2008 New York General Elections Story

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

Barack Obama received 4,769,700 (62.8%) votes, beating John McCain who gained 2,742,298 (36.1%) by 2,027,402 votes in New York .

Barack Obama won 36 counties whereas John McCain won 26 counties in the total of the 62 counties in the State of New York.

2008 General Election Barack Obama Popular Vote Count Contributed by New York (NY)

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 New York (with 4,769,700 votes) represents 6.4% of his popular vote victory. The remaining 49 states contributed to the remaining 93.6% 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 (Kings, New York, Suffolk, Nassau), 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

Kings, New York, Queens, Suffolk Four of the larger counties, voted in favor of Barack Obama giving him a 1.2m vote advantage. Nassau, another larger county, voted in favor of John McCain giving him a 53k vote advantage. However, John McCain's steady marginal wins in the less popular counties( like, Rockland, Dutchess, and more) were not enough to overcome that deficit, making Barack Obama gain an upper hand in the State of New York.

Related References: 2016 New York Primary Election Story, 2016 New York General Election Story, 2020 New York Primary Election Story, 2020 New York General Election Story, 2012 New York General Election Story