The 2008 United States presidential election in Wisconsin took place on November 4, 2008, as part of the 2008 United States presidential election in which all 50 states plus the District of Columbia participated. State voters chose 10 electors to represent them in the Electoral College via a popular vote pitting Democratic U.S. Senator from Illinois Barack Obama, and his running mate U.S. Senator from Delaware Joe Biden, against Republican challenger and U.S. Senator from Arizona John McCain and his running mate, Alaska Governor Sarah Palin.
Also on the ballot were four third parties: activist and former presidential candidate Ralph Nader ran as an independent with his running mate, President of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors Matt Gonzalez. The Libertarian Party nominated former Representative from Georgia Bob Barr for president and conservative author Wayne Allyn Root for vice president. Pastor Chuck Baldwin and attorney Darrell Castle were nominated by the right-wing Constitution Party, and the left-wing Green Party nominated former Representative from Georgia Cynthia McKinney and community organizer Rosa Clemente.
Wisconsin was won by Democratic nominee Barack Obama by a 13.91% margin of victory. Prior to the election, all 17 news organizations considered this a state Obama would win, or otherwise considered as a safe blue state, despite the extremely close margins of victory in the previous two presidential elections. Polling throughout the state began to show a sizable and widening lead for Democrat Barack Obama of neighboring Illinois over Republican John McCain of Arizona. Obama carried Wisconsin with over 56% of the vote, significantly improving upon John Kerry's very narrow margin of victory in 2004. Obama is the only candidate since 1988 to win the state with the majority of the vote, and the only candidate since 1996 to win by a margin of more than 1%, both of which he would go on to do again in 2012.
Whether measured by raw vote margin, percentage of total votes, or two-party percentage, Obama's victory remains the strongest performance for any candidate in the state since the landslide re-election of Democrat Lyndon B. Johnson in 1964. In fact, Obama carried two of three counties that voted for Barry Goldwater in that election and became the first Democrat since Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1936 to carry Waupaca County, and only the second Democratic nominee to carry that county since the Civil War. This is also the most recent election where Wisconsin was decided by double digits, the first time since 1936 that Wisconsin voted more Democratic than its neighboring state of Minnesota, as well as the last in which the Democratic candidate won a majority of counties in the state.
As of 2024, this is the last time that Barron, Brown, Burnett, Calumet, Chippewa, Clark, Iron, Jefferson, Kewaunee, Langlade, Manitowoc, Marathon, Marinette, Monroe, Oconto, Oneida, Outagamie, Pierce, Rusk, Shawano, Washburn, Waupaca, Waushara, and Wood counties voted Democratic.
Primaries 2008 Wisconsin Republican presidential primary 2008 Wisconsin Democratic presidential primary
Campaign Predictions There were 16 news organizations who made state-by-state predictions of the election. Here are their last predictions before election day:
+SourceRankingD.C. Political ReportCook Political ReportThe TakeawayElectoral-vote.comWashington PostBased on TakeawayPoliticoRealClearPoliticsFiveThirtyEightCQ PoliticsThe New York TimesCNNNPRMSNBCFox NewsAssociated PressRasmussen Reports
Polling
Pre-election polling early on showed a tight race. However, after May 18, Obama swept every single poll. Since September 21, Obama won every poll with at least 49% of the vote. The final 3 polls averaged Obama leading 53% to 40%.
Fundraising John McCain raised a total of $1,728,185 in the state. Barack Obama raised $4,862,486.
Advertising and visits Obama and his interest groups spent $13,586,634. McCain and his interest groups spent $9,240,899. Each ticket visited the state 7 times.
Analysis Having voted for the Democratic presidential nominees by comfortable margins in 1988, 1992, and 1996, but extremely narrow margins in 2000 and 2004, Wisconsin was originally considered to be a swing state in 2008. However, Obama took a wide lead in the polls in Wisconsin in the final weeks before the election and many pundits and news organizations labeled the state as a safe blue state.
Obama won Wisconsin by a comfortable 13.91% margin of victory. Obama carried the heavily Democratic cities of Milwaukee and Madison by large margins, winning above two-thirds of the vote, along with some traditionally Republican cities like Green Bay and Appleton. In Dane County, he won almost 73% of the vote, and carried 67.3% in Milwaukee County. This was consistent with Obama's pattern of strong performances in the states bordering Illinois. Obama's best performance, at 86.81%, was in the small county of Menominee, which is 87% Native American. The state's Republican base essentially melted; John McCain only carried 13 of the state's 72 counties, a devastating defeat. McCain did best in the Milwaukee suburbs like Waukesha and Ozaukee counties, with his best performance in Washington County where he received 64.14% of the vote. He only won five counties in the Northern part of the state, all of which by rather narrow margins.
Results 2008 United States presidential election in WisconsinParty Candidate Running mate Votes Percentage Electoral votes Democratic Barack Obama Joe Biden 1,677,211 56.22% 10 Republican John McCain Sarah Palin 1,262,393 42.31% 0 Independent Ralph Nader Matt Gonzalez 17,605 0.59% 0 Libertarian Bob Barr Wayne Allyn Root 8,858 0.30% 0 Write-ins 6,521 0.22% 0 Independent Chuck Baldwin Darrell Castle 5,072 0.17% 0 Green Cynthia McKinney Rosa Clemente 4,216 0.14% 0 Independent Jeffrey Wamboldt 764 0.03% 0 Independent Brian Moore Stewart Alexander 540 0.02% 0 Independent Gloria La Riva 237 0.01% 0 Totals 2,983,417 100.00% 10 Voter turnout (Voting age population) 70.8%
By county County Barack ObamaDemocratic John McCainRepublican Various candidatesOther parties Margin Total votes cast#%#%#%#% Adams 5,806 58.14% 3,974 39.80% 206 2.06% 1,832 18.34% 9,986 Ashland 5,818 67.86% 2,634 30.72% 122 1.42% 3,184 37.14% 8,574 Barron 12,078 52.77% 10,457 45.69% 351 1.54% 1,621 7.08% 22,886 Bayfield 5,972 63.08% 3,365 35.54% 131 1.38% 2,607 27.54% 9,468 Brown 67,269 53.92% 55,854 44.77% 1,631 1.31% 11,415 9.15% 124,754 Buffalo 3,949 56.41% 2,923 41.76% 128 1.83% 1,026 14.65% 7,000 Burnett 4,337 49.92% 4,200 48.34% 151 1.74% 137 1.58% 8,688 Calumet 13,295 50.22% 12,722 48.05% 457 1.73% 573 2.17% 26,474 Chippewa 16,239 53.72% 13,492 44.63% 500 1.65% 2,747 9.09% 30,231 Clark 7,454 52.54% 6,383 44.99% 350 2.47% 1,071 7.55% 14,187 Columbia 16,661 56.92% 12,193 41.65% 418 1.43% 4,468 15.27% 29,272 Crawford 4,987 62.49% 2,830 35.46% 164 2.05% 2,157 27.03% 7,981 Dane 205,984 72.80% 73,065 25.82% 3,890 1.37% 132,919 46.98% 282,939 Dodge 19,183 44.80% 23,015 53.74% 625 1.46% -3,832 -8.94% 42,823 Door 10,142 58.02% 7,112 40.68% 227 1.30% 3,030 17.34% 17,481 Douglas 15,830 65.78% 7,835 32.56% 401 1.66% 7,995 33.22% 24,066 Dunn 13,002 56.56% 9,566 41.61% 421 1.83% 3,436 14.95% 22,989 Eau Claire 33,146 60.25% 20,959 38.10% 905 1.65% 12,187 22.15% 55,010 Florence 1,134 42.23% 1,512 56.31% 39 1.46% -378 -14.08% 2,685 Fond du Lac 23,463 44.84% 28,164 53.83% 696 1.33% -4,701 -8.99% 52,323 Forest 2,673 57.08% 1,963 41.92% 47 1.00% 710 15.16% 4,683 Grant 14,875 61.16% 9,068 37.29% 377 1.55% 5,807 23.87% 24,320 Green 11,502 62.06% 6,730 36.31% 302 1.63% 4,772 25.75% 18,534 Green Lake 4,000 41.95% 5,393 56.55% 143 1.50% -1,393 -14.60% 9,536 Iowa 7,987 66.73% 3,829 31.99% 153 1.28% 4,158 34.74% 11,969 Iron 1,914 55.77% 1,464 42.66% 54 1.57% 450 13.11% 3,432 Jackson 5,572 60.23% 3,552 38.40% 127 1.37% 2,020 21.83% 9,251 Jefferson 21,448 49.69% 21,096 48.87% 622 1.44% 352 0.82% 43,166 Juneau 6,186 53.65% 5,148 44.65% 196 1.70% 1,038 9.00% 11,530 Kenosha 45,836 58.18% 31,609 40.12% 1,344 1.70% 14,227 18.06% 78,789 Kewaunee 5,902 54.71% 4,711 43.67% 174 1.62% 1,191 11.04% 10,787 La Crosse 38,524 60.94% 23,701 37.49% 993 1.57% 14,823 23.45% 63,218 Lafayette 4,732 60.43% 2,984 38.10% 115 1.47% 1,748 22.33% 7,831 Langlade 5,182 49.82% 5,081 48.85% 139 1.33% 101 0.97% 10,402 Lincoln 8,424 55.17% 6,519 42.70% 325 2.13% 1,905 12.47% 15,268 Manitowoc 22,428 52.88% 19,234 45.35% 752 1.77% 3,194 7.53% 42,414 Marathon 36,367 53.53% 30,345 44.66% 1,228 1.81% 6,022 8.87% 67,940 Marinette 11,195 52.67% 9,726 45.76% 334 1.57% 1,469 6.91% 21,255 Marquette 4,068 51.85% 3,654 46.57% 124 1.58% 414 5.28% 7,846 Menominee 1,257 86.81% 185 12.78% 6 0.41% 1,072 74.03% 1,448 Milwaukee 319,819 67.30% 149,445 31.45% 5,928 1.25% 170,374 35.85% 475,192 Monroe 10,198 53.25% 8,666 45.25% 288 1.50% 1,532 8.00% 19,152 Oconto 9,927 52.34% 8,755 46.16% 286 1.50% 1,172 6.18% 18,968 Oneida 11,907 54.30% 9,630 43.92% 390 1.78% 2,277 10.38% 21,927 Outagamie 50,294 54.93% 39,677 43.33% 1,592 1.74% 10,617 11.60% 91,563 Ozaukee 20,579 38.56% 32,172 60.29% 614 1.15% -11,593 -21.73% 53,365 Pepin 2,102 55.74% 1,616 42.85% 53 1.41% 486 12.89% 3,771 Pierce 11,803 53.39% 9,812 44.38% 492 2.23% 1,991 9.01% 22,107 Polk 10,876 48.03% 11,282 49.83% 485 2.14% -406 -1.80% 22,643 Portage 24,817 62.95% 13,810 35.03% 795 2.02% 11,007 27.92% 39,422 Price 4,559 55.64% 3,461 42.24% 174 2.12% 1,098 13.40% 8,194 Racine 53,408 53.07% 45,954 45.66% 1,280 1.27% 7,454 7.41% 100,642 Richland 5,041 59.66% 3,298 39.03% 111 1.31% 1,743 20.63% 8,450 Rock 50,529 63.82% 27,364 34.56% 1,276 1.62% 23,165 29.26% 79,169 Rusk 3,855 53.01% 3,253 44.73% 164 2.26% 602 8.28% 7,272 St. Croix 21,177 47.25% 22,837 50.95% 807 1.80% -1,660 -3.70% 44,821 Sauk 18,617 60.79% 11,562 37.75% 447 1.46% 7,055 23.04% 30,626 Sawyer 4,765 52.45% 4,199 46.22% 121 1.33% 566 6.23% 9,085 Shawano 10,259 51.07% 9,538 47.48% 292 1.45% 721 3.59% 20,089 Sheboygan 30,395 48.94% 30,801 49.59% 911 1.47% -406 -0.65% 62,107 Taylor 4,563 48.82% 4,586 49.07% 197 2.11% -23 -0.25% 9,346 Trempealeau 8,321 62.50% 4,808 36.11% 185 1.39% 3,513 26.39% 13,314 Vernon 8,463 60.13% 5,367 38.13% 245 1.74% 3,096 22.00% 14,075 Vilas 6,491 47.21% 7,055 51.31% 204 1.48% -564 -4.10% 13,750 Walworth 24,177 47.95% 25,485 50.54% 760 1.51% -1,308 -2.59% 50,422 Washburn 4,693 51.50% 4,303 47.22% 116 1.28% 390 4.28% 9,112 Washington 25,719 34.56% 47,729 64.14% 963 1.30% -22,010 -29.58% 74,411 Waukesha 85,339 36.64% 145,152 62.32% 2,406 1.04% -59,813 -25.68% 232,897 Waupaca 12,952 50.77% 12,232 47.95% 327 1.28% 720 2.82% 25,511 Waushara 5,868 49.52% 5,770 48.70% 211 1.78% 98 0.82% 11,849 Winnebago 48,167 54.94% 37,946 43.28% 1,564 1.78% 10,221 11.66% 87,677 Wood 21,710 55.59% 16,581 42.46% 761 1.95% 5,129 13.13% 39,052Totals1,677,21156.22%1,262,39342.31%43,8131.47%414,81813.91%2,983,417
Counties that flipped from Republican to Democratic
Barron (largest city: Rice Lake) Brown (largest city: Green Bay) Burnett (largest village: Grantsburg) Calumet (largest city: Chilton) Chippewa (largest city: Chippewa Falls) Clark (largest city: Neillsville) Columbia (largest city: Portage) Door (largest city: Sturgeon Bay) Forest (largest city: Crandon) Jefferson (largest city: Watertown) Juneau (largest city: Mauston) Kewaunee (largest city: Algoma) Langlade (largest city: Antigo) Lincoln (largest city: Merrill) Manitowoc (largest city: Manitowoc) Marathon (largest city: Wausau) Marinette (largest city: Marinette) Marquette (largest city: Montello) Monroe (largest city: Sparta) Oconto (largest city: Oconto) Oneida (largest city: Rhinelander) Outagamie (largest city: Appleton) Racine (largest city: Racine) Richland (largest city: Richland Center) Rusk (largest city: Ladysmith) Sawyer (largest city: Hayward) Shawano (largest city: Shawano) Washburn (largest city: Spooner) Waupaca (largest city: New London) Waushara (largest city: Berlin)