2008 Minnesota General Elections Story

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

Barack Obama received 1,573,354 (54%) votes, beating John McCain who gained 1,275,409 (44%) by 184,890 votes in Minnesota.

John McCain won 45 counties whereas Barack Obama won 42 counties in the total of the 87 counties in the State of Minnesota.

2008 General Election Barack Obama Popular Vote Count Contributed by Minnesota (MN)

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 Minnesota (with 1,573,354 votes) represents 2.2% of his popular vote victory. The remaining 49 states contributed to the remaining 97.8% 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 (Hennepin, Ramsey, Dakota, Anoka), 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

Hennepin, Ramsey and Dakota, three of the larger counties, voted in favor of Barack Obama giving him a 296k vote advantage. Anoka, another larger county, voted in favor of John McCain giving him a 4k 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 Minnesota.

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