2008 Alabama General Elections Story

A head to head comparison of the 2008 Alabama General Election gives us an idea of the break down of the voters.    

John McCain received 1,266,546 (60%) votes, beating Barack Obama who gained 813,479 (39%) by 453,067 votes in Alabama.

John McCain won 54 counties whereas Barack Obama won 13 counties in the total of the 67 counties in the State of Alabama.

2008 General Election Barack Obama Popular Vote Count Contributed by Alabama (AL)

During the 2008 General elections, over 131M total number of votes were cast. Barack Obama got 69,448,278 (69.4 Million) over John McCain's 61,739,059 (61.7 Million). He won the popular vote by 7,709,219 (7.7 Million). Even though he lost to John McCain in the State of Alabama, his 813,479 votes represents 1.2% of his popular vote victory. The remaining 49 states contributed to the remaining 98.8% popular votes victory.

Top 15 Counties in Primary Elections vs General Elections

These 15 counties play an important role in these Primary elections. If a candidate, can get a sizable majority in the largest counties (Jefferson, Mobile, Madison, Montgomery), it becomes very difficult to win majorities in the smaller counties without voter outreach and increased voter participation in them.

Top 15 Counties Comparison in Primary Elections vs General Elections

Jefferson and Montgomery, two of the larger counties voted in favor of Barack Obama, giving him a 36k vote advantage. Mobile and Madison, another larger counties, voted in favor of John McCain giving him a 38k vote advantage. However, marginal wins for John McCain in the less popular counties were enough to maintain that difference, making him gain an upper hand in the State of Alabama.

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Related References: 2016 Alabama Primary Election Story, 2016 Alabama General Election Story, 2020 Alabama Primary Election Story, 2020 Alabama General Election Story, 2012 Alabama General Election Story