South Dakota was won by Republican nominee John McCain by an 8.4 point margin of victory. Prior to the election, 16 of 17 news organizations considered this a state McCain would win, or otherwise considered as a red state. Like the other states located in the Great Plains region, South Dakota is a predominantly rural and sparsely populated state with conservative voting tendencies which favors the Republicans, who dominate elections at the state and federal level. Although South Dakota stayed in the GOP column in 2008 as Republican John McCain carried the state with 53.16% of the popular vote, Obama greatly improved upon John Kerry's performance from four years earlier. As of the 2020 presidential election[update], this is the last time a Democrat won more than 40% of the vote in South Dakota, the last time the victory margin was within single digits and the last time in which Brown County, Lake County, Miner County, Minnehaha County, Moody County, and Brookings County voted for a Democratic presidential candidate.[1]
McCain won two pre-election polls, and never polled less than 47%. The highest Obama ever polled was 50%; the final poll showed McCain leading 50% to 42%.[15]
Fundraising
John McCain raised a total of $287,533 in the state. Barack Obama raised $337,053.
Advertising and visits
Obama and his interest groups spent $639,435. McCain and his interest groups spent just $1,531.[16] Obama did not visit the state, while McCain visited once, going to Sturgis.[17]
Analysis
South Dakota, a predominantly Republican state, has not voted for a Democratic presidential nominee since Lyndon B. Johnson won the state in the landslide election of 1964. A sparsely populated state whose population largely tends towards a rural and conservative lifestyle, the state has been won handily by the Republicans in every election since then.
McCain was able to keep South Dakota in the GOP column in 2008, taking in 53.16% of the total statewide vote over Obama who received 44.75%, an 8.41-percent margin of victory. This margin of victory was considerably smaller compared to 2004 when George W. Bush carried South Dakota with 59.91% of the vote over John Kerry who received 38.44%, a 21.47% margin of victory, resulting in a 13.06% swing to the Democrats in 2008.
While McCain did well throughout the state, his main strength was in Western South Dakota, where he often won by landslide margins.[18] He was able to carry Pennington County, which contains the state's second largest city of Rapid City. In contrast, Obama ran best in Eastern South Dakota, losing most counties by fairly close margins. He also did well among Native Americans; in Western South Dakota, the only counties Obama won were majority Native American.
Obama was able to substantially improve upon John Kerry's showing in South Dakota in 2004 by a number of factors. First, it helped that South Dakota received media attention during the course of the 2008 Democratic Primary, being the last state to vote in the historic and contentious primary that gave Hillary Rodham Clinton an 11-point victory over Obama; it was Clinton's last victory in the primary. In the general election, Obama was able to cut the margin significantly by narrowly carrying Minnehaha County, which contains the state's largest city of Sioux Falls. He was also able to win Brown County, which contains Aberdeen, as well as Brookings County which contains Brookings, home of South Dakota State University. He did much better than Kerry in Eastern South Dakota, which is where most of the people live, but McCain's margins throughout the state were too large to overcome.
South Dakota has only one congressional district because of its small population compared to other states. This district, called the At-Large district because it covers the entire state, is equivalent to the statewide election results.
Technically the voters of South Dakota cast their ballots for electors, representatives to the Electoral College. The state is allocated three electors because it has one congressional district and 2 senators. All candidates who appear on the ballot or qualify to receive write-in votes must submit a list of three electors, who pledge to vote for their candidate and the candidate's running mate. In the state's First Past the Post (plurality voting) system, the winner of a plurality of votes in the state is awarded all three 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 capitals.
The following were the members of the Electoral College from the state. All 3 were pledged to John McCain and Sarah Palin:[21]
^"U. S. Electoral College 2008 Election - Certificates". Archives.gov. Retrieved 2015-05-04.
August 23, 2023
2008, united, states, presidential, election, south, dakota, main, article, 2008, united, states, presidential, election, took, place, november, 2008, part, 2008, united, states, presidential, election, voters, chose, three, representatives, electors, electora. Main article 2008 United States presidential election The 2008 United States presidential election in South Dakota took place on November 4 2008 and was part of the 2008 United States presidential election Voters chose three representatives or electors to the Electoral College who voted for president and vice president 2008 United States presidential election in South Dakota 2004 November 4 2008 2012 Nominee John McCain Barack ObamaParty Republican DemocraticHome state Arizona IllinoisRunning mate Sarah Palin Joe BidenElectoral vote 3 0Popular vote 203 054 170 924Percentage 53 16 44 75 County Results McCain 40 50 50 60 60 70 70 80 80 90 Obama 40 50 50 60 60 70 70 80 80 90 President before electionGeorge W BushRepublican Elected President Barack ObamaDemocraticSouth Dakota was won by Republican nominee John McCain by an 8 4 point margin of victory Prior to the election 16 of 17 news organizations considered this a state McCain would win or otherwise considered as a red state Like the other states located in the Great Plains region South Dakota is a predominantly rural and sparsely populated state with conservative voting tendencies which favors the Republicans who dominate elections at the state and federal level Although South Dakota stayed in the GOP column in 2008 as Republican John McCain carried the state with 53 16 of the popular vote Obama greatly improved upon John Kerry s performance from four years earlier As of the 2020 presidential election update this is the last time a Democrat won more than 40 of the vote in South Dakota the last time the victory margin was within single digits and the last time in which Brown County Lake County Miner County Minnehaha County Moody County and Brookings County voted for a Democratic presidential candidate 1 Contents 1 Primaries 2 Campaign 2 1 Predictions 2 2 Polling 2 3 Fundraising 2 4 Advertising and visits 3 Analysis 4 Results 4 1 Results by county 4 1 1 Counties that flipped from Republican to Democratic 4 2 By congressional district 5 Electors 6 See also 7 ReferencesPrimaries Edit2008 South Dakota Republican presidential primary 2008 South Dakota Democratic presidential primaryCampaign EditPredictions Edit There were 16 news organizations who made state by state predictions of the election Here are their last predictions before election day Source RankingD C Political Report 2 Likely RCook Political Report 3 Toss upThe Takeaway 4 Solid RElectoral vote com 5 Lean RWashington Post 6 Lean RPolitico 7 Solid RRealClearPolitics 8 Lean RFiveThirtyEight 6 Solid RCQ Politics 9 Safe RThe New York Times 10 Solid RCNN 11 Safe RNPR 6 Solid RMSNBC 6 Lean RFox News 12 Likely RAssociated Press 13 Likely RRasmussen Reports 14 Safe RPolling Edit Main article Statewide opinion polling for the 2008 United States presidential election South Dakota McCain won two pre election polls and never polled less than 47 The highest Obama ever polled was 50 the final poll showed McCain leading 50 to 42 15 Fundraising Edit John McCain raised a total of 287 533 in the state Barack Obama raised 337 053 Advertising and visits Edit Obama and his interest groups spent 639 435 McCain and his interest groups spent just 1 531 16 Obama did not visit the state while McCain visited once going to Sturgis 17 Analysis EditSouth Dakota a predominantly Republican state has not voted for a Democratic presidential nominee since Lyndon B Johnson won the state in the landslide election of 1964 A sparsely populated state whose population largely tends towards a rural and conservative lifestyle the state has been won handily by the Republicans in every election since then McCain was able to keep South Dakota in the GOP column in 2008 taking in 53 16 of the total statewide vote over Obama who received 44 75 an 8 41 percent margin of victory This margin of victory was considerably smaller compared to 2004 when George W Bush carried South Dakota with 59 91 of the vote over John Kerry who received 38 44 a 21 47 margin of victory resulting in a 13 06 swing to the Democrats in 2008 While McCain did well throughout the state his main strength was in Western South Dakota where he often won by landslide margins 18 He was able to carry Pennington County which contains the state s second largest city of Rapid City In contrast Obama ran best in Eastern South Dakota losing most counties by fairly close margins He also did well among Native Americans in Western South Dakota the only counties Obama won were majority Native American Obama was able to substantially improve upon John Kerry s showing in South Dakota in 2004 by a number of factors First it helped that South Dakota received media attention during the course of the 2008 Democratic Primary being the last state to vote in the historic and contentious primary that gave Hillary Rodham Clinton an 11 point victory over Obama it was Clinton s last victory in the primary In the general election Obama was able to cut the margin significantly by narrowly carrying Minnehaha County which contains the state s largest city of Sioux Falls He was also able to win Brown County which contains Aberdeen as well as Brookings County which contains Brookings home of South Dakota State University He did much better than Kerry in Eastern South Dakota which is where most of the people live but McCain s margins throughout the state were too large to overcome During the same election incumbent Democratic U S Senator Tim Johnson was soundly reelected over Republican State Senator Jim Dykstra by a two to one margin receiving 62 49 of the vote to Dykstra s 37 51 At the state level Democrats made gains in the South Dakota Legislature picking up four seats in the South Dakota House of Representatives Results Edit2008 United States presidential election in South DakotaParty Candidate Running mate Votes Percentage Electoral votesRepublican John McCain Sarah Palin 203 054 53 16 3Democratic Barack Obama Joe Biden 170 924 44 75 0Independent Ralph Nader Matt Gonzalez 4 267 1 12 0Constitution Chuck Baldwin Darrell Castle 1 895 0 50 0Independent Bob Barr Wayne Allyn Root 1 835 0 48 0Totals 381 975 100 00 3Voter turnout Voting age population 64 7 Results by county Edit County 19 John McCainRepublican Barack ObamaDemocratic Ralph NaderIndependent Charles BaldwinConstitution Bob BarrIndependent Margin Total votes cast Aurora 794 53 11 655 43 81 27 1 81 5 0 33 14 0 94 139 9 30 1 495Beadle 4 054 52 55 3 493 45 28 84 1 09 39 0 51 44 0 57 561 7 27 7 714Bennett 614 50 83 557 46 11 19 1 57 11 0 91 7 0 58 57 4 72 1 208Bon Homme 1 712 53 92 1 367 43 06 59 1 86 21 0 66 16 0 50 345 10 86 3 175Brookings 6 431 46 12 7 207 51 68 156 1 12 68 0 49 83 0 60 776 5 56 13 945Brown 8 067 46 29 9 041 51 88 173 0 99 72 0 41 73 0 42 974 5 59 17 426Brule 1 407 57 69 965 39 57 33 1 35 16 0 66 18 0 74 442 18 12 2 439Buffalo 156 25 20 454 73 34 7 1 13 1 0 16 1 0 16 298 48 14 619Butte 2 821 66 28 1 306 30 69 51 1 20 45 1 06 33 0 78 1 515 35 59 4 256Campbell 591 69 20 243 28 45 10 1 17 8 0 94 2 0 23 348 40 75 854Charles Mix 2 109 53 02 1 807 45 42 41 1 03 8 0 20 13 0 33 302 7 60 3 978Clark 1 065 54 90 830 42 78 20 1 03 10 0 52 15 0 77 235 12 12 1 940Clay 2 296 36 78 3 808 61 01 83 1 33 19 0 30 36 0 58 1 512 24 23 6 242Codington 6 374 52 31 5 595 45 92 109 0 89 48 0 39 59 0 48 779 6 39 12 185Corson 535 38 05 837 59 53 16 1 14 9 0 64 9 0 64 302 21 48 1 406Custer 2 909 64 54 1 475 32 73 57 1 26 44 0 98 22 0 49 1 434 31 81 4 507Davison 4 731 55 96 3 554 42 03 90 1 06 41 0 48 39 0 46 1 177 13 93 8 455Day 1 372 42 81 1 785 55 69 27 0 84 11 0 34 10 0 31 413 12 88 3 205Deuel 1 088 49 05 1 054 47 52 40 1 80 23 1 04 13 0 59 34 1 53 2 218Dewey 659 32 64 1 328 65 78 14 0 69 13 0 64 5 0 25 669 33 14 2 019Douglas 1 293 73 63 424 24 15 21 1 20 9 0 51 9 0 51 869 49 48 1 756Edmunds 1 213 58 43 819 39 45 23 1 11 12 0 58 9 0 43 394 18 98 2 076Fall River 2 348 61 64 1 338 35 13 54 1 42 43 1 13 26 0 68 1 010 26 51 3 809Faulk 739 62 00 426 35 74 18 1 51 5 0 42 4 0 34 313 26 26 1 192Grant 1 951 50 94 1 786 46 63 56 1 46 16 0 42 21 0 55 165 4 31 3 830Gregory 1 423 63 33 771 34 31 29 1 29 11 0 49 13 0 58 652 29 02 2 247Haakon 939 81 44 187 16 22 12 1 04 8 0 69 7 0 61 752 65 22 1 153Hamlin 1 661 59 60 1 043 37 42 50 1 79 22 0 79 11 0 39 618 22 18 2 787Hand 1 247 62 01 718 35 70 30 1 49 8 0 40 8 0 40 529 26 31 2 011Hanson 1 426 58 66 961 39 53 17 0 70 16 0 66 11 0 45 465 19 13 2 431Harding 575 78 34 135 18 39 12 1 63 7 0 95 5 0 68 440 59 95 734Hughes 5 298 62 56 3 037 35 86 82 0 97 20 0 24 31 0 37 2 261 26 70 8 468Hutchinson 2 285 63 33 1 242 34 42 47 1 30 21 0 58 13 0 36 1 043 28 91 3 608Hyde 547 69 68 226 28 79 9 1 15 1 0 13 2 0 25 321 40 89 785Jackson 668 58 96 435 38 39 15 1 32 9 0 79 6 0 53 233 20 57 1 133Jerauld 546 49 41 542 49 05 13 1 18 4 0 36 0 0 00 4 0 36 1 105Jones 463 73 84 147 23 44 9 1 44 1 0 16 7 1 12 316 50 40 627Kingsbury 1 435 51 54 1 277 45 87 45 1 62 10 0 36 17 0 61 158 5 67 2 784Lake 2 993 48 61 3 033 49 26 81 1 32 25 0 41 25 0 41 40 0 65 6 157Lawrence 6 787 56 30 4 932 40 91 179 1 48 72 0 60 85 0 71 1 855 15 39 12 055Lincoln 11 803 56 84 8 642 41 61 166 0 80 64 0 31 92 0 44 3 161 15 23 20 767Lyman 894 54 48 710 43 27 18 1 10 12 0 73 7 0 43 184 11 21 1 641Marshall 900 41 08 1 261 57 55 14 0 64 6 0 27 10 0 46 361 16 47 2 191McCook 1 646 55 89 1 219 41 39 40 1 36 26 0 88 14 0 48 427 14 50 2 945McPherson 915 66 55 441 32 07 11 0 80 5 0 36 3 0 22 474 34 48 1 375Meade 7 515 64 75 3 751 32 32 141 1 21 119 1 03 80 0 69 3 764 32 43 11 606Mellette 445 52 79 373 44 25 14 1 66 8 0 95 3 0 36 72 8 54 843Miner 577 47 37 605 49 67 20 1 64 11 0 90 5 0 41 28 2 30 1 218Minnehaha 39 251 48 73 39 838 49 46 754 0 94 381 0 47 328 0 41 587 0 73 80 552Moody 1 508 46 34 1 663 51 11 51 1 57 12 0 37 20 0 61 155 4 77 3 254Pennington 27 603 59 64 17 802 38 47 493 1 07 162 0 35 220 0 48 9 801 21 17 46 280Perkins 1 102 65 36 499 29 60 30 1 78 38 2 25 17 1 01 603 35 76 1 686Potter 937 65 07 482 33 47 6 0 42 13 0 90 2 0 14 455 31 60 1 440Roberts 1 781 39 26 2 672 58 91 52 1 15 16 0 35 15 0 33 891 19 65 4 536Sanborn 669 55 43 500 41 43 26 2 15 7 0 58 5 0 41 169 14 00 1 207Shannon 331 9 88 2 971 88 69 36 1 07 8 0 24 4 0 12 2 640 78 81 3 350Spink 1 660 50 78 1 550 47 42 30 0 92 13 0 40 16 0 49 110 3 36 3 269Stanley 1 017 65 49 510 32 84 13 0 84 5 0 32 8 0 52 507 32 65 1 553Sully 581 69 75 233 27 97 10 1 20 7 0 84 2 0 24 348 41 78 833Todd 571 20 19 2 208 78 08 21 0 74 17 0 60 11 0 39 1 637 57 89 2 828Tripp 1 859 65 48 914 32 19 30 1 06 20 0 70 16 0 56 945 33 29 2 839Turner 2 538 58 32 1 681 38 63 86 1 98 31 0 71 16 0 37 857 19 69 4 352Union 4 310 55 97 3 244 42 12 81 1 05 24 0 31 42 0 55 1 066 13 85 7 701Walworth 1 668 62 94 923 34 83 30 1 13 20 0 75 9 0 34 745 28 11 2 650Yankton 5 039 49 72 4 838 47 74 167 1 65 34 0 34 56 0 55 201 1 98 10 134Ziebach 312 35 02 554 62 18 9 1 01 8 0 90 8 0 90 242 27 16 891Totals 203 054 53 16 170 924 44 75 4 267 1 12 1 895 0 50 1 835 0 48 32 130 8 41 381 975 County Flips Democratic Hold Gain from Republican Republican HoldCounties that flipped from Republican to Democratic Edit Brookings largest city Brookings Brown largest city Aberdeen Lake largest city Madison Marshall largest city Britton Miner largest city Howard Minnehaha largest city Sioux Falls Moody largest city Flandreau By congressional district Edit South Dakota has only one congressional district because of its small population compared to other states This district called the At Large district because it covers the entire state is equivalent to the statewide election results District McCain Obama RepresentativeAt large 53 2 44 8 Stephanie Herseth SandlinElectors EditMain article List of 2008 United States presidential electors Technically the voters of South Dakota cast their ballots for electors representatives to the Electoral College The state is allocated three electors because it has one congressional district and 2 senators All candidates who appear on the ballot or qualify to receive write in votes must submit a list of three electors who pledge to vote for their candidate and the candidate s running mate In the state s First Past the Post plurality voting system the winner of a plurality of votes in the state is awarded all three 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 capitals The following were the members of the Electoral College from the state All 3 were pledged to John McCain and Sarah Palin 21 Mike Rounds Dennis Daugaard Larry LongSee also EditPresidency of Barack Obama United States presidential elections in South DakotaReferences Edit Sullivan Robert David How the Red and Blue Map Evolved Over the Past Century America Magazine in The National Catholic Review June 29 2016 D C s Political Report The complete source for campaign summaries 2009 01 01 Archived from the original on 2009 01 01 Retrieved 2021 08 23 Presidential 2015 05 05 Archived from the original on 2015 05 05 Retrieved 2021 08 23 Vote 2008 The Takeaway Track the Electoral College vote predictions 2009 04 22 Archived from the original on 2009 04 22 Retrieved 2021 08 23 Electoral vote com President Senate House Updated Daily electoral vote com Retrieved 2021 08 23 a b c d Based on Takeaway POLITICO s 2008 Swing State Map POLITICO com www politico com Retrieved 2016 09 22 RealClearPolitics Electoral Map Archived from the original on 2008 06 05 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 2008 11 04 The Electoral Map Key States The New York Times Retrieved May 26 2010 October 2008 CNN Political Ticker CNN com Blogs CNN 2008 10 31 Archived from the original on 2010 06 19 Retrieved May 26 2010 Winning The Electoral College Fox News April 27 2010 roadto270 hosted ap org Retrieved 2016 09 22 Election 2008 Electoral College Update Rasmussen Reports www rasmussenreports com Retrieved 2016 09 22 1 Archived November 28 2008 at the Wayback Machine 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 Election Results 2008 New York Times Archived from the original on November 3 2004 Retrieved 2009 05 17 Our Campaigns SD US Presidential Election Race November 04 2008 Electoral College California Secretary of State Archived from the original on October 30 2008 Retrieved 2008 11 01 U S Electoral College 2008 Election Certificates Archives gov Retrieved 2015 05 04 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title 2008 United States presidential election in South Dakota amp oldid 1167475429, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
