# 2008 United States presidential election in Arkansas

"none" is preferred when the title is already sufficiently detailed; see [[WP:SDNONE]]
Elections in Arkansas :
Federal government
Presidential elections
1836
1840
1844
1848
1852
1856
1860
1868
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
2004
2008
2012
2016
2020
2024
Presidential primaries
Democratic
2000
2004
2008
2012
2016
2020
2024
Republican
2004
2008
2012
2016
2020
2024
U.S. Senate elections
1836
1837
1840
1843
1844 sp
1846
1848
1848 sp
1853
1855
1859
1868
1870
1876
1877
1878
1883
1885
1885 sp
1889
1891
1895
1897
1901
1903
1906
1907
1909
1913
1913 sp
1914
1916 sp
1918
1920
1924
1926
1930
1932
1932 sp
1936
1937 sp
1938
1942
1944
1948
1950
1954
1956
1960
1962
1966
1968
1972
1974
1978
1980
1984
1986
1990
1992
1996
1998
2002
2004
2008
2010
2014
2016
2020
2022
2026
2028
U.S. House of Representatives elections
1836
1837
1838
1840
1842
1844
1846
1847
AL sp
1848
1851
1852
1853
1854
1856
1858
1860
1868
1870
1872
1874
1876
1878
1880
1882
1884
1885
3rd sp
1886
1888
1890
1892
1894
2nd sp
1896
1898
1900
1902
1904
1906
1908
1910
1912
1913
6th sp
1914
1916
1918
1920
1921
6th sp
1922
1923
6th sp
1924
1926
1928
1930
4th sp
1932
1933
5th sp
1934
1936
1938
1939
4th sp
1940
1942
1944
1946
1948
1950
1952
1954
1956
1958
1960
1961
6th sp
1962
1964
1966
4th sp
1968
1970
1972
1974
1976
1978
1980
1982
1984
1986
1988
1990
1992
1994
1996
1998
2000
2001
3rd sp
2002
2004
2006
2008
2010
2012
2014
2016
2018
2020
2022
2024 :
State government
State elections
2006
2008
2010
2012
2014
2016
2018
2020
2022
2024
Gubernatorial elections
1836
1840
1844
1848
1849 sp
1852
1856
1860
1862 (C)
1864 (U)
1868
1872
1874
1876
1878
1880
1882
1884
1886
1888
1890
1892
1894
1896
1898
1900
1902
1904
1906
1908
1910
1912
1913 sp
1914
1916
1918
1920
1922
1924
1926
1928
1930
1932
1934
1936
1938
1940
1942
1944
1946
1948
1950
1952
1954
1956
1958
1960
1962
1964
1966
1968
1970
1972
1974
1976
1978
1980
1982
1984
1986
1990
1994
1998
2002
2006
2010
2014
2018
2022
2026
Lieutenant gubernatorial elections
2022
Secretary of State elections
2022
Attorney General elections
2022
Treasurer elections
2022
2024 (special)
Senate elections
2010
2012
2014
2016
2018
2020
2022
2024
House of Representatives elections
2010
2012
2014
2016
2018
2020
2022
2024 :
Ballot measures
1990
Amendment 3
2004
Amendment 3
2008
Act 1
2012
Issue 1
2018
Issue 5 :
Little Rock
Mayoral elections
1994
1998
2002
2006
2010
2014
2018
2022 :
Fayetteville
Mayoral elections
1996
2000
2004
2008
2012
2016
2020
2024 :
Fort Smith
Mayoral elections
1994
1998
2002
2006
2010
2014
2018
2022 :
Springdale
Mayoral elections
1996
2000
2004
2008
2012
2016
2020
2024 :
Jonesboro
Mayoral elections
1996
2000
2004
2008
2012
2016
2020
2024 :
Rogers
Mayoral elections
1996
2000
2004
2008
2012
2016
2020
2024 :
Conway
Mayoral elections
1996
2000
2004
2008
2012
2016
2020
2024 :
vte :
The 2008 United States presidential election in Arkansas took place on November 4, 2008, and was part of the 2008 United States presidential election. State voters chose six representatives, or electors to the Electoral College, who voted for president and vice president.
Arkansas was won by Republican John McCain by a 19.86% margin of victory, a much greater margin than George W. Bush attained in 2004, despite a large national Democratic trend. Prior to the election, all 17 news organizations considered this a state McCain would win, or otherwise a red state. The state trended dramatically Republican in 2008, as McCain received over 4% more of the statewide popular vote than Bush earned in 2004 and more than doubled his margin of victory. Only five counties swung more Democratic in 2008, and the vast majority of counties swung heavily Republican, some by as much as 30%. Of the ten counties with the largest percentage swing to the Republicans in the U.S. during this election, six of them were located in Arkansas.
Obama became the first Democrat to ever win the White House without carrying Arkansas. Since 1996, Arkansas has rapidly transformed from a Democratic stronghold into one of the most Republican states in the nation. It was also one of the six states where neither Obama nor McCain won during the primary season, and the strongest of five states that swung rightward in this election, the others being Oklahoma, Louisiana, Tennessee, and West Virginia.
Despite McCain's landslide victory in the state's presidential race, Democratic Senator Mark Pryor easily won re-election on the same ballot, in which he did not face Republican opposition. This was the first time Arkansas voted for a losing presidential candidate since 1968.

## Primaries

* 2008 Arkansas Democratic presidential primary
* 2008 Arkansas Republican 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:
| Source | Ranking |
| D.C. Political Report | Likely R |
| Cook Political Report | Solid R |
| The Takeaway | Lean R |
| Electoral-vote.com | Lean R |
| Washington Post | Lean R |
| Politico | Solid R |
| RealClearPolitics | Lean R |
| FiveThirtyEight | Solid R |
| CQ Politics | Solid R |
| The New York Times | Solid R |
| CNN | Lean R |
| NPR | Solid R |
| MSNBC | Solid R |
| Fox News | Likely R |
| Associated Press | Likely R |
| Rasmussen Reports | Safe R |

### Polling

John McCain won every single opinion poll taken in Arkansas prior to the election, with leads ranging from 7% to 29%. Although, McCain polled just in the low 50% range. RealClearPolitics gave the state an average of 52.3% for McCain, compared to 38.8% for Obama. The margin of victory on election day was more than double of the RCP average. The state was not seriously contested by either campaign.

### Fundraising

Obama raised $1,004,783. McCain raised $934,884. Both candidates raised the most in Pulaski County.

### Advertising and visits

Obama spent over $110,350. McCain spent only $459. Neither candidate visited the state.

## Analysis

Although former President Bill Clinton, a Democrat, easily carried his home state of Arkansas in 1992 and 1996, the state was largely considered a safe state for McCain. Early polls gave McCain a 9-point lead among possible voters on Election Day. Although the state was still strongly Democratic at the non-presidential levels, on Election Day, Arkansas voted for McCain by a margin of approximately 20%--ten points better than Bush's showing four years earlier. In this election, Arkansas voted 27.12% to the right of the nation at-large.
A handful of counties — some of which had not voted for the Republican presidential candidate since Richard Nixon won every county in 1972 — swung safely into the GOP column. The Delta county of Jackson, for example, swung from a 14.3-point victory for Democrat Kerry in 2004 to a 16.3-point victory for McCain in 2008. Possible factors suggested for such a large swing away from the Democrats was Obama's status as the first African American major-party nominee in a historically segregationist state still dominated by conservative whites, as well as the fact that Hillary Clinton, who once served as First Lady of Arkansas while her husband was Governor, did not receive the Democratic presidential nomination in 2008. The polls showed Clinton defeating McCain in Arkansas. Obama became the first Democrat in history to win the White House without carrying Arkansas.
During the same election, however, freshman Democratic U.S. Senator Mark Pryor faced no Republican opposition, and was reelected in a landslide victory over Rebekah Kennedy of the Green Party. The four members of the state's delegation to the U.S. House of Representatives (three Democrats and one Republican) were also reelected with no major-party opposition. Republicans, however, picked up three seats in the Arkansas House of Representatives and one Democratic state representative became a Green (he later returned to the Democratic Party in 2009).

## Results

2008 United States presidential election in Arkansas :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Running mate | Votes | Percentage | Electoral votes |
| | Republican | John McCain | Sarah Palin | 638,017 | 58.72% | 6 |
| | Democratic | Barack Obama | Joe Biden | 422,310 | 38.86% | 0 |
| | Independent | Ralph Nader | Matt Gonzalez | 12,882 | 1.19% | 0 |
| | Libertarian | Bob Barr | Wayne Allyn Root | 4,776 | 0.44% | 0 |
| | Constitution | Chuck Baldwin | Darrell Castle | 4,023 | 0.37% | 0 |
| | Green | Cynthia McKinney | Rosa Clemente | 3,470 | 0.32% | 0 |
| | Socialism and Liberation | Gloria La Riva | Eugene Puryear | 1,139 | 0.10% | 0 |
| Totals | Totals | Totals | Totals | 1,086,617 | 100.00% | 6 |
| Voter turnout | Voter turnout | Voter turnout | Voter turnout | Voter turnout | 64.52% |

### 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 |
| Arkansas | 4,185 | 59.97% | 2,619 | 37.53% | 174 | 2.49% | 1,566 | 22.44% | 6,978 |
| Ashley | 5,406 | 62.55% | 2,976 | 34.44% | 260 | 3.01% | 2,430 | 28.11% | 8,642 |
| Baxter | 12,852 | 64.32% | 6,539 | 32.73% | 590 | 2.95% | 6,313 | 31.59% | 19,981 |
| Benton | 51,124 | 67.20% | 23,331 | 30.67% | 1,618 | 2.13% | 27,793 | 36.53% | 76,073 |
| Boone | 10,575 | 68.34% | 4,435 | 28.66% | 464 | 3.00% | 6,140 | 39.68% | 15,474 |
| Bradley | 2,262 | 55.98% | 1,680 | 41.57% | 99 | 2.45% | 582 | 14.41% | 4,041 |
| Calhoun | 1,462 | 65.94% | 691 | 31.17% | 64 | 2.89% | 771 | 34.77% | 2,217 |
| Carroll | 6,083 | 57.50% | 4,172 | 39.44% | 324 | 3.06% | 1,911 | 18.06% | 10,579 |
| Chicot | 2,119 | 40.69% | 3,043 | 58.43% | 46 | 0.88% | -924 | -17.74% | 5,208 |
| Clark | 4,608 | 50.67% | 4,267 | 46.92% | 219 | 2.41% | 341 | 3.75% | 9,094 |
| Clay | 3,032 | 55.02% | 2,244 | 40.72% | 235 | 4.26% | 788 | 14.30% | 5,511 |
| Cleburne | 7,962 | 70.22% | 2,951 | 26.03% | 425 | 3.75% | 5,011 | 44.19% | 11,338 |
| Cleveland | 2,451 | 69.93% | 911 | 25.99% | 143 | 4.08% | 1,540 | 43.94% | 3,505 |
| Columbia | 5,861 | 61.32% | 3,554 | 37.18% | 143 | 1.50% | 2,307 | 24.14% | 9,558 |
| Conway | 4,691 | 57.64% | 3,149 | 38.70% | 298 | 3.66% | 1,542 | 18.94% | 8,138 |
| Craighead | 18,881 | 60.97% | 11,294 | 36.47% | 793 | 2.56% | 7,587 | 24.50% | 30,968 |
| Crawford | 14,688 | 71.54% | 5,238 | 25.51% | 606 | 2.95% | 9,450 | 46.03% | 20,532 |
| Crittenden | 7,650 | 41.91% | 10,330 | 56.59% | 275 | 1.51% | -2,680 | -14.68% | 18,255 |
| Cross | 4,393 | 61.61% | 2,580 | 36.19% | 157 | 2.20% | 1,813 | 25.42% | 7,130 |
| Dallas | 1,757 | 52.95% | 1,471 | 44.33% | 90 | 2.71% | 286 | 8.62% | 3,318 |
| Desha | 1,999 | 42.73% | 2,569 | 54.92% | 110 | 2.35% | -570 | -12.19% | 4,678 |
| Drew | 3,860 | 58.40% | 2,598 | 39.30% | 152 | 2.30% | 1,262 | 19.10% | 6,610 |
| Faulkner | 25,362 | 61.59% | 14,955 | 36.32% | 862 | 2.10% | 10,407 | 25.27% | 41,179 |
| Franklin | 4,411 | 68.12% | 1,869 | 28.86% | 195 | 3.01% | 2,542 | 39.26% | 6,475 |
| Fulton | 2,702 | 57.78% | 1,819 | 38.90% | 155 | 3.31% | 883 | 18.88% | 4,676 |
| Garland | 26,825 | 61.36% | 15,899 | 36.37% | 995 | 2.28% | 10,926 | 24.99% | 43,719 |
| Grant | 5,023 | 73.94% | 1,562 | 22.99% | 208 | 3.06% | 3,461 | 50.95% | 6,793 |
| Greene | 8,578 | 63.02% | 4,541 | 33.36% | 493 | 3.62% | 4,037 | 29.66% | 13,612 |
| Hempstead | 4,273 | 58.14% | 2,869 | 39.04% | 207 | 2.82% | 1,404 | 19.10% | 7,349 |
| Hot Spring | 7,209 | 60.30% | 4,288 | 35.87% | 458 | 3.83% | 2,921 | 24.43% | 11,955 |
| Howard | 2,957 | 61.02% | 1,746 | 36.03% | 143 | 2.95% | 1,211 | 24.99% | 4,846 |
| Independence | 8,255 | 67.12% | 3,688 | 29.99% | 356 | 2.89% | 4,567 | 37.13% | 12,299 |
| Izard | 3,193 | 61.19% | 1,792 | 34.34% | 233 | 4.47% | 1,401 | 26.85% | 5,218 |
| Jackson | 3,118 | 55.86% | 2,207 | 39.54% | 257 | 4.60% | 911 | 16.32% | 5,582 |
| Jefferson | 10,655 | 35.89% | 18,465 | 62.19% | 569 | 1.92% | -7,810 | -26.30% | 29,689 |
| Johnson | 4,922 | 60.17% | 3,034 | 37.09% | 224 | 2.74% | 1,888 | 23.08% | 8,180 |
| Lafayette | 1,685 | 58.06% | 1,133 | 39.04% | 84 | 2.89% | 552 | 19.02% | 2,902 |
| Lawrence | 3,357 | 57.58% | 2,138 | 36.67% | 335 | 5.75% | 1,219 | 20.91% | 5,830 |
| Lee | 1,454 | 38.64% | 2,263 | 60.14% | 46 | 1.22% | -809 | -21.50% | 3,763 |
| Lincoln | 2,513 | 57.04% | 1,710 | 38.81% | 183 | 4.15% | 803 | 18.23% | 4,406 |
| Little River | 3,247 | 63.02% | 1,753 | 34.03% | 152 | 2.95% | 1,494 | 28.99% | 5,152 |
| Logan | 5,350 | 67.66% | 2,286 | 28.91% | 271 | 3.43% | 3,064 | 38.75% | 7,907 |
| Lonoke | 17,242 | 72.63% | 5,968 | 25.14% | 531 | 2.24% | 11,274 | 47.49% | 23,741 |
| Madison | 3,972 | 62.77% | 2,144 | 33.88% | 212 | 3.35% | 1,828 | 28.89% | 6,328 |
| Marion | 4,524 | 63.17% | 2,384 | 33.29% | 254 | 3.55% | 2,140 | 29.88% | 7,162 |
| Miller | 9,913 | 65.81% | 4,869 | 32.32% | 281 | 1.87% | 5,044 | 33.49% | 15,063 |
| Mississippi | 6,976 | 49.79% | 6,667 | 47.59% | 367 | 2.62% | 309 | 2.20% | 14,010 |
| Monroe | 1,754 | 50.86% | 1,615 | 46.83% | 80 | 2.32% | 139 | 4.03% | 3,449 |
| Montgomery | 2,365 | 65.30% | 1,092 | 30.15% | 165 | 4.56% | 1,273 | 35.15% | 3,622 |
| Nevada | 2,062 | 56.73% | 1,474 | 40.55% | 99 | 2.72% | 588 | 16.18% | 3,635 |
| Newton | 2,588 | 65.35% | 1,182 | 29.85% | 190 | 4.80% | 1,406 | 35.50% | 3,960 |
| Ouachita | 5,427 | 54.49% | 4,346 | 43.63% | 187 | 1.88% | 1,081 | 10.86% | 9,960 |
| Perry | 2,743 | 64.10% | 1,352 | 31.60% | 184 | 4.30% | 1,391 | 32.50% | 4,279 |
| Phillips | 3,097 | 34.53% | 5,695 | 63.50% | 177 | 1.97% | -2,598 | -28.97% | 8,969 |
| Pike | 2,727 | 68.76% | 1,089 | 27.46% | 150 | 3.78% | 1,638 | 41.30% | 3,966 |
| Poinsett | 4,903 | 61.84% | 2,742 | 34.59% | 283 | 3.57% | 2,161 | 27.25% | 7,928 |
| Polk | 5,473 | 71.25% | 1,957 | 25.48% | 251 | 3.27% | 3,516 | 45.77% | 7,681 |
| Pope | 15,568 | 70.51% | 6,002 | 27.18% | 509 | 2.31% | 9,566 | 43.33% | 22,079 |
| Prairie | 2,223 | 65.75% | 1,048 | 31.00% | 110 | 3.25% | 1,175 | 34.75% | 3,381 |
| Pulaski | 70,212 | 43.52% | 88,854 | 55.07% | 2,277 | 1.41% | -18,642 | -11.55% | 161,343 |
| Randolph | 3,615 | 57.21% | 2,469 | 39.07% | 235 | 3.72% | 1,146 | 18.14% | 6,319 |
| St. Francis | 3,917 | 41.21% | 5,486 | 57.72% | 102 | 1.08% | -1,569 | -16.51% | 9,505 |
| Saline | 30,981 | 69.38% | 12,695 | 28.43% | 977 | 2.19% | 18,286 | 40.95% | 44,653 |
| Scott | 2,791 | 69.86% | 1,053 | 26.36% | 151 | 3.78% | 1,738 | 43.50% | 3,995 |
| Searcy | 2,726 | 70.86% | 961 | 24.98% | 160 | 4.16% | 1,765 | 45.88% | 3,847 |
| Sebastian | 28,637 | 66.27% | 13,673 | 31.64% | 902 | 2.09% | 14,964 | 34.63% | 43,212 |
| Sevier | 3,125 | 68.23% | 1,291 | 28.19% | 164 | 3.58% | 1,834 | 40.04% | 4,580 |
| Sharp | 4,535 | 62.53% | 2,436 | 33.59% | 281 | 3.87% | 2,099 | 28.94% | 7,252 |
| Stone | 3,534 | 66.38% | 1,598 | 30.02% | 192 | 3.61% | 1,936 | 36.36% | 5,324 |
| Union | 10,677 | 62.15% | 6,190 | 36.03% | 312 | 3.61% | 4,487 | 26.12% | 17,179 |
| Van Buren | 4,276 | 63.79% | 2,151 | 32.09% | 276 | 4.12% | 2,125 | 31.70% | 6,703 |
| Washington | 37,963 | 55.52% | 29,021 | 42.44% | 1,396 | 2.04% | 8,942 | 13.08% | 68,380 |
| White | 19,467 | 72.22% | 6,732 | 24.97% | 756 | 2.80% | 12,735 | 47.25% | 26,955 |
| Woodruff | 1,206 | 43.68% | 1,412 | 51.14% | 143 | 5.18% | -206 | -7.46% | 2,761 |
| Yell | 3,808 | 63.09% | 2,003 | 33.18% | 225 | 3.73% | 1,805 | 29.91% | 6,036 |
| Totals | 638,017 | 58.72% | 422,310 | 38.86% | 26,290 | 2.42% | 215,707 | 19.86% | 1,086,617 |

#### Counties that flipped from Democratic to Republican

* Bradley (largest city: Warren)
* Clark (largest city: Arkadelphia)
* Clay (largest city: Piggott)
* Hempstead (largest city: Hope)
* Jackson (largest city: Newport)
* Lawrence (largest city: Walnut Ridge)
* Lincoln (largest city: Star City)
* Little River (largest city: Ashdown)
* Mississippi (largest city: Osceola)
* Monroe (largest city: Clarendon)
* Poinsett (largest city: Harrisburg)
* Randolph (largest city: Pocahontas)

### By congressional district

McCain won all four congressional district in Arkansas, three of which were held by Democrats.
| District | McCain | Obama | Representative |
| 1st | 58.69% | 38.41% | Marion Berry |
| 2nd | 53.98% | 44.07% | Vic Snyder |
| 3rd | 64.16% | 33.45% | John Boozman |
| 4th | 58.14% | 39.33% | Michael Avery Ross |

## Electors

Technically the voters of Arkansas cast their ballots for electors: representatives to the Electoral College. Arkansas 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 Burnett
* Reta Hamilton
* Rose Bryant Jones
* Phyllis Kincannon
* Steve Lux
* Kermit Parks