2008 Colorado General Elections Story

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

Barack Obama received 1,288,576 (54%) votes, beating John McCain who gained 1,073,589 (45%) by 214,987 votes in Colorado.

John McCain won 38 counties whereas Barack Obama won 26 counties in the total of the 64 counties in the State of Colorado.

2008 General Election Barack Obama Popular Vote Count Contributed by Colorado (CO)

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). His victory in the State of Colorado (with 1,288,576 votes) represents 1.8% of his popular vote victory. The remaining 49 states contributed to the remaining 98.2% 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, El Paso, Denver, Arapahoe, Boulder, Larimer), 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, Denver, Arapahoe and Boulder, four of the larger counties, voted in favor of Barack Obama giving him a 282K vote advantage. El Paso, another large county, voted in favor of John McCain giving him a 51k vote advantage. However, John McCain's steady marginal wins in the less popular counties were not enough to overcome that deficit, making Barack Obama gain an upper hand in the State of Colorado.

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