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2008 United States presidential election in Louisiana

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Field	Value
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
image_size	x200px
image1	John McCain official portrait 2009 (cropped).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%
image2	Obama portrait crop.jpg
nominee2	Barack Obama
party2	Democratic Party (United States)
home_state2	Illinois
running_mate2	Joe Biden
electoral_vote2	0
popular_vote2	782,989
percentage2	39.93%
map_image	{{Switcher
title	President
before_election	George W. Bush
before_party	Republican Party (United States)
after_election	Barack Obama
after_party	Democratic Party (United States)

Main article: 2008 United States presidential election

| [[File:Louisiana Presidential Election Results 2008.svg|350px]] | Parish results |[[File:2008 US Presidential election in Louisiana by congressional district.svg|350px]] |Congressional district results |[[File:2008 LA Pres.svg|350px]] |Precinct results McCain Obama 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 leading 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.

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
Cook Political Report
The Takeaway
Electoral-vote.com
The Washington Post	Washington Post
Politico
RealClearPolitics
FiveThirtyEight
CQ Politics
The New York Times
CNN
NPR
MSNBC
Fox News
Associated Press
Rasmussen Reports

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%.

Fundraising

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

Advertising and visits

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

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%, 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 was the last time any parish flipped in the state in a presidential election until 2024.

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	Party	Candidate	Running mate	Votes	Percentage
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%

By parish

Parish	John McCain
Republican	Barack Obama
Democratic	Various candidates
Other parties	Margin	Total	#	%	#	%	#	%	#	%	Totals	1,148,275	58.56%	782,989	39.93%	29,497	1.51%	365,286	18.63%	1,960,761
	Acadia		19,229		71.99%		7,028		26.31%		454		1.70%		12,201		45.68%		26,711
	Allen		6,333		66.90%		2,891		30.54%		243		2.57%		3,442		36.36%		9,467
	Ascension		31,239		67.08%		14,625		31.40%		707		1.52%		16,614		35.68%		46,571
	Assumption		5,981		54.57%		4,756		43.39%		223		2.03%		1,225		11.18%		10,960
	Avoyelles		10,236		60.43%		6,327		37.35%		375		2.21%		3,909		23.08%		16,938
	Beauregard		10,718		76.15%		3,071		21.82%		285		2.03%		7,647		54.33%		14,074
	Bienville		3,776		50.82%		3,589		48.30%		65		0.87%		187		2.52%		7,430
	Bossier		32,713		71.37%		12,703		27.71%		419		0.91%		20,010		43.66%		45,835
	Caddo		52,228		48.07%		55,536		51.11%		896		0.82%		-3,308		-3.04%		108,660
	Calcasieu		50,449		61.43%		30,244		36.82%		1,438		1.75%		20,205		24.61%		82,131
	Caldwell		3,696		75.54%		1,118		22.85%		79		1.61%		2,578		52.69%		4,893
	Cameron		3,089		81.44%		613		16.16%		91		2.40%		2,476		65.28%		3,793
	Catahoula		3,486		66.72%		1,659		31.75%		80		1.53%		1,827		34.97%		5,225
	Claiborne		3,750		54.82%		3,025		44.22%		66		0.96%		725		10.60%		6,841
	Concordia		5,668		59.49%		3,766		39.53%		93		0.98%		1,902		19.96%		9,527
	DeSoto		6,883		56.16%		5,242		42.77%		132		1.08%		1,641		13.39%		12,257
	East Baton Rouge		95,390		48.34%		99,652		50.50%		2,307		1.17%		-4,262		-2.16%		197,349
	East Carroll		1,254		35.23%		2,267		63.70%		38		1.07%		-1,013		-28.47%		3,559
	East Feliciana		5,432		54.61%		4,383		44.06%		132		1.33%		1,049		10.55%		9,947
	Evangeline		9,793		61.30%		5,853		36.64%		330		2.07%		3,940		24.66%		15,976
	Franklin		6,278		67.09%		2,961		31.64%		119		1.27%		3,317		35.45%		9,358
	Grant		6,907		80.71%		1,474		17.22%		177		2.07%		5,433		63.49%		8,558
	Iberia		20,127		60.68%		12,492		37.66%		549		1.66%		7,635		23.02%		33,168
	Iberville		7,185		43.75%		9,023		54.95%		213		1.30%		-1,838		-11.20%		16,421
	Jackson		5,190		67.09%		2,456		31.75%		90		1.16%		2,734		35.34%		7,736
	Jefferson		113,191		62.50%		65,096		35.94%		2,833		1.56%		48,095		26.56%		181,120
	Jefferson Davis		9,278		68.72%		3,923		29.06%		300		2.22%		5,355		39.66%		13,501
	Lafayette		62,055		64.88%		32,145		33.61%		1,442		1.51%		29,910		31.27%		95,642
	Lafourche		27,089		71.49%		9,662		25.50%		1,142		3.01%		17,427		45.99%		37,893
	LaSalle		5,602		85.49%		860		13.12%		91		1.39%		4,742		72.37%		6,553
	Lincoln		10,680		55.69%		8,292		43.23%		207		1.08%		2,388		12.46%		19,179
	Livingston		43,269		85.02%		6,681		13.13%		942		1.85%		36,588		71.89%		50,892
	Madison		2,152		40.60%		3,100		58.49%		48		0.91%		-948		-17.89%		5,300
	Morehouse		7,258		54.98%		5,792		43.88%		150		1.14%		1,466		11.10%		13,200
	Natchitoches		9,054		53.05%		7,801		45.71%		212		1.24%		1,253		7.34%		17,067
	Orleans		28,130		19.08%		117,102		79.42%		2,207		1.50%		-88,972		-60.34%		147,439
	Ouachita		41,741		62.07%		24,813		36.90%		690		1.03%		16,928		25.17%		67,244
	Plaquemines		6,894		65.98%		3,380		32.35%		175		1.67%		3,514		33.63%		10,449
	Pointe Coupee		6,702		53.90%		5,516		44.36%		217		1.75%		1,186		9.54%		12,435
	Rapides		36,611		63.65%		20,127		34.99%		783		1.36%		16,484		28.66%		57,521
	Red River		2,484		53.66%		2,080		44.93%		65		1.40%		404		8.73%		4,629
	Richland		5,751		62.64%		3,311		36.06%		119		1.30%		2,440		26.58%		9,181
	Sabine		7,226		74.87%		2,245		23.26%		181		1.88%		4,981		51.61%		9,652
	St. Bernard		9,643		71.21%		3,491		25.78%		407		3.01%		6,152		45.43%		13,541
	St. Charles		16,457		64.80%		8,522		33.56%		418		1.65%		7,935		31.24%		25,397
	St. Helena		2,522		40.78%		3,567		57.68%		95		1.54%		-1,045		-16.90%		6,184
	St. James		5,432		43.23%		6,994		55.67%		138		1.10%		-1,562		-12.44%		12,564
	St. John the Baptist		8,912		41.15%		12,424		57.37%		320		1.48%		-3,512		-16.22%		21,656
	St. Landry		21,650		50.95%		20,268		47.70%		575		1.35%		1,382		3.25%		42,493
	St. Martin		14,443		59.55%		9,419		38.84%		390		1.61%		5,024		20.71%		24,252
	St. Mary		13,183		57.56%		9,345		40.80%		375		1.64%		3,838		16.76%		22,903
	St. Tammany		83,078		75.84%		24,596		22.45%		1,868		1.71%		58,482		53.39%		109,542
	Tangipahoa		31,434		64.68%		16,438		33.82%		730		1.50%		14,996		30.86%		48,602
	Tensas		1,367		44.97%		1,646		54.14%		27		0.89%		-279		-9.17%		3,040
	Terrebonne		28,210		69.32%		11,581		28.46%		905		2.22%		16,629		40.86%		40,696
	Union		7,619		70.10%		3,103		28.55%		146		1.34%		4,516		41.55%		10,868
	Vermilion		18,069		72.76%		6,266		25.23%		498		2.01%		11,803		47.53%		24,833
	Vernon		11,946		75.76%		3,534		22.41%		289		1.83%		8,412		53.35%		15,769
	Washington		12,215		65.59%		6,122		32.87%		287		1.54%		6,093		32.72%		18,624
	Webster		11,417		62.49%		6,610		36.18%		243		1.33%		4,807		26.31%		18,270
	West Baton Rouge		6,654		56.08%		5,043		42.50%		169		1.42%		1,611		13.58%		11,866
	West Carroll		4,045		81.11%		878		17.61%		64		1.28%		3,167		63.50%		4,987
	West Feliciana		3,150		56.05%		2,415		42.97%		55		0.98%		735		13.08%		5,620
	Winn		4,632		68.40%		2,047		30.23%		93		1.37%		2,585		38.17%		6,772

Parish flips: {{col-begin}}

Democratic Republican ]]

;Parishes that flipped from Republican to Democratic

Caddo (largest city: Shreveport)
East Baton Rouge (largest city: Baton Rouge)

;Parishes that flipped from Democratic to Republican

Assumption (largest city: Napoleonville)
Pointe Coupee (largest city: New Roads)

By congressional district

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

District	McCain	Representative
72.72%	25.68%	Bobby Jindal ([110th Congress](110th-united-states-congress))
	Steve Scalise ([111th Congress](111th-united-states-congress))
24.86%	74.13%	William J. Jefferson ([110th Congress](110th-united-states-congress))
	Joseph Cao ([111th Congress](111th-united-states-congress))
60.99%	37.03%	Charles Melancon
59.28%	39.57%	Jim McCrery ([110th Congress](110th-united-states-congress))
	John C. Fleming ([111th Congress](111th-united-states-congress))
61.75%	36.96%	Rodney Alexander
57.40%	41.26%	Don Cazayoux ([110th Congress](110th-united-states-congress))
	Bill Cassidy ([111th Congress](111th-united-states-congress))
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. 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:

Lynn Skidmore
Joe Lavigne
Gordon Giles - He replaced Billy Nungesser, who was absent due to illness.
Alan Seabaugh
Karen Haymon
Charles Davis
Charlie Buckels
Dianne Christopher
Roger F. Villere Jr.

References

"Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections".
(2009-01-01). "D.C.'s Political Report: The complete source for campaign summaries.".
(2015-05-05). "Presidential".
(2009-04-22). "Vote 2008 - The Takeaway - Track the Electoral College vote predictions".
"Electoral-vote.com: President, Senate, House Updated Daily".
Based on Takeaway
"POLITICO's 2008 Swing State Map - POLITICO.com".
"RealClearPolitics - Electoral Map".
"CQ Presidential Election Maps, 2008".
(2008-11-04). "The Electoral Map: Key States". The New York Times.
(2008-10-31). "October – 2008 – CNN Political Ticker - CNN.com Blogs". CNN.
(April 27, 2010). "Winning The Electoral College". Fox News.
"roadto270".
"Election 2008: Electoral College Update - Rasmussen Reports".
[http://uselectionatlas.org/POLLS/PRESIDENT/2008/pollsa.php?fips=22 Election 2008 Polls - Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections]
"Presidential Campaign Finance".
"Map: Campaign Ad Spending - Election Center 2008 from CNN.com". CNN.
"Map: Campaign Candidate Visits - Election Center 2008 from CNN.com". CNN.
"Rasmussen Reports: The Most Comprehensive Public Opinion Site.".
"Official General Election Results". The Green Papers.
[http://www.lataxpayers.com/ Louisiana Taxpayers]
"Electoral College". [[California Secretary of State]].
"Archived copy".
(July 2016)

Info: Wikipedia Source

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