2008 United States presidential election
Barack Obama wins the 2008 U.S. presidential election
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Original prompt & settings (JSON) ↗McCain called Obama shortly after 11 p.m. Eastern, then quieted boos from his own Phoenix audience while acknowledging what the result meant for African Americans.
4 November 2008
U.S. voters chose Democratic senator Barack Obama and running mate Joe Biden over Republican senator John McCain and his running mate, Alaska governor Sarah Palin, on 4 November 2008. The certified result was 365 electoral votes to 173.
Obama took 69,498,516 popular votes to McCain's 59,948,323 — 52.93% against 45.65%, a margin of 9,550,193 out of 131,313,820 cast. He became the first African American elected president of the United States.
Two speeches
Late that night McCain telephoned Obama, then conceded publicly before supporters in Phoenix, saying that the American people had spoken clearly. He quieted boos from his own audience while acknowledging the election's significance for African Americans.
Obama addressed supporters in Chicago's Grant Park as president-elect, emphasising both the historic result and the work ahead.
One district in Nebraska
Obama carried Nebraska's 2nd Congressional District while McCain carried the state and its other districts — the first split of Nebraska's electoral votes since it adopted district allocation.
The 365–173 figure is the final certified total rather than what was known when the race was first projected. Voters technically selected presidential electors, who cast the formal ballots later; Obama was inaugurated on 20 January 2009.
Sources
Researched 23 Aug 2026 5 sources 2 audit passes
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