# 2008 United States presidential election in Mississippi

"none" is preferred when the title is already sufficiently detailed; see [[WP:SDNONE]]
Elections in Mississippi :
Federal government
U.S. President
1820
1824
1828
1832
1836
1840
1844
1848
1852
1856
1860
1872
1876
1880
1884
1888
1892
1896
1900
1904
1908
1912
1916
1920
1924
1928
1932
1936
1940
1944
1948
1952
1956
1960
1964
1968
1972
1976
1980
1984
1988
1992
1996
2000
Dem
2004
2008
Dem
Rep
2012
Dem
Rep
2016
Dem
Rep
2020
Dem
Rep
2024
Dem
Rep
U.S. Senate
1817
1820
1820 sp
1823
1823
1826 sp
1828
1830 sp
1833 sp
1835
1838
1839 sp
1841
1844
1846 sp
1848 sp
1850
1852 sp
1852 sp
1854 sp
1859
1870
1874
1874 sp
1876
1880
1883
1886
1886 sp
1889
1892
1894 sp
1899
1900
1900 sp
1904
1906
1908
1910 sp
1912
1916
1918
1922
1924
1928
1930
1934
1936
1940
1941 sp
1942
1946
1947 sp
1948
1952
1954
1958
1960
1964
1966
1970
1972
1976
1978
1982
1984
1988
1990
1994
1996
2000
2002
2006
2008
2008 sp
2012
2014
2018
2018 sp
2020
2024
2026
U.S. House
1801
1802
(Terr sp)
1806
1817
1819
1820
1822
1824
1826
At-large sp
1828
At-large sp
1830
1832
1835
1837
1839
1841
1843
1845
1847
1849
1851
1853
1855
1857
1858
5th sp
1859
1865
1868
1869
1872
1874
1876
1878
1880
1882
1884
1886
1888
1890
1892
1894
1896
1898
1900
1902
1904
1906
1908
1910
1912
1914
1916
1920
1924
1928
1932
1934
1940
1942
1946
1950
1956
1962
1968
3rd sp
1972
1980
1981
4th sp
1982
1984
1986
1988
1989
5th sp
1990
1992
1994
1996
1998
2004
2006
2008
1st sp
2010
2012
2014
2015
1st sp
2016
2018
2020
2022
2024 :
State government
State elections
2003
2007
2011
2015
2019
2020
2023
Gubernatorial elections
1817
1819
1821
1823
1825
1827
1829
1831
1833
1835
1837
1839
1841
1843
1845
1847
1849
1851
1853
1855
1857
1859
1861
1863
1865
1869
1873
1877
1881
1885
1889
1895
1899
1903
1907
1911
1915
1919
1923
1927
1931
1935
1939
1943
1947
1951
1955
1959
1963
1967
1971
1975
1979
1983
1987
1991
1995
1999
2003
2007
2011
2015
2019
2023
2027
State Senate elections
2011
2015
2019
2023
House of Representatives elections
2011
2015
2019
2023
Attorney General elections
2003
2007
2011
2015
2019
2023 :
Ballot measures
2001
Flag referendum
2004
Amendment 1
2020
Initiative 65
Measure 3 :
City of Jackson
Mayoral elections
2005
2009
2013
2014
2017
2021
2025 :
Gulfport
Mayoral elections
2005
2009
2013
2017
2021
2025 :
Southaven
Mayoral elections
2005
2009
2013
2017
2021
2025 :
Biloxi
Mayoral elections
2005
2009
2013
2017
2021
2025 :
Hattiesburg
Mayoral elections
2005
2009
2013
2017
2021
2025 :
Meridian
Mayoral elections
2025 :
Madison
Mayoral elections
2025 :
Philadelphia
Mayoral elections
2025 :
vte :
The 2008 United States presidential election in Mississippi took place on November 4, 2008, and was part of the 2008 United States presidential election. Voters chose 6 representatives, or electors to the Electoral College, who voted for president and vice president.
Mississippi was won by Republican nominee John McCain with a 13.17% margin of victory. Prior to the election, all 17 news organizations considered this a state McCain would win, or otherwise a red state. Although the state has the largest African American percentage in the country, Mississippi remains a safe red state at the presidential level, having voted Republican every election year since 1980. While there was comparably high African American turnout compared to previous elections in Mississippi and Obama performed significantly better than Kerry in 2004, it was not enough to overcome the state's strong Republican leanings.

## Primaries

* Mississippi Democratic primary, 2008
* Mississippi Republican primary, 2008

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

### Polling

McCain won every single pre-election poll, each with at least 50% of the vote with the exception of the one of them. The final 3 polls average gave the Republican a lead of 51% to 39%.

### Fundraising

John McCain raised a total of $1,386,749 in the state. Barack Obama raised $768,981.

### Advertising and visits

Obama spent $238,401. McCain and his interest groups spent $139,999. The McCain ticket visited three times. Obama's ticket visited the state once.

## Analysis

Mississippi is one of the most racially polarized states in presidential elections. African Americans uniformly vote Democratic while Whites vote Republican nearly as uniformly. In 2004, 14% of Caucasians voted for John Kerry and 10% of African Americans voted for Bush, according to exit polling.
White Democrats began splitting their tickets in national elections as early as the 1940s when the national party became more friendly to the Civil Rights Movement, culminating when Barry Goldwater carried the state with a staggering 87 percent of the vote in 1964. The Republican trend accelerated in the late 1970s with the rise of the religious right, which appealed to its status as a Bible Belt state. The last Democratic presidential nominee to win Mississippi was Jimmy Carter in 1976, even then, he only won it by 1.9 points. Due to its status as a safe red state, little campaigning took place in Mississippi by either of the two major party candidates. Indeed, the state was last seriously contested in 1980.
In 2008, Barack Obama was able to improve on Kerry's performance by six percent, mainly due to the higher African American turnout. Obama's main support was in the western delta counties next to the Mississippi River. In contrast, McCain's margins came from the regions bordering the Gulf Coast, the northeast Appalachian area and the Jackson and Memphis suburbs. Voting became even more polarized: nine in ten Whites voted Republican, and nearly all African-Americans voted Democratic in Mississippi, according to exit polls. As expected, McCain carried Mississippi by a comfortable 13.17-point margin over Obama. McCain's margin of victory, however, was less than that of George W. Bush's 19.69-point margin of victory over John Kerry in 2004.
Mississippi was also the only state to list the official candidates of the Reform Party on their ballot.
At the same time, incumbent Republican U.S. Senator Thad Cochran was reelected with 61.44% of the vote over Democrat Erik Fleming who received 38.56%. Appointed U.S. Senator Roger Wicker stood for election as well in 2008 against former Democratic Governor Ronnie Musgrove. The race was expected to be much closer, but the Republicans ran ads accusing Musgrove of supporting gay rights, not a popular position in this strongly socially conservative state. Wicker defeated Musgrove by almost 10 points, 54.96%-45.04%.

## Results

2008 United States presidential election in Mississippi :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Running mate | Votes | Percentage | Electoral votes |
| | Republican | John McCain | Sarah Palin | 724,597 | 56.17% | 6 |
| | Democratic | Barack Obama | Joe Biden | 554,662 | 43.00% | 0 |
| | Independent | Ralph Nader | Matt Gonzalez | 4,011 | 0.31% | 0 |
| | Constitution | Chuck Baldwin | Darrell Castle | 2,551 | 0.20% | 0 |
| | Libertarian | Bob Barr | Wayne Allyn Root | 2,529 | 0.20% | 0 |
| | Green | Cynthia McKinney | Rosa Clemente | 1,034 | 0.08% | 0 |
| | Reform | Ted Weill | Frank McEnulty | 481 | 0.04% | 0 |
| | Write-ins | Write-ins | | 74 | 0.01% | 0 |
| Totals | Totals | Totals | Totals | 1,289,939 | 100.00% | 6 |
| Voter turnout (Voting age population) | Voter turnout (Voting age population) | Voter turnout (Voting age population) | Voter turnout (Voting age population) | Voter turnout (Voting age population) | Voter turnout (Voting age population) | 61.2% |

### By county

| County | John McCain Republican | John McCain Republican | Barack Obama Democratic | Barack Obama Democratic | Various candidates Other parties | Various candidates Other parties | Margin | Margin | Total |
| County | # | % | # | % | # | % | # | % | Total |
| Adams | 6,566 | 41.83% | 9,021 | 57.47% | 109 | 0.70% | -2,455 | -15.64% | 15,696 |
| Alcorn | 10,805 | 71.17% | 4,130 | 27.20% | 247 | 1.63% | 6,675 | 43.97% | 15,182 |
| Amite | 4,245 | 55.49% | 3,348 | 43.76% | 57 | 0.75% | 897 | 11.73% | 7,650 |
| Attala | 5,273 | 57.42% | 3,849 | 41.91% | 61 | 0.67% | 1,424 | 15.51% | 9,183 |
| Benton | 2,329 | 50.22% | 2,227 | 48.02% | 82 | 1.78% | 102 | 2.20% | 4,638 |
| Bolivar | 4,891 | 31.80% | 10,334 | 67.19% | 156 | 1.01% | -5,443 | -35.39% | 15,381 |
| Calhoun | 4,467 | 63.51% | 2,522 | 35.85% | 45 | 0.64% | 1,945 | 27.66% | 7,034 |
| Carroll | 3,902 | 65.41% | 2,037 | 34.15% | 26 | 0.44% | 1,865 | 31.26% | 5,965 |
| Chickasaw | 4,395 | 48.52% | 4,588 | 50.65% | 75 | 0.82% | -193 | -2.13% | 9,058 |
| Choctaw | 2,624 | 63.57% | 1,459 | 35.34% | 45 | 1.09% | 1,165 | 28.23% | 4,128 |
| Claiborne | 748 | 13.72% | 4,682 | 85.86% | 23 | 0.42% | -3,934 | -72.14% | 5,453 |
| Clarke | 5,229 | 62.27% | 3,121 | 37.17% | 47 | 0.56% | 2,108 | 25.10% | 8,397 |
| Clay | 4,466 | 40.26% | 6,558 | 59.12% | 68 | 0.62% | -2,092 | -18.86% | 11,092 |
| Coahoma | 2,917 | 27.60% | 7,597 | 71.89% | 54 | 0.51% | -4,680 | -44.29% | 10,568 |
| Copiah | 6,701 | 46.21% | 7,710 | 53.17% | 91 | 0.62% | -1,009 | -6.96% | 14,502 |
| Covington | 5,523 | 58.38% | 3,852 | 40.71% | 86 | 0.91% | 1,671 | 17.67% | 9,461 |
| DeSoto | 44,222 | 68.75% | 19,627 | 30.51% | 474 | 0.74% | 24,595 | 38.24% | 64,323 |
| Forrest | 15,296 | 56.27% | 11,622 | 42.75% | 266 | 0.98% | 3,674 | 13.52% | 27,184 |
| Franklin | 2,909 | 62.09% | 1,733 | 36.99% | 43 | 0.92% | 1,176 | 25.10% | 4,685 |
| George | 7,700 | 82.49% | 1,532 | 16.41% | 103 | 1.30% | 6,168 | 66.08% | 9,335 |
| Greene | 4,361 | 75.33% | 1,366 | 23.60% | 62 | 1.07% | 2,995 | 51.73% | 5,789 |
| Grenada | 6,234 | 55.07% | 5,029 | 44.42% | 58 | 0.51% | 1,205 | 10.65% | 11,321 |
| Hancock | 13,020 | 76.34% | 3,768 | 22.09% | 268 | 1.57% | 9,252 | 54.25% | 17,056 |
| Harrison | 38,757 | 62.55% | 22,673 | 36.59% | 527 | 0.86% | 16,084 | 25.96% | 61,957 |
| Hinds | 32,949 | 30.26% | 75,401 | 69.24% | 552 | 0.50% | -42,452 | -38.98% | 108,902 |
| Holmes | 1,714 | 17.96% | 7,765 | 81.37% | 64 | 0.67% | -6,051 | -63.41% | 9,543 |
| Humphreys | 1,462 | 28.52% | 3,634 | 70.89% | 30 | 0.59% | -2,172 | -42.37% | 5,126 |
| Issaquena | 364 | 38.32% | 579 | 60.95% | 7 | 0.73% | -215 | -22.63% | 950 |
| Itawamba | 7,663 | 77.01% | 2,084 | 20.94% | 204 | 2.05% | 5,579 | 56.07% | 9,951 |
| Jackson | 35,993 | 66.29% | 17,781 | 32.75% | 522 | 0.96% | 18,212 | 33.54% | 54,296 |
| Jasper | 4,135 | 44.90% | 5,025 | 54.56% | 50 | 0.54% | -890 | -9.66% | 9,210 |
| Jefferson | 551 | 12.30% | 3,883 | 86.71% | 44 | 0.89% | -3,332 | -74.41% | 4,478 |
| Jefferson Davis | 2,871 | 38.96% | 4,454 | 60.43% | 45 | 0.61% | -1,583 | -21.47% | 7,370 |
| Jones | 20,157 | 68.86% | 8,846 | 30.22% | 270 | 0.92% | 11,311 | 38.64% | 29,273 |
| Kemper | 1,935 | 37.05% | 3,256 | 62.34% | 32 | 0.61% | -1,321 | -25.29% | 5,223 |
| Lafayette | 10,278 | 55.68% | 7,997 | 43.32% | 185 | 1.00% | 2,281 | 12.36% | 18,460 |
| Lamar | 18,497 | 77.36% | 5,159 | 21.58% | 254 | 1.06% | 13,338 | 55.78% | 23,910 |
| Lauderdale | 19,582 | 59.14% | 13,332 | 40.26% | 200 | 0.60% | 6,250 | 18.88% | 33,114 |
| Lawrence | 4,369 | 62.33% | 2,587 | 36.91% | 53 | 0.76% | 1,782 | 25.42% | 7,009 |
| Leake | 5,148 | 55.01% | 4,151 | 44.35% | 60 | 0.64% | 997 | 10.66% | 9,359 |
| Lee | 22,694 | 64.91% | 12,021 | 34.39% | 245 | 0.70% | 10,673 | 30.52% | 34,960 |
| Leflore | 4,105 | 31.38% | 8,914 | 68.14% | 62 | 0.48% | -4,809 | -36.76% | 13,081 |
| Lincoln | 10,781 | 65.73% | 5,505 | 33.56% | 116 | 0.71% | 5,276 | 32.17% | 16,402 |
| Lowndes | 13,994 | 50.95% | 13,209 | 48.09% | 262 | 0.96% | 785 | 2.86% | 27,465 |
| Madison | 27,203 | 57.55% | 19,831 | 41.95% | 235 | 0.50% | 7,372 | 15.60% | 47,269 |
| Marion | 8,513 | 65.43% | 4,422 | 33.99% | 75 | 0.58% | 4,091 | 31.44% | 13,010 |
| Marshall | 6,683 | 40.56% | 9,685 | 58.78% | 110 | 0.66% | -3,002 | -18.22% | 16,478 |
| Monroe | 10,184 | 58.21% | 7,169 | 40.98% | 143 | 0.81% | 3,015 | 17.23% | 17,496 |
| Montgomery | 3,071 | 53.76% | 2,609 | 45.68% | 32 | 0.56% | 462 | 8.08% | 5,712 |
| Neshoba | 8,209 | 72.00% | 3,114 | 27.31% | 79 | 0.69% | 5,095 | 44.69% | 11,402 |
| Newton | 6,579 | 66.76% | 3,218 | 32.65% | 58 | 0.59% | 3,361 | 34.11% | 9,855 |
| Noxubee | 1,525 | 23.14% | 5,030 | 76.34% | 34 | 0.52% | -3,505 | -53.20% | 6,589 |
| Oktibbeha | 9,320 | 49.60% | 9,326 | 49.63% | 146 | 0.77% | -6 | -0.03% | 18,792 |
| Panola | 7,620 | 46.42% | 8,690 | 52.94% | 106 | 0.64% | -1,070 | -6.52% | 16,416 |
| Pearl River | 17,881 | 79.67% | 4,320 | 19.25% | 242 | 1.08% | 13,561 | 60.42% | 22,443 |
| Perry | 4,067 | 71.80% | 1,533 | 27.07% | 64 | 1.13% | 2,534 | 44.73% | 5,664 |
| Pike | 8,651 | 47.91% | 9,276 | 51.38% | 128 | 0.71% | -625 | -3.47% | 18,055 |
| Pontotoc | 9,727 | 75.59% | 2,982 | 23.17% | 159 | 1.24% | 6,745 | 52.42% | 12,868 |
| Prentiss | 7,703 | 70.39% | 3,020 | 27.60% | 221 | 2.01% | 4,683 | 42.79% | 10,944 |
| Quitman | 1,334 | 32.01% | 2,803 | 67.25% | 31 | 0.74% | -1,469 | -35.24% | 4,168 |
| Rankin | 48,140 | 76.20% | 14,372 | 22.75% | 665 | 1.05% | 33,768 | 53.45% | 63,177 |
| Scott | 6,584 | 56.41% | 5,025 | 43.06% | 62 | 0.53% | 1,559 | 13.35% | 11,671 |
| Sharkey | 873 | 31.23% | 1,907 | 68.23% | 15 | 0.54% | -1,034 | -37.00% | 2,795 |
| Simpson | 7,641 | 60.59% | 4,817 | 38.20% | 152 | 1.21% | 2,824 | 22.39% | 12,610 |
| Smith | 6,265 | 75.44% | 1,968 | 23.70% | 72 | 0.86% | 4,297 | 51.74% | 8,305 |
| Stone | 5,149 | 71.06% | 1,996 | 27.55% | 101 | 1.39% | 3,153 | 43.51% | 7,246 |
| Sunflower | 3,245 | 28.99% | 7,838 | 70.03% | 110 | 0.98% | -4,593 | -41.04% | 11,193 |
| Tallahatchie | 2,786 | 40.13% | 4,105 | 59.12% | 52 | 0.75% | -1,319 | -18.99% | 6,943 |
| Tate | 7,678 | 60.09% | 5,003 | 39.15% | 97 | 0.76% | 2,675 | 20.94% | 12,778 |
| Tippah | 6,937 | 71.33% | 2,623 | 26.97% | 165 | 1.70% | 4,314 | 44.36% | 9,725 |
| Tishomingo | 6,249 | 74.22% | 1,962 | 23.30% | 208 | 2.48% | 4,287 | 50.92% | 8,419 |
| Tunica | 1,017 | 23.48% | 3,279 | 75.69% | 36 | 0.83% | -2,262 | -52.21% | 4,332 |
| Union | 9,072 | 74.39% | 2,985 | 24.48% | 138 | 1.13% | 6,087 | 49.91% | 12,195 |
| Walthall | 4,253 | 54.67% | 3,456 | 44.42% | 71 | 0.91% | 797 | 10.25% | 7,780 |
| Warren | 11,152 | 51.24% | 10,489 | 48.19% | 123 | 0.57% | 663 | 3.05% | 21,764 |
| Washington | 6,347 | 32.41% | 13,148 | 67.14% | 88 | 0.45% | -6,801 | -34.73% | 19,583 |
| Wayne | 6,070 | 60.57% | 3,890 | 38.81% | 62 | 0.62% | 2,180 | 21.76% | 10,022 |
| Webster | 4,072 | 74.62% | 1,349 | 24.72% | 36 | 0.66% | 2,723 | 49.90% | 5,457 |
| Wilkinson | 1,560 | 30.36% | 3,534 | 68.77% | 45 | 0.87% | -1,974 | -38.41% | 5,139 |
| Winston | 5,497 | 53.78% | 4,653 | 45.52% | 71 | 0.70% | 844 | 8.26% | 10,221 |
| Yalobusha | 3,628 | 53.15% | 3,151 | 46.16% | 47 | 0.69% | 477 | 6.99% | 6,826 |
| Yazoo | 5,290 | 46.09% | 6,116 | 53.29% | 71 | 0.62% | -826 | -7.20% | 11,477 |
| Totals | 724,597 | 56.17% | 554,662 | 43.00% | 10,680 | 0.83% | 169,935 | 13.17% | 1,289,939 |

#### Counties that flipped from Democratic to Republican

* Benton (largest municipality: Ashland)

#### Counties that flipped from Republican to Democratic

* Chickasaw (largest municipality: Okolona)
* Copiah (largest municipality: Hazlehurst)
* Oktibbeha (largest municipality: Starkville)
* Panola (largest municipality: Sardis)
* Pike (largest municipality: Magnolia)
* Yazoo (largest municipality: Yazoo City)

### By congressional district

John McCain carried three of the state's four congressional districts, including two districts held by Democrats.
| District | McCain | Obama | Representative |
| 1st | 61.28% | 37.74% | Roger Wicker (110th Congress) |
| 1st | 61.28% | 37.74% | Travis Childers (111th Congress) |
| 2nd | 33.57% | 65.86% | Bennie Thompson |
| 3rd | 61.08% | 38.17% | Chip Pickering (110th Congress) |
| 3rd | 61.08% | 38.17% | Gregg Harper (111th Congress) |
| 4th | 67.27% | 31.76% | Gene Taylor |

## Electors

Technically the voters of Mississippi cast their ballots for electors: representatives to the Electoral College. Mississippi 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. 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:
* Jim Barksdale
* Barry Bridgforth
* Fred Carl
* Bobby Chain
* Charles Doty
* Victor Mavar