2008 United States presidential election in Kentucky country United States of America
The 2008 United States presidential election in Kentucky took place on November 4, 2008, and was part of the 2008 United States presidential election. Voters chose eight representatives, or electors to the Electoral College, who voted for president and vice president.
Kentucky was won by Republican nominee John McCain by a 16.23% margin of victory. Prior to the election, all 17 news organizations considered this a state McCain would win, or otherwise a red state. In the primaries, Hillary Clinton slightly defeated McCain in hypothetical polls for the Bluegrass State. Once Barack Obama secured the Democratic nomination, Kentucky was reclassified as safe for the GOP. In the end, Kentucky voted for McCain with 57.40% of the vote. Obama did, however, improve on John Kerry's performance by two points. This was the first time since 1960 that Kentucky did not vote for the winning candidate in a presidential election.
This was the first time ever in which Kentucky voted more Republican than neighboring Indiana. This was also the first time ever that Floyd and Knott Counties voted for the Republican candidate, as well as the first time since 1908 that Breathitt County voted for the Republican candidate. As such, Obama became the first Democrat to ever win the presidency without carrying any of Breathitt, Floyd, Knott, Ballard, Bath, or Fulton Counties. As of 2020, this remains the last time that a Democratic presidential nominee has won over 40% of the vote in Kentucky.
Nation State Land Territory