2008 United States presidential election in Louisiana explained

Election Name:2008 United States presidential election in Louisiana
Country:Louisiana
Flag Year:2006
Type:presidential
Ongoing:no
Previous Election:2004 United States presidential election in Louisiana
Previous Year:2004
Next Election:2012 United States presidential election in Louisiana
Next Year:2012
Election Date:November 4, 2008
Image1:John McCain 2009 Official.jpg
Nominee1:John McCain
Party1:Republican Party (United States)
Home State1:Arizona
Running Mate1:Sarah Palin
Electoral Vote1:9
Popular Vote1:1,148,275
Percentage1:58.56%
Party2:Democratic Party (United States)
Home State2:Illinois
Running Mate2:Joe Biden
Electoral Vote2:0
Popular Vote2:782,989
Percentage2:39.93%
Map Size:350px
President
Before Election:George W. Bush
Before Party:Republican Party (United States)
After Election:Barack Obama
After Party:Democratic Party (United States)

The 2008 United States presidential election in Louisiana 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. This is despite its having one of the largest percentages of African Americans in the country, one of the Democratic Party's most reliable voting blocs and which gave record-breaking support to Obama, the first African American on a major-party presidential ticket. Its shift to the right has been due almost entirely to its white population, which has become overwhelmingly Republican in the 21st century. It was one of five states to swing Republican from 2004, along with West Virginia, Tennessee, Oklahoma, and Arkansas. This marked the first time that Louisiana failed to back the winning candidate since 1968, when it voted for a 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. He was the first Democrat to ever win without Calcasieu Parish since the parish's founding in 1840.

In this election, Louisiana voted 25.9% to the right of the nation at-large, or a 13.85 percent bigger differential than in 2004.[1]

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[2]
Cook Political Report[3]
The Takeaway[4]
Electoral-vote.com[5]
The Washington PostWashington Post[6]
Politico[7]
RealClearPolitics[8]
FiveThirtyEight
CQ Politics[9]
The New York Times[10]
CNN[11]
NPR
MSNBC
Fox News[12]
Associated Press[13]
Rasmussen Reports[14]

Polling

McCain won every pre-election poll. The final 3 polls averaged McCain leading 50% to 40%.[15]

Fundraising

John McCain raised a total of $2,175,416 in the state. Barack Obama raised $1,438,276.[16]

Advertising and visits

Obama spent $368,039. McCain and his interest groups spent $6,019.[17] McCain visited the state once, in New Orleans.[18]

Analysis

Polling in Louisiana gave a strong lead to McCain, sometimes as high as 19%,[19] 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). This is the last time any county flipped in the state in a presidential election.

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 a terrible 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[20]
PartyCandidateRunning mateVotesPercentageElectoral votes
RepublicanJohn McCainSarah Palin1,148,27558.56%9
DemocraticBarack ObamaJoe Biden782,98939.93%0
Louisiana Taxpayers[21] Ron Paul (no campaign)Barry Goldwater Jr.9,3680.48%0
GreenCynthia McKinneyRosa Clemente9,1870.47%0
IndependentRalph NaderMatt Gonzalez6,9970.36%0
ConstitutionChuck BaldwinDarrell Castle2,5810.13%0
Socialist WorkersJames HarrisAlyson Kennedy7350.04% 0
Socialism and LiberationGloria La RivaEugene Puryear3540.02%0
ProhibitionGene AmondsonLeroy Pletten2750.01%0
Totals1,960,761100.00%9
Voter turnout (Voting age population)62.0%

By parish

ParishJohn McCain
Republican		Barack Obama
Democratic		Various candidates
Other parties		MarginTotal
%%%%
Acadia19,22971.99%7,02826.31%4541.70%12,20145.68%26,711
Allen6,33366.90%2,89130.54%2432.57%3,44236.36%9,467
Ascension31,23967.08%14,62531.40%7071.52%16,61435.68%46,571
Assumption5,98154.57%4,75643.39%2232.03%1,22511.18%10,960
Avoyelles10,23660.43%6,32737.35%3752.21%3,90923.08%16,938
Beauregard10,71876.15%3,07121.82%2852.03%7,64754.33%14,074
Bienville3,77650.82%3,58948.30%650.87%1872.52%7,430
Bossier32,71371.37%12,70327.71%4190.91%20,01043.66%45,835
Caddo52,22848.07%55,53651.11%8960.82%-3,308-3.04%108,660
Calcasieu50,44961.43%30,24436.82%1,4381.75%20,20524.61%82,131
Caldwell3,69675.54%1,11822.85%791.61%2,57852.69%4,893
Cameron3,08981.44%61316.16%912.40%2,47665.28%3,793
Catahoula3,48666.72%1,65931.75%801.53%1,82734.97%5,225
Claiborne3,75054.82%3,02544.22%660.96%72510.60%6,841
Concordia5,66859.49%3,76639.53%930.98%1,90219.96%9,527
DeSoto6,88356.16%5,24242.77%1321.08%1,64113.39%12,257
East Baton Rouge95,39048.34%99,65250.50%2,3071.17%-4,262-2.16%197,349
East Carroll1,25435.23%2,26763.70%381.07%-1,013-28.47%3,559
East Feliciana5,43254.61%4,38344.06%1321.33%1,04910.55%9,947
Evangeline9,79361.30%5,85336.64%3302.07%3,94024.66%15,976
Franklin6,27867.09%2,96131.64%1191.27%3,31735.45%9,358
Grant6,90780.71%1,47417.22%1772.07%5,43363.49%8,558
Iberia20,12760.68%12,49237.66%5491.66%7,63523.02%33,168
Iberville7,18543.75%9,02354.95%2131.30%-1,838-11.20%16,421
Jackson5,19067.09%2,45631.75%901.16%2,73435.34%7,736
Jefferson113,19162.50%65,09635.94%2,8331.56%48,09526.56%181,120
Jefferson Davis9,27868.72%3,92329.06%3002.22%5,35539.66%13,501
Lafayette62,05564.88%32,14533.61%1,4421.51%29,91031.27%95,642
Lafourche27,08971.49%9,66225.50%1,1423.01%17,42745.99%37,893
LaSalle5,60285.49%86013.12%911.39%4,74272.37%6,553
Lincoln10,68055.69%8,29243.23%2071.08%2,38812.46%19,179
Livingston43,26985.02%6,68113.13%9421.85%36,58871.89%50,892
Madison2,15240.60%3,10058.49%480.91%-948-17.89%5,300
Morehouse7,25854.98%5,79243.88%1501.14%1,46611.10%13,200
Natchitoches9,05453.05%7,80145.71%2121.24%1,2537.34%17,067
Orleans28,13019.08%117,10279.42%2,2071.50%-88,972-60.34%147,439
Ouachita41,74162.07%24,81336.90%6901.03%16,92825.17%67,244
Plaquemines6,89465.98%3,38032.35%1751.67%3,51433.63%10,449
Pointe Coupee6,70253.90%5,51644.36%2171.75%1,1869.54%12,435
Rapides36,61163.65%20,12734.99%7831.36%16,48428.66%57,521
Red River2,48453.66%2,08044.93%651.40%4048.73%4,629
Richland5,75162.64%3,31136.06%1191.30%2,44026.58%9,181
Sabine7,22674.87%2,24523.26%1811.88%4,98151.61%9,652
St. Bernard9,64371.21%3,49125.78%4073.01%6,15245.43%13,541
St. Charles16,45764.80%8,52233.56%4181.65%7,93531.24%25,397
St. Helena2,52240.78%3,56757.68%951.54%-1,045-16.90%6,184
St. James5,43243.23%6,99455.67%1381.10%-1,562-12.44%12,564
St. John the Baptist8,91241.15%12,42457.37%3201.48%-3,512-16.22%21,656
St. Landry21,65050.95%20,26847.70%5751.35%1,3823.25%42,493
St. Martin14,44359.55%9,41938.84%3901.61%5,02420.71%24,252
St. Mary13,18357.56%9,34540.80%3751.64%3,83816.76%22,903
St. Tammany83,07875.84%24,59622.45%1,8681.71%58,48253.39%109,542
Tangipahoa31,43464.68%16,43833.82%7301.50%14,99630.86%48,602
Tensas1,36744.97%1,64654.14%270.89%-279-9.17%3,040
Terrebonne28,21069.32%11,58128.46%9052.22%16,62940.86%40,696
Union7,61970.10%3,10328.55%1461.34%4,51641.55%10,868
Vermilion18,06972.76%6,26625.23%4982.01%11,80347.53%24,833
Vernon11,94675.76%3,53422.41%2891.83%8,41253.35%15,769
Washington12,21565.59%6,12232.87%2871.54%6,09332.72%18,624
Webster11,41762.49%6,61036.18%2431.33%4,80726.31%18,270
West Baton Rouge6,65456.08%5,04342.50%1691.42%1,61113.58%11,866
West Carroll4,04581.11%87817.61%641.28%3,16763.50%4,987
West Feliciana3,15056.05%2,41542.97%550.98%73513.08%5,620
Winn4,63268.40%2,04730.23%931.37%2,58538.17%6,772
Totals1,148,27558.56%782,98939.93%29,4971.50%365,28618.63%1,960,761

Parishes that flipped from Republican to Democratic

Parishes that flipped from Democratic to Republican

By congressional district

John McCain carried 6 of the state's 7 congressional districts, both McCain and Obama won a district won by the other party.

DistrictMcCainObamaRepresentative
72.72%25.68%Bobby Jindal (110th Congress)
Steve Scalise (111th Congress)
24.86%74.13%William J. Jefferson (110th Congress)
Joseph Cao (111th Congress)
60.99%37.03%Charles Melancon
59.28%39.57%Jim McCrery (110th Congress)
John C. Fleming (111th Congress)
61.75%36.96%Rodney Alexander
57.40%41.26%Don Cazayoux (110th Congress)
Bill Cassidy (111th Congress)
63.14%35.20%Charles Boustany

Electors

See 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.[22] 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:[23]

  1. Lynn Skidmore
  2. Joe Lavigne
  3. Gordon Giles - He replaced Billy Nungesser, who was absent due to illness.[24]
  4. Alan Seabaugh
  5. Karen Haymon
  6. Charles Davis
  7. Charlie Buckels
  8. Dianne Christopher
  9. Roger F. Villere Jr.

See also

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections . 2023-04-12 . uselectionatlas.org.
  2. Web site: 2009-01-01. D.C.'s Political Report: The complete source for campaign summaries.. 2021-08-23. https://web.archive.org/web/20090101161206/http://www.dcpoliticalreport.com/Predictions.html. 2009-01-01.
  3. Web site: 2015-05-05. Presidential. 2021-08-23. https://web.archive.org/web/20150505003043/http://cookpolitical.com/presidential. 2015-05-05.
  4. Web site: 2009-04-22. Vote 2008 - The Takeaway - Track the Electoral College vote predictions. 2021-08-23. https://web.archive.org/web/20090422070127/http://vote2008.thetakeaway.org/2008/09/20/track-the-electoral-college-vote-predictions/. 2009-04-22.
  5. Web site: Electoral-vote.com: President, Senate, House Updated Daily. 2021-08-23. electoral-vote.com.
  6. Based on Takeaway
  7. Web site: POLITICO's 2008 Swing State Map - POLITICO.com. 2016-09-22. www.politico.com.
  8. Web site: RealClearPolitics - Electoral Map. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20080605003612/http://www.realclearpolitics.com/epolls/maps/obama_vs_mccain/?map=5. 2008-06-05.
  9. Web site: CQ Presidential Election Maps, 2008. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20090614004022/http://innovation.cq.com/prezMap08. June 14, 2009. December 20, 2009. CQ Politics.
  10. News: Nagourney. Adam. Zeleny. Jeff. Carter. Shan. 2008-11-04. The Electoral Map: Key States. The New York Times. May 26, 2010.
  11. News: 2008-10-31. October  - 2008  - CNN Political Ticker - CNN.com Blogs. CNN. May 26, 2010. 2010-06-19. https://web.archive.org/web/20100619013250/http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2008/10/. dead.
  12. News: April 27, 2010. Winning The Electoral College. Fox News.
  13. Web site: roadto270. 2016-09-22. hosted.ap.org.
  14. Web site: Election 2008: Electoral College Update - Rasmussen Reports. 2016-09-22. www.rasmussenreports.com.
  15. http://uselectionatlas.org/POLLS/PRESIDENT/2008/pollsa.php?fips=22 Election 2008 Polls - Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections
  16. Web site: Presidential Campaign Finance . 2009-08-20 . https://web.archive.org/web/20090324090016/http://www.fec.gov/DisclosureSearch/MapAppState.do?stateName=LA&cand_id=P00000001 . 2009-03-24 . dead .
  17. News: Map: Campaign Ad Spending - Election Center 2008 from CNN.com . CNN . May 26, 2010.
  18. News: Map: Campaign Candidate Visits - Election Center 2008 from CNN.com . CNN . May 26, 2010.
  19. Web site: Rasmussen Reports: The Most Comprehensive Public Opinion Site. . 2008-12-16 . https://web.archive.org/web/20090131063802/http://www.rasmussenreports.com/public_content/politics/election_20082/2008_presidential_election/louisiana/election_2008_louisiana_president . 2009-01-31 . dead .
  20. Web site: Official General Election Results . 2008-12-12 . The Green Papers.
  21. http://www.lataxpayers.com/ Louisiana Taxpayers
  22. Web site: Electoral College . 2008-11-01 . . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20081030041546/http://www.sos.ca.gov/elections/elections_ec.htm . October 30, 2008 .
  23. Web site: Archived copy . November 8, 2008 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20081108004111/http://www.sos.louisiana.gov/Portals/0/elections/pdf/2008%20Presidential%20Electors.pdf . November 8, 2008 .
  24. http://www.katc.com/Global/story.asp?S=9525360{{dead link|date=July 2016 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}

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