2008 Arizona General Elections Story

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

John McCain received 1,230,111 (54%) votes, beating Barack Obama who gained 1,034,707 (45%) by 195,404 votes in Arizona.

John McCain won 11 counties whereas Barack Obama won 4 counties in the total of the 15 counties in the State of Arizona.

2008 General Election Barack Obama Popular Vote Count Contributed by Arizona (AZ)

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 Arizona, his 1,034,707 gained votes represents 1.5% of his popular vote victory. The remaining 49 states contributed to the remaining 98.5% 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 (Maricopa, Pima, Pinal), 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

Maricopa and Pinal, two of the larger counties voted in favor of John McCain, giving him a 159K vote advantage. On the other hand, Pima, another large county, voted in favor of Barack Obama giving him a 23K voter advantage. However, steady marginal wins for John McCain in the less popular counties gave him an upper hand in the State of Arizona.

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