2008 United States presidential election in Massachusetts

The 2008 United States presidential election in Massachusetts took place, as in all 50 states and D.C., as part of the 2008 United States presidential election of November 4, 2008. Voters chose 12 representatives, or electors to the Electoral College, who, in turn, voted for the office of president and vice president.

Main article: 2008 United States presidential election
2008 United States presidential election in Massachusetts
November 4, 2008
 
Nominee Barack Obama John McCain
Party Democratic Republican
Home state Illinois Arizona
Running mate Joe Biden Sarah Palin
Electoral vote 12 0
Popular vote 1,904,098 1,108,854
Percentage 61.80% 35.99%
President before election

George W. Bush
Republican

 Elected President

Barack Obama
Democratic

Elections in
Massachusetts
General
Federal government
U.S. President
U.S. Senate
U.S. House
State government
Governor
State Senate
State House
Governor's Council
Ballot measures
Boston
Mayor
City council
Springfield
Mayor
Worcester
Mayor
flag Massachusetts portal

Democratic Party nominee Barack Obama won the state by a 25.8% margin of victory: slightly better than John Kerry's 25.2% margin in 2004. Prior to the election, all 17 news organizations forecast that Obama would win Massachusetts, or otherwise considered it to be a safe blue state. Massachusetts had been a Democratic-leaning state since 1928, and a Democratic stronghold since 1960, and has maintained extremely large Democratic margins since 1996. No Republican presidential nominee has won a single county in the state, nor obtained more than 40% of the vote, since George H. W. Bush in 1988.[1][2] In 2008, Democrat Barack Obama captured the state's 12 electoral votes winning 61.80% of the popular vote to Republican John McCain's 35.99%. Massachusetts was also 1 of only 6 states in which neither Obama nor McCain won during the primary season.

Primaries

Democratic
See also: Statewide opinion polling for the 2008 Super Tuesday Democratic Party presidential primaries § Massachusetts, and Results of the 2008 Democratic Party presidential primaries
2008 Massachusetts Democratic presidential primary
February 5, 2008 (2008-02-05)
 
Candidate Hillary Clinton Barack Obama
Party Democratic Democratic
Home state New York Illinois
Delegate count 55 38
Popular vote 705,185 511,680
Percentage 56.01% 40.64%

The Massachusetts Democratic primary took place on Super Tuesday, February 5, 2008, and had a total of 93 delegates at stake. The winner in each of Massachusetts's 10 congressional districts was awarded all of that district's delegates, totaling 61. Another 32 delegates were awarded to the statewide winner, Hillary Clinton. The 93 delegates represented Massachusetts at the Democratic National Convention in Denver, Colorado. 26 other unpledged delegates, known as superdelegates, also attended the convention and cast their votes as well.

Polls indicated that Clinton was leading Barack Obama in the days leading up to the contest in Massachusetts.[3]

Hillary Rodham Clinton won a convincing victory in Massachusetts over Barack Obama due to a number of factors. According to exit polls, 85% of voters in the Massachusetts Democratic Primary were Caucasians and they opted for Clinton by a margin of 58–40% compared to the 6% of African American voters who backed Obama by a margin of 66–29. Hispanics/Latinos, which comprised 5% of the total voters, backed Clinton by a margin of 56–36%. Clinton narrowly won the youth vote (those ages 18–29) by a margin of 49–48 and tied the vote among voters ages 30–44; she also won all voters over the age of 45 by a margin of 60.5–38. Pertaining to socioeconomic class, Clinton won all levels of family income except highly affluent voters making $200,000 or more a year, as they backed Obama by a narrow margin of 53–47%. As for educational attainment levels, Clinton won all categories except those with postgraduate degrees who backed Obama by a margin of 51–47%. Among self-identified Democrats in the primary, which made up 65% of the total electorate, they went for Clinton by a 58–41 margin while Independents, which comprised a healthy 33% of the electorate, also went for Clinton by a 54–42 margin. She also won all ideological groups. Clinton also won most major religious denominations – Protestants 53–46; Roman Catholics 64-33; other Christians 51-47; and other religions 49-46. Obama won Jews by a margin of 52–48 as well as atheists/agnostics by a margin of 53-45.

Clinton performed extremely well statewide, carrying a majority of counties and sweeping most of the major urban areas and cities. Obama won Boston by fewer than 10,000 votes, while Clinton won other urban and conservative towns[4] such as Springfield and Worcester.

Obama had picked up major endorsements from the Massachusetts Democratic establishment prior to Super Tuesday. Both U.S. Senators Ted Kennedy and John Kerry threw their support behind Obama, along with Governor Deval Patrick. Clinton also picked up a number of top-tier endorsements from Mayor Thomas Menino of Boston and Speaker of the Massachusetts House of Representatives Salvatore DiMasi along with U.S. Representatives Richard Neal and Barney Frank, one of the three openly gay members of the U.S. Congress.

Party Candidate Votes Percentage Delegates
Democratic Hillary Clinton 705,185 56.01% 55
Democratic Barack Obama 511,680 40.64% 38
Democratic John Edwards 20,101 1.60% 0
Democratic Uncommitted 8,041 0.64% 0
Democratic Write-ins 3,279 0.26% 0
Democratic Joe Biden 3,216 0.26% 0
Democratic Dennis Kucinich 2,992 0.24% 0
Democratic Bill Richardson 1,846 0.15% 0
Democratic Mike Gravel 1,463 0.12% 0
Democratic Christopher Dodd 1,120 0.09% 0
Totals 1,258,923 100.00% 93
Voter turnout  % —

Republican
See also: 2008 Republican Party presidential primaries
2008 Massachusetts Republican presidential primary
February 5, 2008 (2008-02-05)
 
Candidate Mitt Romney John McCain
Party Republican Republican
Home state Massachusetts Arizona
Delegate count 21 17
Popular vote 255,892 204,779
Percentage 51.92% 41.68%

The Massachusetts Republican Primary took place on February 5, 2008, with 40 national delegates.[5] Polls indicated that former Governor of Massachusetts Mitt Romney was leading rival John McCain;[6] Romney ended up defeating McCain by roughly 10% of the vote.

Official Results[7]
Candidate Votes Percentage Delegates
Mitt Romney255,89251.12%21
John McCain204,77940.91%17
Mike Huckabee19,1033.82%0
Ron Paul13,2512.65%0
Rudy Giuliani*2,7070.54%0
Fred Thompson*9160.18%0
Duncan Hunter*2580.05%0
All Others1,6850.34%0
Uncommitted1,9590.39%0
Total500,550100%38

<tnowiki>*</tnowiki> Candidate dropped out of the race before the primary

Green-Rainbow
See also: 2008 Green Party presidential primaries
2008 Massachusetts Green-Rainbow presidential primary
February 5, 2008 (2008-02-05)
 
Candidate Ralph Nader Cynthia McKinney
Party Green Green
Home state District of Columbia Georgia
Delegate count 32 0
Popular vote 744 474
Percentage 39.91% 25.43%
Town results of the Massachusetts Green presidential primaries, 2008:
     Nader      McKinney
     Swift      Ball
     Mesplay      Brown
     No Votes

The Massachusetts Green-Rainbow primary took place on February 5. Six candidates appeared on the ballot. Ralph Nader won, despite not running for the nomination of the party.

Massachusetts Green-Rainbow presidential primary, February 5, 2008[8][9]
Candidate Votes Percentage National delegates
Ralph Nader 744 39.91% 32
Cynthia McKinney 474 25.43% -
Kat Swift 60 3.22% -
Jared Ball 42 2.25% -
Kent Mesplay 39 2.09% -
Elaine Brown 38 2.04% -
Others 273 25.1% -
No preference 194 10.41% -
Blank votes (not tallied) 77 n/a n/a
Total 1,941 100% 32

Working Families Party

The Working Families Party did not have any candidates run in its presidential primary.[10]

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[11] Likely D
Cook Political Report[12] Solid D
The Takeaway[13] Solid D
Electoral-vote.com[14] Solid D
Washington Post[15] Solid D
Politico[16] Solid D
RealClearPolitics[17] Solid D
FiveThirtyEight[15] Solid D
CQ Politics[18] Solid D
The New York Times[19] Solid D
CNN[20] Safe D
NPR[15] Solid D
MSNBC[15] Solid D
Fox News[21] Likely D
Associated Press[22] Likely D
Rasmussen Reports[23] Safe D

Polling
Main article: Statewide opinion polling for the 2008 United States presidential election: Massachusetts

Very early on the election polls were tight,[24] with McCain even leading by 5 in one poll on January 21 and a tie in a poll on March 16, but Obama won every poll after March 18. He won each by a double-digit margin since August 8. The final 3 polls averaged Obama leading 56% to 36%.[25]

Fundraising

John McCain raised $4,072,206 in the state. Barack Obama raised $24,358,264.[26]

Advertising and visits

Obama spent $46,839 while the Republican ticket spent nothing.[27] Neither campaign visited the state.[28]

Analysis

In terms of voting in presidential elections, Massachusetts is one of the most heavily Democratic states in the nation. Massachusetts is ethnically diverse, highly educated, and less religious. The Bay State has voted for the Democratic presidential nominee in every election since 1960 except for Ronald Reagan's landslide victories of 1980 and 1984. In 1972, only Massachusetts and the District of Columbia voted for Democratic U.S. Senator George McGovern as Republican Richard M. Nixon won reelection.

Barack Obama won the state's 12 electoral votes with 61.80% of the vote to John McCain's 35.99%. This is slightly higher than Kerry's victory in 2004. Despite that, 4 counties in the state trended away from the Democratic party: Bristol, Plymouth, Norfolk, and Worcester.

Both of Massachusetts's U.S. Senators and all 10 of its U.S. Representatives were Democrats, and Democrats held supermajorities in the Massachusetts Legislature. At the same time in 2008, incumbent Democratic U.S. Senator John Kerry was reelected with 65.86% of the vote over Republican Jeff Beatty's 30.93% as were all of the state's delegates in the U.S. House of Representatives. At the state level, Democrats picked up three seats in the Massachusetts House of Representatives and one seat in the Massachusetts Senate.

Results
2008 United States presidential election in Massachusetts
Party Candidate Running mate Votes Percentage Electoral votes
Democratic Barack Obama Joe Biden 1,904,098 61.80% 12
Republican John McCain Sarah Palin 1,108,854 35.99% 0
Independent Ralph Nader Matt Gonzalez 28,841 0.94% 0
Independent Others (Write-In) 14,483 0.47% 0
Libertarian Bob Barr Wayne Allyn Root 13,189 0.43% 0
Green-Rainbow Cynthia McKinney Rosa Clemente 6,550 0.21% 0
Constitution Chuck Baldwin Darrell Castle 4,971 0.16% 0
Totals 3,080,985 100.00% 12
Voter turnout (Voting age population) 62.1%

Results by County
County Barack Obama
Democratic		 John McCain
Republican		 Various candidates
Other parties		 Margin Total votes cast
#  % #  % #  % #  %
Barnstable 74,264 56.11% 55,694 42.08% 2,395 1.81% 18,570 14.03% 132,353
Berkshire 49,558 74.94% 14,876 22.50% 1,696 2.56% 34,682 52.44% 66,130
Bristol 146,861 60.41% 90,531 37.24% 5,728 2.36% 56,330 23.17% 243,120
Dukes 7,913 74.98% 2,442 23.14% 198 1.88% 5,471 51.84% 10,553
Essex 208,976 59.12% 137,129 38.80% 7,357 2.08% 71,847 20.32% 353,462
Franklin 27,919 72.46% 9,545 24.77% 1,065 2.76% 18,374 47.69% 38,529
Hampden 121,454 61.43% 71,350 36.09% 4,916 2.49% 50,104 25.34% 197,720
Hampshire 56,869 71.47% 20,618 25.91% 2,083 2.62% 36,251 45.56% 79,570
Middlesex 464,484 63.98% 245,766 33.85% 15,781 2.17% 218,718 30.13% 726,031
Nantucket 4,073 67.30% 1,863 30.78% 116 1.92% 2,210 36.52% 6,052
Norfolk 200,675 58.18% 136,841 39.67% 7,400 2.15% 63,834 18.51% 344,916
Plymouth 131,817 52.77% 112,904 45.19% 5,096 2.04% 18,913 7.58% 249,817
Suffolk 207,128 76.94% 57,194 21.24% 4,900 1.82% 149,934 55.70% 269,222
Worcester 202,107 55.59% 152,101 41.83% 9,386 2.58% 50,006 13.76% 363,594
Totals1,904,09861.80%1,108,85435.99%68,1172.21%795,24425.81%3,081,069

Results by Congressional district

Barack Obama swept all 10 congressional districts in Massachusetts.

District Representative
re-elected		 McCain Obama
1 John Olver (D) 33.54% 64.17%
2 Richard Neal (D) 38.88% 59.04%
3 Jim McGovern (D) 39.39% 58.74%
4 Barney Frank (D) 34.67% 63.66%
5 Niki Tsongas (D) 39.41% 58.92%
6 John F. Tierney (D) 40.71% 57.65%
7 Ed Markey (D) 33.34% 64.96%
8 Mike Capuano (D) 13.74% 85.58%
9 Stephen Lynch (D) 38.50% 60.37%
10 William Delahunt (D) 43.60% 54.87%

Results by Municipality
Town/City Barack Obama

Democratic

 John McCain

Republican

 Others Total Votes County
% # % # % #
Abington 50.6% 4,094 46.5% 3,765 2.9% 238 8,097
Acton 67.8% 7,894 29.9% 3,477 2.3% 264 11,635
Acushnet 57.8% 3,232 37.7% 2,110 4.5% 251 5,593
Adams 74.8% 3,066 21.8% 893 3.4% 140 4,099
Agawam 52.3% 7,595 44.3% 6,428 3.4% 487 14,510
Alford 80.8% 261 17.6% 57 1.5% 5 323
Amesbury 59.6% 5,111 37.6% 3,222 2.8% 238 8,571
Amherst 86.6% 11,198 10.1% 1,307 3.3% 432 12,937
Andover 55.5% 10,177 42.5% 7,798 2.0% 369 18,344
Aquinnah 89.5% 280 8.3% 26 2.2% 7 313
Arlington 72.1% 18,365 25.1% 6,407 2.8% 716 25,488
Ashburnham 52.7% 1,787 43.8% 1,486 3.5% 117 3,390
Ashby 47.0% 885 49.5% 932 3.4% 64 1,881
Ashfield 79.5% 903 17.4% 198 3.1% 35 1,136
Ashland 59.7% 5,060 37.5% 3,184 2.8% 236 8,480
Athol 55.5% 2,647 41.0% 1,956 3.5% 168 4,771
Attleboro 55.1% 10,523 41.9% 8,003 2.9% 559 19,085
Auburn 53.6% 4,794 43.0% 3,849 3.4% 307 8,950
Avon 48.4% 1,173 47.8% 1,159 3.8% 92 2,424
Ayer 55.8% 1,895 41.2% 1,397 3.0% 102 3,394
Barnstable 53.8% 13,559 44.0% 11,084 2.2% 566 25,209
Barre 52.0% 1,409 44.5% 1,205 3.5% 95 2,709
Becket 70.1% 672 26.6% 255 3.3% 32 959
Bedford 60.7% 4,516 36.6% 2,718 2.7% 201 7,435
Belchertown 62.4% 4,829 34.7% 2,683 2.9% 221 7,733
Bellingham 51.9% 4,364 45.0% 3,783 3.2% 266 8,413
Belmont 68.1% 9,404 28.8% 3,982 3.1% 426 13,812
Berkley 48.4% 1,585 47.6% 1,558 4.0% 132 3,275
Berlin 52.6% 870 43.1% 712 4.3% 71 1,653
Bernardston 68.2% 849 28.4% 354 3.4% 42 1,245
Beverly 59.4% 12,247 37.7% 7,780 2.8% 587 20,614
Billerica 49.6% 9,700 47.5% 9,280 2.9% 566 19,546
Blackstone 52.2% 2,229 44.1% 1,885 3.7% 156 4,270
Blandford 48.4% 339 49.1% 344 2.6% 18 701
Bolton 55.2% 1,598 41.9% 1,214 2.9% 83 2,895
Boston 78.6% 185,976 19.3% 45,548 2.1% 5001 236,525
Bourne 49.9% 5,076 47.7% 4,859 2.4% 244 10,179
Boxborough 62.7% 1,798 34.8% 996 2.5% 72 2,866
Boxford 45.9% 2,286 51.9% 2,586 2.2% 109 4,981
Boylston 51.0% 1,352 45.9% 1,215 3.1% 82 2,649
Braintree 49.4% 9,298 47.6% 8,964 3.0% 570 18,832
Brewster 58.5% 3,903 38.0% 2,535 3.4% 229 6,667
Bridgewater 48.6% 5,889 48.4% 5,861 3.0% 360 12,110
Brimfield 48.0% 984 47.8% 979 4.2% 86 2,049
Brockton 69.0% 23,299 28.6% 9,646 2.4% 808 33,753
Brookfield 49.4% 875 46.8% 829 3.7% 66 1,770
Brookline 80.4% 22,484 17.3% 4,842 2.3% 645 27,971
Buckland 72.8% 785 23.1% 249 4.1% 44 1,078
Burlington 53.1% 6,822 44.4% 5,703 2.6% 330 12,855
Cambridge 87.5% 40,876 10.1% 4,697 2.5% 1154 46,727
Canton 53.2% 6,460 44.4% 5,396 2.4% 288 12,144
Carlisle 65.2% 2,116 32.4% 1,053 2.4% 77 3,246
Carver 47.5% 2,937 47.0% 2,901 5.5% 339 6,177
Charlemont 70.0% 486 25.2% 175 4.8% 33 694
Charlton 44.4% 2,883 52.6% 3,411 3.0% 192 6,486
Chatham 53.8% 2,585 44.1% 2,116 2.1% 101 4,802
Chelmsford 52.9% 10,360 44.5% 8,712 2.6% 511 19,583
Chelsea 73.4% 5,926 22.5% 1,820 4.1% 328 8,074
Cheshire 69.5% 1,318 26.8% 508 3.7% 70 1,896
Chester 52.0% 369 43.7% 310 4.2% 30 709
Chesterfield 60.3% 444 36.0% 265 3.7% 27 736
Chicopee 60.4% 14,172 35.2% 8,268 4.4% 1038 23,478
Chilmark 80.5% 597 16.8% 125 2.7% 20 742
Clarksburg 70.2% 635 26.1% 236 3.8% 34 905
Clinton 56.9% 3,701 39.4% 2,563 3.7% 242 6,506
Cohasset 51.5% 2,383 46.6% 2,156 1.9% 90 4,629
Colrain 69.4% 654 26.0% 245 4.7% 44 943
Concord 70.3% 7,435 27.4% 2,903 2.3% 244 10,582
Conway 75.7% 952 21.7% 273 2.6% 33 1,258
Cummington 69.5% 376 27.4% 148 3.1% 17 541
Dalton 71.7% 2,559 25.7% 916 2.6% 92 3,567
Danvers 53.8% 7,558 43.4% 6,093 2.8% 399 14,050
Dartmouth 62.1% 10,442 35.0% 5,876 2.9% 492 16,810
Dedham 55.3% 7,108 41.7% 5,361 3.0% 388 12,857
Deerfield 71.5% 2,198 25.6% 786 3.0% 91 3,075
Dennis 54.4% 5,209 42.8% 4,098 2.8% 266 9,573
Dighton 48.1% 1,732 47.8% 1,719 4.1% 147 3,598
Douglas 45.4% 1,962 51.7% 2,235 2.9% 125 4,322
Dover 50.8% 1,741 47.1% 1,614 2.1% 73 3,428
Dracut 48.5% 7,216 48.9% 7,284 2.6% 384 14,884
Dudley 49.9% 2,525 46.7% 2,366 3.4% 174 5,065
Dunstable 49.1% 916 47.8% 892 3.1% 58 1,866
Duxbury 50.5% 4,776 47.4% 4,479 2.1% 195 9,450
East Bridgewater 46.1% 3,332 51.3% 3,706 2.6% 186 7,224
East Brookfield 42.7% 506 55.0% 651 2.3% 27 1,184
East Longmeadow 49.7% 4,296 47.6% 4,109 2.7% 235 8,640
Eastham 61.1% 2,349 36.8% 1,416 2.0% 78 3,843
Easthampton 69.6% 6,214 27.0% 2,410 3.4% 305 8,929
Easton 50.7% 6,111 47.0% 5,667 2.3% 282 12,060
Edgartown 68.4% 1,692 29.1% 719 2.5% 61 2,472
Egremont 77.7% 658 20.1% 170 2.2% 19 847
Erving 70.1% 565 26.8% 216 3.1% 25 806
Essex 55.2% 1,220 42.9% 947 1.9% 42 2,209
Everett 64.2% 8,338 31.9% 4,140 3.9% 505 12,983
Fairhaven 62.3% 5,299 34.3% 2,914 3.5% 295 8,508
Fall River 71.0% 22,591 24.9% 7,933 4.1% 1304 31,828
Falmouth 59.6% 11,725 38.1% 7,503 2.3% 458 19,686
Fitchburg 59.6% 8,596 37.3% 5,378 3.2% 458 14,432
Florida 62.1% 267 34.2% 147 3.7% 16 430
Foxborough 51.4% 4,702 46.1% 4,216 2.5% 231 9,149
Framingham 65.9% 17,839 31.2% 8,464 2.9% 782 27,085
Franklin 52.4% 8,800 44.9% 7,535 2.7% 458 16,793
Freetown 49.7% 2,405 46.1% 2,228 4.2% 205 4,838
Gardner 58.6% 4,936 37.6% 3,171 3.8% 321 8,428
Georgetown 49.7% 2,358 47.9% 2,271 2.5% 117 4,746
Gill 73.1% 672 23.9% 220 2.9% 27 919
Gloucester 63.5% 9,967 32.6% 5,113 3.9% 604 15,684
Goshen 65.8% 403 30.2% 185 3.9% 24 612
Gosnold 65.0% 52 32.5% 26 2.5% 2 80
Grafton 52.3% 4,722 44.9% 4,057 2.7% 248 9,027
Granby 54.9% 1,967 41.9% 1,502 3.2% 115 3,584
Granville 43.3% 381 52.6% 462 4.1% 36 879
Great Barrington 81.5% 3,074 15.2% 574 3.3% 126 3,774
Greenfield 72.9% 6,245 23.2% 1,987 4.0% 339 8,571
Groton 56.2% 3,450 39.7% 2,439 4.0% 248 6,137
Groveland 49.1% 1,898 48.3% 1,867 2.6% 102 3,867
Hadley 68.9% 2,138 28.2% 876 2.9% 89 3,103
Halifax 47.1% 1,928 49.5% 2,026 3.5% 143 4,097
Hamilton 52.7% 2,494 44.8% 2,120 2.4% 114 4,728
Hampden 48.4% 1,450 48.7% 1,457 2.9% 87 2,994
Hancock 62.2% 248 33.1% 132 4.8% 19 399
Hanover 44.1% 3,600 54.0% 4,411 2.0% 161 8,172
Hanson 46.9% 2,571 50.3% 2,758 2.8% 153 5,482
Hardwick 54.8% 776 41.1% 582 4.0% 57 1,415
Harvard 63.2% 2,206 33.2% 1,158 3.6% 125 3,489
Harwich 55.7% 4,538 40.7% 3,314 3.6% 291 8,143
Hatfield 66.2% 1,405 31.0% 658 2.8% 59 2,122
Haverhill 57.3% 15,552 39.8% 10,814 2.8% 772 27,138
Hawley 57.4% 101 36.9% 65 5.7% 10 176
Heath 66.7% 296 30.6% 136 2.7% 12 444
Hingham 52.9% 7,129 45.2% 6,099 1.9% 260 13,488
Hinsdale 65.4% 723 30.0% 332 4.6% 51 1,106
Holbrook 52.6% 2,858 44.0% 2,391 3.4% 182 5,431
Holden 51.2% 5,360 45.9% 4,805 2.9% 300 10,465
Holland 48.8% 654 47.4% 636 3.8% 51 1,341
Holliston 58.4% 4,830 38.9% 3,219 2.7% 221 8,270
Holyoke 71.1% 11,034 25.8% 4,000 3.2% 489 15,523
Hopedale 54.4% 1,847 42.8% 1,451 2.8% 96 3,394
Hopkinton 53.1% 4,455 44.7% 3,753 2.2% 186 8,394
Hubbardston 46.5% 1,188 49.8% 1,272 3.8% 96 2,556
Hudson 57.4% 5,639 38.9% 3,826 3.7% 361 9,826
Hull 58.9% 3,511 37.9% 2,258 3.3% 194 5,963
Huntington 53.2% 608 42.2% 482 4.6% 53 1,143
Ipswich 56.0% 4,573 41.4% 3,381 2.6% 213 8,167
Kingston 48.7% 3,279 49.0% 3,303 2.3% 154 6,736
Lakeville 42.8% 2,456 53.4% 3,060 3.8% 217 5,733
Lancaster 48.3% 1,775 48.2% 1,770 3.5% 129 3,674
Lanesborough 69.2% 1,164 28.8% 484 2.0% 34 1,682
Lawrence 79.5% 15,632 18.4% 3,624 2.1% 404 19,660
Lee 72.1% 2,192 24.6% 748 3.3% 100 3,040
Leicester 51.1% 2,821 45.4% 2,503 3.5% 194 5,518
Lenox 75.5% 2,305 21.7% 662 2.8% 84 3,051
Leominster 54.8% 10,063 42.0% 7,709 3.2% 580 18,352
Leverett 83.8% 1,053 13.4% 168 2.8% 35 1,256
Lexington 72.3% 12,984 25.6% 4,593 2.1% 385 17,962
Leyden 72.4% 344 23.6% 112 4.0% 19 475
Lincoln 75.1% 2,627 22.6% 791 2.2% 78 3,496
Littleton 57.0% 2,963 40.5% 2,106 2.4% 127 5,196
Longmeadow 57.0% 5,517 40.8% 3,946 2.2% 211 9,674
Lowell 64.7% 20,646 32.6% 10,393 2.7% 866 31,905
Ludlow 56.5% 5,638 40.5% 4,038 3.0% 300 9,976
Lunenburg 50.2% 2,889 47.0% 2,706 2.8% 161 5,756
Lynn 67.7% 20,276 29.1% 8,719 3.2% 961 29,956
Lynnfield 43.2% 3,018 54.6% 3,811 2.2% 155 6,984
Malden 67.2% 13,865 29.5% 6,075 3.3% 688 20,628
Manchester-by-the-Sea 59.8% 2,046 37.7% 1,290 2.5% 85 3,421
Mansfield 51.8% 6,052 44.3% 5,176 3.9% 454 11,682
Marblehead 60.3% 7,513 37.4% 4,659 2.3% 288 12,460
Marion 57.6% 1,804 40.4% 1,266 2.0% 64 3,134
Marlborough 57.2% 9,367 39.8% 6,520 3.1% 500 16,387
Marshfield 49.7% 7,255 48.1% 7,026 2.2% 323 14,604
Mashpee 52.7% 4,297 43.7% 3,564 3.5% 288 8,149
Mattapoisett 53.8% 2,177 42.8% 1,733 3.4% 137 4,047
Maynard 62.5% 3,549 34.7% 1,967 2.8% 158 5,674
Medfield 52.8% 3,848 44.8% 3,264 2.5% 181 7,293
Medford 65.0% 17,598 32.0% 8,655 3.0% 811 27,064
Medway 53.2% 3,736 44.4% 3,122 2.4% 168 7,026
Melrose 59.3% 9,139 37.9% 5,846 2.7% 420 15,405
Mendon 46.6% 1,513 50.5% 1,641 2.9% 94 3,248
Merrimac 53.6% 1,918 43.3% 1,551 3.1% 112 3,581
Methuen 53.4% 11,263 44.1% 9,303 2.6% 543 21,109
Middleborough 45.1% 5,155 51.2% 5,857 3.7% 429 11,441
Middlefield 64.7% 194 32.7% 98 2.7% 8 300
Middleton 45.4% 1,982 51.9% 2,266 2.7% 120 4,368
Milford 57.1% 7,073 40.0% 4,958 2.9% 363 12,394
Millbury 51.6% 3,440 44.9% 2,996 3.5% 233 6,669
Millis 54.1% 2,494 43.3% 1,996 2.6% 118 4,608
Millville 47.4% 733 49.9% 772 2.7% 42 1,547
Milton 60.8% 9,486 36.9% 5,753 2.3% 352 15,591
Monroe 66.7% 40 31.7% 19 1.7% 1 60
Monson 53.7% 2,418 42.9% 1,931 3.4% 151 4,500
Montague 74.4% 3,261 22.1% 967 3.6% 157 4,385
Monterey 79.0% 464 18.6% 109 2.4% 14 587
Montgomery 45.8% 236 49.9% 257 4.3% 22 515
Mount Washington 77.1% 91 17.8% 21 5.1% 6 118
Nahant 58.0% 1,343 38.3% 887 3.6% 84 2,314
Nantucket 67.0% 4,073 30.6% 1,863 2.4% 145 6,081
Natick 62.8% 11,406 33.3% 6,050 3.9% 699 18,155
Needham 65.4% 11,331 32.6% 5,652 2.0% 353 17,336
New Ashford 66.2% 96 27.6% 40 6.2% 9 145
New Bedford 72.5% 24,881 23.9% 8,201 3.6% 1245 34,327
New Braintree 52.2% 289 44.8% 248 3.1% 17 554
New Marlborough 71.7% 601 25.4% 213 2.9% 24 838
New Salem 63.9% 395 30.7% 190 5.3% 33 618
Newbury 53.7% 2,326 43.5% 1,883 2.8% 120 4,329
Newburyport 65.0% 7,118 32.1% 3,517 2.8% 309 10,944
Newton 74.6% 33,360 23.0% 10,283 2.4% 1077 44,720
Norfolk 46.7% 2,508 50.7% 2,723 2.5% 136 5,367
North Adams 76.0% 4,519 20.2% 1,203 3.8% 226 5,948
North Andover 51.6% 7,777 46.1% 6,939 2.3% 346 15,062
North Attleborough 49.7% 7,099 47.0% 6,713 3.3% 471 14,283
North Brookfield 45.5% 1,091 51.0% 1,224 3.5% 83 2,398
North Reading 47.9% 4,056 50.0% 4,233 2.0% 171 8,460
Northampton 82.1% 13,412 14.6% 2,387 3.3% 542 16,341
Northborough 55.4% 4,516 41.7% 3,401 2.8% 232 8,149
Northbridge 47.6% 3,625 49.2% 3,748 3.2% 242 7,615
Northfield 70.4% 1,228 26.5% 463 3.1% 54 1,745
Norton 50.7% 4,542 46.8% 4,194 2.5% 227 8,963
Norwell 46.5% 2,947 51.4% 3,263 2.1% 134 6,344
Norwood 55.1% 7,944 41.8% 6,033 3.1% 440 14,417
Oak Bluffs 71.8% 1,931 26.3% 706 1.9% 51 2,688
Oakham 46.0% 520 49.7% 562 4.2% 48 1,130
Orange 56.2% 1,903 40.3% 1,366 3.5% 118 3,387
Orleans 57.4% 2,677 40.1% 1,870 2.5% 117 4,664
Otis 58.7% 504 37.0% 318 4.3% 37 859
Oxford 49.7% 3,237 47.0% 3,061 3.3% 213 6,511
Palmer 54.4% 3,229 41.8% 2,481 3.8% 226 5,936
Paxton 48.7% 1,263 46.0% 1,194 5.4% 139 2,596
Peabody 56.0% 14,818 40.8% 10,800 3.1% 823 26,441
Pelham 83.9% 753 13.9% 125 2.1% 19 897
Pembroke 48.8% 4,672 48.7% 4,660 2.5% 238 9,570
Pepperell 47.8% 3,029 49.2% 3,116 3.0% 191 6,336
Peru 65.0% 305 31.6% 148 3.4% 16 469
Petersham 56.6% 466 40.2% 331 3.2% 26 823
Phillipston 52.0% 501 44.3% 427 3.7% 36 964
Pittsfield 75.5% 15,665 21.2% 4,404 3.2% 668 20,737
Plainfield 74.4% 294 22.5% 89 3.0% 12 395
Plainville 49.2% 2,114 47.4% 2,036 3.4% 147 4,297
Plymouth 52.3% 15,180 45.2% 13,139 2.5% 722 29,041
Plympton 45.9% 787 51.6% 884 2.5% 42 1,713
Princeton 50.8% 1,138 45.0% 1,008 4.2% 95 2,241
Provincetown 86.9% 2,067 10.8% 256 2.4% 56 2,379
Quincy 57.2% 22,810 39.0% 15,546 3.8% 1509 39,865
Randolph 71.5% 10,424 26.1% 3,811 2.4% 347 14,582
Raynham 47.1% 3,336 49.8% 3,524 3.1% 216 7,076
Reading 55.5% 7,694 42.1% 5,831 2.4% 335 13,860
Rehoboth 50.0% 3,147 46.7% 2,945 3.3% 208 6,300
Revere 58.7% 9,941 36.9% 6,242 4.4% 739 16,922
Richmond 73.8% 720 22.9% 223 3.3% 32 975
Rochester 47.0% 1,467 49.8% 1,555 3.2% 101 3,123
Rockland 49.9% 4,318 46.6% 4,035 3.4% 298 8,651
Rockport 65.9% 3,088 31.4% 1,469 2.7% 128 4,685
Rowe 53.0% 140 39.4% 104 7.6% 20 264
Rowley 48.7% 1,681 49.0% 1,690 2.3% 78 3,449
Royalston 57.4% 399 37.3% 259 5.3% 37 695
Russell 50.1% 409 45.3% 370 4.5% 37 816
Rutland 48.2% 2,027 49.5% 2,081 2.3% 98 4,206
Salem 67.7% 13,080 29.0% 5,601 3.3% 635 19,316
Salisbury 53.8% 2,270 43.2% 1,823 3.1% 129 4,222
Sandisfield 61.2% 274 32.1% 144 6.7% 30 448
Sandwich 49.0% 6,126 47.5% 5,942 3.5% 440 12,508
Saugus 50.1% 6,769 46.8% 6,314 3.1% 421 13,504
Savoy 67.8% 274 27.5% 111 4.7% 19 404
Scituate 52.1% 5,850 45.6% 5,121 2.3% 263 11,234
Seekonk 54.8% 4,067 41.3% 3,061 3.9% 290 7,418
Sharon 65.1% 6,622 31.2% 3,179 3.7% 373 10,174
Sheffield 72.3% 1,378 23.7% 452 3.9% 75 1,905
Shelburne 75.6% 916 20.3% 246 4.1% 50 1,212
Sherborn 59.5% 1,609 38.0% 1,029 2.5% 67 2,705
Shirley 51.2% 1,609 45.2% 1,421 3.6% 114 3,144
Shrewsbury 56.1% 10,000 40.9% 7,296 3.0% 533 17,829
Shutesbury 84.3% 1,038 12.5% 154 3.2% 40 1,232
Somerset 61.8% 6,368 34.3% 3,537 3.9% 398 10,303
Somerville 80.7% 26,665 15.8% 5,215 3.6% 1181 33,061
South Hadley 62.3% 5,671 35.1% 3,199 2.6% 240 9,110
Southampton 55.7% 1,911 41.3% 1,416 2.9% 101 3,428
Southborough 55.8% 3,201 41.5% 2,379 2.7% 152 5,732
Southbridge 63.4% 4,466 33.3% 2,346 3.3% 232 7,044
Southwick 46.3% 2,267 50.4% 2,467 3.3% 160 4,894
Spencer 49.4% 2,799 47.6% 2,697 3.1% 173 5,669
Springfield 75.8% 39,516 21.7% 11,331 2.4% 1274 52,121
Sterling 45.8% 2,159 51.4% 2,423 2.8% 132 4,714
Stockbridge 79.6% 998 17.1% 214 3.3% 41 1,253
Stoneham 54.5% 6,625 43.0% 5,231 2.5% 300 12,156
Stoughton 58.0% 7,915 38.8% 5,296 3.1% 425 13,636
Stow 57.6% 2,319 39.6% 1,592 2.8% 113 4,024
Sturbridge 52.6% 2,738 44.6% 2,322 2.8% 148 5,208
Sudbury 63.0% 6,502 35.0% 3,613 2.1% 212 10,327
Sunderland 76.2% 1,433 20.4% 383 3.4% 64 1,880
Sutton 44.8% 2,362 51.9% 2,736 3.3% 176 5,274
Swampscott 62.3% 5,103 34.7% 2,844 3.0% 244 8,191
Swansea 57.1% 4,887 39.8% 3,408 3.1% 268 8,563
Taunton 58.3% 13,243 38.2% 8,677 3.6% 812 22,732
Templeton 50.9% 1,909 45.3% 1,701 3.8% 142 3,752
Tewksbury 48.4% 7,628 48.8% 7,683 2.8% 435 15,746
Tisbury 75.0% 1,830 22.2% 541 2.8% 69 2,440
Tolland 46.4% 128 50.0% 138 3.6% 10 276
Topsfield 47.3% 1,824 47.6% 1,837 5.1% 198 3,859
Townsend 46.0% 2,326 50.8% 2,572 3.2% 162 5,060
Truro 73.0% 1,056 24.4% 353 2.6% 37 1,446
Tyngsborough 48.0% 2,955 50.1% 3,085 2.0% 121 6,161
Tyringham 69.3% 194 28.2% 79 2.5% 7 280
Upton 50.2% 2,077 46.6% 1,927 3.2% 131 4,135
Uxbridge 48.1% 3,476 48.8% 3,532 3.1% 226 7,234
Wakefield 54.4% 7,743 42.9% 6,118 2.7% 385 14,246
Wales 52.6% 537 43.7% 446 3.6% 37 1,020
Walpole 48.3% 6,600 49.2% 6,712 2.5% 343 13,655
Waltham 62.6% 15,276 34.3% 8,383 3.1% 746 24,405
Ware 56.0% 2,552 40.0% 1,821 4.0% 182 4,555
Wareham 56.8% 6,199 40.3% 4,398 2.9% 317 10,914
Warren 50.5% 1,184 45.3% 1,062 4.1% 97 2,343
Warwick 72.4% 328 24.3% 110 3.3% 15 453
Washington 73.5% 258 23.4% 82 3.1% 11 351
Watertown 71.1% 11,520 26.2% 4,249 2.7% 431 16,200
Wayland 67.2% 5,488 30.3% 2,476 2.5% 204 8,168
Webster 51.6% 3,461 44.4% 2,975 4.0% 269 6,705
Wellesley 63.7% 9,270 33.6% 4,885 2.8% 405 14,560
Wellfleet 70.0% 1,550 27.0% 597 3.0% 66 2,213
Wendell 83.5% 474 12.1% 69 4.4% 25 568
Wenham 50.4% 1,182 47.2% 1,108 2.3% 55 2,345
West Boylston 50.3% 2,019 47.1% 1,891 2.6% 104 4,014
West Bridgewater 42.6% 1,701 54.2% 2,163 3.2% 128 3,992
West Brookfield 49.7% 1,010 46.0% 936 4.3% 87 2,033
West Newbury 54.4% 1,508 43.4% 1,202 2.2% 62 2,772
West Springfield 54.9% 6,751 41.7% 5,128 3.3% 410 12,289
West Stockbridge 79.7% 720 16.8% 152 3.4% 31 903
West Tisbury 81.7% 1,531 16.0% 299 2.3% 44 1,874
Westborough 58.6% 5,308 38.6% 3,496 2.9% 259 9,063
Westfield 52.6% 9,304 43.9% 7,762 3.5% 622 17,688
Westford 54.0% 6,795 43.7% 5,501 2.3% 286 12,582
Westhampton 61.1% 681 37.2% 414 1.7% 19 1,114
Westminster 49.8% 2,144 46.3% 1,992 3.9% 166 4,302
Weston 60.0% 3,902 37.6% 2,446 2.4% 155 6,503
Westport 61.3% 5,319 35.6% 3,087 3.0% 264 8,670
Westwood 52.0% 4,564 45.4% 3,985 2.6% 226 8,775
Weymouth 52.7% 14,727 44.2% 12,358 3.0% 845 27,930
Whately 66.4% 660 29.2% 290 4.4% 44 994
Whitman 48.3% 3,504 48.7% 3,531 3.0% 214 7,249
Wilbraham 49.3% 4,230 47.3% 4,062 3.4% 292 8,584
Williamsburg 77.0% 1,309 19.5% 331 3.5% 60 1,700
Williamstown 79.1% 2,957 18.9% 707 2.0% 74 3,738
Wilmington 48.3% 5,812 49.2% 5,923 2.5% 307 12,042
Winchendon 53.1% 2,294 43.2% 1,866 3.8% 163 4,323
Winchester 59.0% 7,381 38.7% 4,846 2.2% 281 12,508
Windsor 71.5% 398 25.5% 142 3.1% 17 557
Winthrop 57.7% 5,284 39.2% 3,584 3.1% 284 9,152
Woburn 53.2% 10,237 44.0% 8,466 2.7% 526 19,229
Worcester 66.9% 41,352 29.9% 18,474 3.2% 1982 61,808
Worthington 67.3% 510 29.3% 222 3.4% 26 758
Wrentham 47.2% 2,911 49.8% 3,073 3.0% 187 6,171
Yarmouth 53.4% 7,547 43.8% 6,187 2.9% 405 14,139

Electors
Main article: List of 2008 United States presidential electors

Technically the voters of Massachusetts cast their ballots for electors: representatives to the Electoral College. Massachusetts is allocated 12 electors because it has 10 congressional districts and 2 senators. All candidates who appear on the ballot or qualify to receive write-in votes must submit a list of 12 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 12 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.[29] 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 12 were pledged to Obama and Biden:[30]

  1. Brenda Brathwaite
  2. Mary Ann Dube
  3. Patricia Marcus
  4. Faye Morrison
  5. Carol Pacheco
  6. Corinne Wingard
  7. John Brissette
  8. Raymond Jordan
  9. Joe Kaplan
  10. Melvin Poindexter
  11. Samuel Poulten
  12. Jason Whittet

See also

References
  1. Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections
  2. Archived 2008-06-18 at the Wayback Machine Archived 2008-05-11 at the Wayback Machine
  3. "Massachusetts Democratic Primary". RealClearPolitics. Retrieved February 4, 2008.
  4. Phillips, Frank; Viser, Matt (February 6, 2008). "Decisive victories in Mass". Boston Globe. Retrieved February 6, 2008.
  5. "Massachusetts Republican Delegation 2008". The Green Papers. Retrieved January 28, 2008.
  6. "RESULTS: Massachusetts". CNN. February 5, 2008. Retrieved February 5, 2008.
  7. "Massachusetts 2008 Presidential Primary Results - Republican Party". Massachusetts Secretary of the Commonwealth. February 5, 2008. Retrieved May 24, 2008.
  8. Giese, Chuck (June 20, 2008). "The Green Party's Internal Democracy Problem: Presidential Politics". www.dissedentvoice.org. Dissident Voice. Retrieved April 7, 2008.
  9. "2008 President Green-rainbow Primary". Massachusetts Secretary of the Commonwealth. Government of Massachusetts. February 5, 2012. Retrieved February 5, 2008.
  10. "PD43+ » Search Elections". PD43+. Secretary of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Retrieved March 5, 2020.
  11. "D.C.'s Political Report: The complete source for campaign summaries". January 1, 2009. Archived from the original on January 1, 2009. Retrieved August 23, 2021.
  12. "Presidential". May 5, 2015. Archived from the original on May 5, 2015. Retrieved August 23, 2021.
  13. "Vote 2008 - The Takeaway - Track the Electoral College vote predictions". April 22, 2009. Archived from the original on April 22, 2009. Retrieved August 23, 2021.
  14. "Electoral-vote.com: President, Senate, House Updated Daily". electoral-vote.com. Retrieved August 23, 2021.
  15. Based on Takeaway
  16. "POLITICO's 2008 Swing State Map - POLITICO.com". www.politico.com. Retrieved September 22, 2016.
  17. "RealClearPolitics - Electoral Map". Archived from the original on June 5, 2008.
  18. "CQ Presidential Election Maps, 2008". CQ Politics. Archived from the original on June 14, 2009. Retrieved December 20, 2009.
  19. Nagourney, Adam; Zeleny, Jeff; Carter, Shan (November 4, 2008). "The Electoral Map: Key States". The New York Times. Retrieved May 26, 2010.
  20. "October – 2008 – CNN Political Ticker - CNN.com Blogs". CNN. October 31, 2008. Archived from the original on June 19, 2010. Retrieved May 26, 2010.
  21. "Winning The Electoral College". Fox News. April 27, 2010.
  22. "roadto270". hosted.ap.org. Retrieved September 22, 2016.
  23. "Election 2008: Electoral College Update - Rasmussen Reports™". www.rasmussenreports.com. Retrieved September 22, 2016.
  24. "2008 - Massachusetts: McCain vs. Obama | RealClearPolitics".
  25. Election 2008 Polls - Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections
  26. "Presidential Campaign Finance". Archived from the original on March 24, 2009. Retrieved August 19, 2009.
  27. "Map: Campaign Ad Spending - Election Center 2008 from CNN.com". CNN. Retrieved May 26, 2010.
  28. "Map: Campaign Candidate Visits - Election Center 2008 from CNN.com". CNN. Retrieved May 26, 2010.
  29. "Electoral College". California Secretary of State. Archived from the original on October 30, 2008. Retrieved November 1, 2008.
  30. http://www.massdems.org/dsc/dscon_resources08.cfm Archived 2008-10-01 at the Wayback Machine Massachusetts Democratic Party
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