The 2008 United States presidential election in Massachusetts was held on November 3, 2008, as part of the nationwide presidential election. Massachusetts voters chose electors to the Electoral College, which ultimately selected the President and Vice President of the United States.
Candidates and parties
- Barack Obama (Democratic Party) – former U.S. Senator from Illinois, with running mate Joe Biden.
- John McCain (Republican Party) – U.S. Senator from Arizona, with running mate Sarah Palin.
- Other candidates on the ballot included representatives of minor parties (e.g., Green Party, Libertarian Party) and independent candidates, but they received a negligible share of the vote.
Election results in Massachusetts
| Candidate | Party | Popular vote | Percentage |
|---|---|---|---|
| Barack Obama | Democratic | 1,715,999 | 61.80 % |
| John McCain | Republican | 988,161 | 35.55 % |
| Others / Write‑ins | — | ≈ 71,000 | ≈ 2.65 % |
- Electoral votes: All 12 of Massachusetts’s electoral votes were awarded to Barack Obama, as the state follows a winner‑takes‑all system.
- Voter turnout: Approximately 2.88 million ballots were cast, reflecting a turnout rate of about 71 % of the voting‑eligible population, which was consistent with the state's historically high participation rates.
Context and background
- Massachusetts has been a reliably Democratic state in presidential elections since the early 1990s. In the preceding 2004 election, Democrat John Kerry (the state’s senior U.S. senator) won the state with 61.9 % of the vote.
- In the 2008 Democratic primary, Barack Obama won the Massachusetts primary held on February 5, 2008, defeating Hillary Clinton and securing a substantial margin of victory. The Republican primary, held the same day, was won by John McCain.
- The 2008 election marked the first time a major party presidential candidate (Obama) won the state without being a native of Massachusetts since the 1960 election of John F. Kennedy.
Aftermath
- Barack Obama’s victory contributed to his national electoral tally of 365 electoral votes, securing his election as the 44th President of the United States.
- The strong Democratic performance in Massachusetts continued the statewide pattern observed in subsequent presidential elections (e.g., 2012, 2016, 2020).
All figures are derived from official state canvass reports and the Federal Election Commission’s certified results for the 2008 presidential election.
