.67%
1,096
Jackson
3,811
60.95%
2,308
36.91%
83
1.33%
29
0.46%
22
0.35%
1,503
24.04%
6,253
Jefferson
5,220
58.32%
3,542
39.58%
118
1.32%
54
0.60%
16
0.18%
1,678
18.74%
8,950
Jewell
1,231
77.71%
313
19.76%
22
1.39%
10
0.63%
8
0.51%
918
57.95%
1,584
Johnson
152,627
53.70%
127,091
44.72%
1,469
0.52%
1,540
0.54%
1,484
0.52%
25,536
8.98%
284,211
Kearny
1,159
78.21%
309
20.85%
10
0.67%
3
0.20%
1
0.07%
850
57.36%
1,482
Kingman
2,603
71.04%
963
26.28%
40
1.09%
35
0.96%
23
0.63%
1,640
44.76%
3,664
Kiowa
912
80.35%
200
17.62%
16
1.41%
5
0.44%
2
0.18%
712
62.73%
1,135
Labette
5,001
55.38%
3,839
42.51%
89
0.99%
56
0.62%
46
0.51%
1,162
12.87%
9,031
Lane
814
79.26%
193
18.79%
8
0.78%
9
0.88%
3
0.29%
621
60.47%
1,027
Leavenworth
16,791
54.89%
13,255
43.33%
263
0.86%
162
0.53%
120
0.39%
3,536
11.56%
30,591
Lincoln
1,204
75.91%
347
21.88%
22
1.39%
6
0.38%
7
0.44%
857
54.03%
1,586
Linn
3,086
66.84%
1,425
30.86%
57
1.23%
29
0.63%
20
0.43%
1,661
35.98%
4,617
Logan
1,187
82.43%
225
15.63%
18
1.25%
5
0.35%
5
0.35%
962
66.80%
1,440
Lyon
6,698
51.88%
5,924
45.88%
169
1.31%
68
0.53%
52
0.40%
774
6.00%
12,911
Marion
4,159
68.64%
1,801
29.72%
59
0.97%
23
0.38%
17
0.28%
2,358
38.92%
6,059
Marshall
3,157
62.69%
1,784
35.42%
54
1.07%
26
0.52%
15
0.30%
1,373
27.27%
5,036
McPherson
8,937
66.76%
4,218
31.51%
107
0.80%
70
0.52%
54
0.40%
4,719
35.25%
13,386
Meade
1,540
79.75%
357
18.49%
14
0.73%
12
0.62%
8
0.41%
1,183
61.26%
1,931
Miami
9,382
61.01%
5,742
37.34%
116
0.75%
68
0.44%
69
0.45%
3,640
23.67%
15,377
Mitchell
2,440
76.18%
701
21.89%
34
1.06%
16
0.50%
12
0.37%
1,739
54.29%
3,203
Montgomery
9,309
66.94%
4,338
31.19%
145
1.04%
70
0.50%
45
0.32%
4,971
35.75%
13,907
Morris
1,875
66.00%
907
31.93%
28
0.99%
16
0.56%
15
0.53%
968
34.07%
2,841
Morton
1,153
82.24%
229
16.33%
8
0.57%
11
0.78%
1
0.07%
924
65.91%
1,402
Nemaha
3,817
71.23%
1,432
26.72%
67
1.25%
20
0.37%
23
0.43%
2,385
44.51%
5,359
Neosho
4,473
62.19%
2,563
35.64%
95
1.32%
31
0.43%
30
0.42%
1,910
26.55%
7,192
Ness
1,207
79.15%
289
18.95%
21
1.38%
5
0.33%
3
0.20%
918
60.20%
1,525
Norton
1,878
77.76%
497
20.58%
23
0.95%
13
0.54%
4
0.17%
1,381
57.18%
2,415
Osage
4,820
63.89%
2,534
33.59%
96
1.27%
59
0.78%
35
0.46%
2,286
30.30%
7,544
Osborne
1,490
77.20%
403
20.88%
26
1.35%
7
0.36%
4
0.21%
1,087
56.32%
1,930
Ottawa
2,323
75.28%
704
22.81%
28
0.91%
18
0.58%
13
0.42%
1,619
52.47%
3,086
Pawnee
1,946
67.59%
882
30.64%
39
1.35%
6
0.21%
6
0.21%
1,064
36.95%
2,879
Phillips
2,105
78.93%
525
19.69%
29
1.09%
5
0.19%
3
0.11%
1,580
59.24%
2,667
Pottawatomie
6,929
70.15%
2,599
26.31%
79
0.80%
50
0.51%
220
2.22%
4,330
43.84%
9,877
Pratt
2,822
67.35%
1,294
30.88%
40
0.95%
24
0.57%
10
0.24%
1,528
36.47%
4,190
Rawlins
1,247
80.50%
273
17.62%
14
0.90%
8
0.52%
7
0.45%
974
62.88%
1,549
Reno
16,112
60.57%
9,916
37.28%
232
0.87%
136
0.51%
206
0.78%
6,196
23.29%
26,602
Republic
1,978
74.05%
640
23.96%
27
1.01%
15
0.56%
11
0.41%
1,338
50.09%
2,671
Rice
2,780
69.14%
1,163
28.92%
44
1.09%
23
0.57%
11
0.27%
1,617
40.22%
4,021
Riley
12,111
52.43%
10,495
45.43%
186
0.81%
148
0.64%
160
0.70%
1,616
7.00%
23,100
Rooks
2,068
79.91%
468
18.08%
31
1.20%
11
0.43%
10
0.39%
1,600
61.83%
2,588
Rush
1,225
68.78%
504
28.30%
29
1.63%
12
0.67%
11
0.62%
721
40.48%
1,781
Russell
2,509
76.19%
736
22.35%
23
0.70%
14
0.43%
11
0.33%
1,773
53.84%
3,293
Saline
14,165
62.16%
8,186
35.92%
187
0.82%
184
0.81%
66
0.29%
5,979
26.24%
22,788
Scott
1,823
83.66%
321
14.73%
19
0.87%
7
0.32%
9
0.41%
1,502
68.93%
2,179
Sedgwick
106,849
55.15%
82,337
42.50%
1,589
0.82%
1,231
0.64%
1,724
0.89%
24,512
12.65%
193,730
Seward
3,791
71.05%
1,493
27.98%
15
0.28%
24
0.45%
13
0.24%
2,298
43.07%
5,336
Shawnee
41,476
49.05%
41,235
48.77%
823
0.97%
418
0.49%
598
0.70%
241
0.28%
84,550
Sheridan
1,108
80.52%
254
18.46%
11
0.80%
2
0.15%
1
0.07%
854
62.06%
1,376
Sherman
1,959
72.45%
688
25.44%
30
1.11%
16
0.59%
11
0.41%
1,271
47.01%
2,704
Smith
1,719
77.78%
446
20.18%
23
1.04%
10
0.45%
12
0.54%
1,273
57.60%
2,210
Stafford
1,495
72.08%
542
26.13%
21
1.01%
8
0.39%
8
0.39%
953
45.95%
2,074
Stanton
628
75.94%
188
22.73%
6
0.73%
3
0.36%
2
0.24%
440
53.21%
827
Stevens
1,815
85.33%
283
13.31%
9
0.42%
11
0.52%
9
0.42%
1,532
72.02%
2,127
Sumner
6,737
65.17%
3,353
32.44%
124
1.20%
74
0.72%
49
0.47%
3,384
32.73%
10,337
Thomas
2,837
77.24%
787
21.43%
29
0.79%
9
0.25%
11
0.30%
2,050
55.81%
3,673
Trego
1,225
73.31%
420
25.13%
18
1.08%
2
0.12%
6
0.36%
805
48.18%
1,671
Wabaunsee
2,395
68.02%
1,036
29.42%
36
1.02%
14
0.40%
40
1.14%
1,359
38.60%
3,521
Wallace
690
85.82%
96
11.94%
8
1.00%
5
0.62%
5
0.62%
594
73.88%
804
Washington
2,248
75.44%
659
22.11%
30
1.01%
20
0.67%
23
0.77%
1,589
53.33%
2,980
Wichita
840
82.43%
163
16.00%
8
0.79%
3
0.29%
5
0.49%
677
66.43%
1,019
Wilson
2,850
69.16%
1,170
28.39%
49
1.19%
20
0.49%
32
0.78%
1,680
40.77%
4,121
Woodson
1,055
65.98%
512
32.02%
21
1.31%
6
0.38%
5
0.31%
543
33.96%
1,599
Wyandotte
16,506
28.75%
39,865
69.44%
409
0.71%
190
0.33%
439
0.76%
-23,359
-40.69%
57,409
Totals
699,655
56.48%
514,765
41.55%
10,527
0.85%
6,706
0.54%
7,220
0.58%
184,890
14.93%
1,238,873
County Flips: Democratic Hold
Gain from Republican
Republican Hold
Counties that flipped from Republican to Democratic
Results by congressional district
McCain carried three of the state’s four congressional districts.
Electors
Technically the voters of Kansas cast their ballots for electors: representatives to the Electoral College . Kansas is allocated 6 electors because it has 4 congressional districts and 2 senators . All candidates who appear on the ballot or qualify to receive write-in votes must submit a list of 6 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 6 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 6 were pledged to John McCain and Sarah Palin :[21]
Tom Arpke
Jeff Colyer
David Kensinger
Kris Kobach
Mike Pompeo
Helen Van Etten
See also
References
^ "D.C.'s Political Report: The complete source for campaign summaries" . January 1, 2009. Archived from the original on January 1, 2009. Retrieved August 23, 2021 .
^ "Presidential" . May 5, 2015. Archived from the original on May 5, 2015. Retrieved August 23, 2021 .
^ "Vote 2008 - The Takeaway - Track the Electoral College vote predictions" . April 22, 2009. Archived from the original on April 22, 2009. Retrieved August 23, 2021 .
^ "Electoral-vote.com: President, Senate, House Updated Daily" . electoral-vote.com . Retrieved August 23, 2021 .
^ a b c d Based on Takeaway
^ "POLITICO's 2008 Swing State Map - POLITICO.com" . www.politico.com . Retrieved September 22, 2016 .
^ "RealClearPolitics - Electoral Map" . Archived from the original on June 5, 2008.
^ "CQ Presidential Election Maps, 2008" . CQ Politics . Archived from the original on June 14, 2009. Retrieved December 20, 2009 .
^ Nagourney, Adam; Zeleny, Jeff; Carter, Shan (November 4, 2008). "The Electoral Map: Key States" . The New York Times . Retrieved May 26, 2010 .
^ "October – 2008 – CNN Political Ticker - CNN.com Blogs" . CNN . October 31, 2008. Archived from the original on June 19, 2010. Retrieved May 26, 2010 .
^ "Winning The Electoral College" . Fox News . April 27, 2010.
^ "roadto270" . hosted.ap.org . Retrieved September 22, 2016 .
^ "Election 2008: Electoral College Update - Rasmussen Reports" . www.rasmussenreports.com . Retrieved September 22, 2016 .
^ Election 2008 Polls - Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections
^ "Presidential Campaign Finance" . Archived from the original on March 24, 2009. Retrieved August 20, 2009 .
^ "Map: Campaign Ad Spending - Election Center 2008 from CNN.com" . CNN . Retrieved May 26, 2010 .
^ "Map: Campaign Candidate Visits - Election Center 2008 from CNN.com" . CNN . Retrieved May 26, 2010 .
^ "Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections" . Retrieved January 13, 2013 .
^ "KS US President Race, November 04, 2008" . Our Campaigns.
^ "Electoral College" . California Secretary of State . Archived from the original on October 30, 2008. Retrieved November 1, 2008 .
^ Kansas Secretary of State - 2008 Presidential Electors
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