2008 Indiana General Elections Story

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

Barack Obama received 1,374,039 (50%) votes, beating John McCain who gained 1,345,648 (42%) by just 28,391 votes in Indiana.

Barack Obama won 77 counties whereas John McCain won 15 counties in the total of the 92 counties in the State of Indiana.

2008 General Election Barack Obama Popular Vote Count Contributed by Indiana (IN)

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 Indiana (with 1,374,039 votes) represents 1.9% of his popular vote victory. The remaining 49 states contributed to the remaining 98.1% 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 (Marion, Lake, Allen, Hamilton, St. Joseph), 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

Marion, Lake, and St. Joseph, three of the larger counties, voted in favor of Barack Obama giving him a 199k vote advantage. Allen, Hamilton and Hendricks, another larger counties, voted in favor of John McCain giving him a 39k vote advantage. However, John McCain's steady marginal wins in the less popular counties were enough to overcome that deficit, making him gain an upper hand in the State of Indiana.

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