Bonus List

A FEW LISTS OF 2008 ELECTION RESULTS
Here are a few lists of results from the 2008 Presidential Election between Barack Obama and John McCain, using provisional data.

Go here for Part II.

COUNTIES* WITH THE HIGHEST PERCENTAGE OF THEIR VOTE FOR BARACK OBAMA
This is a geographically diverse list, including counties in major metropolitan areas, a rural county with an Indian reservation and a couple rural Deep South counties with large African-American populations.

COUNTY*

1. District of Columbia
2. Prince Georges, Maryland (DC Suburbs)
3. Shannon, South Dakota (Pine Ridge Indian Res.)
4. Petersburg (City), Virginia (near Richmond)
5. Bronx, New York
6. Baltimore (City), Maryland
7. Jefferson, Mississippi (rural, 86% African-American)
8. Macon, Alabama (85% African-American)
9. New York, New York (Manhattan)
10. San Francisco, California

PERCENT OF VOTE
FOR BARACK OBAMA
IN 2008 ELECTION
92.9%
89.1%
88.7%
88.6%
88.2%
87.5%
87.0%
86.9%
85.1%
84.7%

* Includes the District of Columbia and independent cities which are not in any county.

COUNTIES WITH THE LOWEST PERCENTAGE OF THEIR VOTE FOR BARACK OBAMA
All of these counties are rural Great Plains counties with a large majority of the population being white. Several of these counties are in the Texas panhandle.

COUNTY

1. King, Texas
2. Ochiltree, Texas
3. Roberts, Texas
4. Glasscock, Texas
5. Beaver, Oklahoma
6. Grant, Nebraska
6. Oldham, Texas
8. Hansford, Texas
9. Cimarron, Texas
10. Lipscomb, Texas

PERCENT OF VOTE
FOR BARACK OBAMA
IN 2008 ELECTION
4.9%
7.8%
7.9%
9.4%
10.8%
11.1%
11.1%
11.4%
12.0%
12.4%

STATES WHERE EVERY COUNTY HAD MORE OBAMA VOTES THAN MCCAIN VOTES
Every New England state except for Maine (plus Hawaii) had each of its counties with more Obama votes than McCain votes. Note that Hawaii and Rhode Island have both voted Democratic for president in every county since 1988, longer than any other state.

1. Connecticut
2. Hawaii
3. Massachusetts
4. New Hampshire
5. Rhode Island
6. Vermont

In contrast, one state (not including Alaska, which does not tabulate votes by county) had all its counties voting for the Republican presidential candidate versus the Democratic candidate this year: Oklahoma.

COUNTIES WITH THE GREATEST DEMOCRATIC TRENDS IN PRESIDENTIAL ELECTIONS (2004-2008)
Counties in a variety of states have strongly trended Democratic this Presidential election. This ranges from heavily Hispanic counties in Texas to Obama's birth county of Honolulu, Hawaii to those in Indiana, where Obama campaigned heavily. Also, suburban Atlanta strongly trended Democratic. As an example, Honolulu, Hawaii had a 38 percentage point shift as Kerry won that county by only 3 points, yet Obama won it by 41 points.

Ironically, one of the two counties which trended most strongly Democratic (and thus away from McCain relative to Bush) is named Maverick.

COUNTY

1. Honolulu, Hawaii
1. Maverick, Texas (Eagle Pass, along Mexican border)
3. Culberson, Texas (east of El Paso)
4. Dubois, Indiana (southern Indiana)
5. Maui, Hawaii
6. Big Horn, Montana (southeastern Montana)
7. Hawaii, Hawaii (big island)
7. Kauai, Hawaii
7. Montgomery, Indiana (western Indiana)
7. Rockdale, Georgia (suburban Atlanta)
7. Rush, Indiana (eastern Indiana)
7. Tippecanoe, Indiana (Purdue Univ.)

CHANGE IN THE PERCENTAGE
POINT MARGIN OF DEM.-REP.
PRES. VOTES (2004-2008)
38%
38%
35%
34%
33%
32%
31%
31%
31%
31%
31%
31%

COUNTIES WITH THE GREATEST REPUBLICAN TRENDS IN PRESIDENTIAL ELECTIONS (2004-2008)
The northwestern perimeter of the South (sometimes known as the "Highland South"), stretching from Oklahoma through Arkansas to parts of Kentucky and Tennessee (though generally not the urban areas) trended the most Republican in Presidential elections of any part of the county between 2004 and 2008. As an example, Bush won Coal County, Oklahoma by 7 points in '04, yet McCain won it by a whopping 48 points. All of the counties that trended most strongly in that direction were rural and predominantly white.

COUNTY

1. Coal, Oklahoma
2. Knott, Kentucky
3. Poinsett, Arkansas
4. Bell, Kentucky
5. Little River, Arkansas
6. Sevier, Arkansas
7. Cleveland, Arkansas
7. Scott, Tennessee
9. Grundy, Tennessee
10. Benton, Tennessee
10. Cameron (Parish), Louisiana
10. Decatur, Tennessee
10. Floyd, Kentucky
10. Grant, Arkansas
10. Haskell, Oklahoma
10. Letcher, Kentucky

CHANGE IN THE PERCENTAGE
POINT MARGIN OF REP.-DEM.
PRES. VOTES (2004-2008)
41%
36%
34%
32%
31%
30%
28%
28%
27%
26%
26%
26%
26%
26%
26%
26%

MOST POPULOUS COUNTIES TO HAVE MORE MCCAIN VOTES THAN OBAMA VOTES (UPDATED--NOV. 25)
Only 11 of the largest 100 counties in the United States voted for John McCain. As a rule, larger counties (especially those with urban cores) tend to vote Democratic, and smaller, rural counties tend to vote Republican in Presidential elections.

Note that the original version of this list (based on provisional data less than a week after the election) included Salt Lake County, Utah and Fresno County, California, which were ranked #4 and #5, respectively. After a complete tally of absentee ballots, Obama ended up winning both of those counties.

1. Maricopa, Arizona (Phoenix)
2. Orange, California (Anaheim, etc.)
3. Tarrant, Texas (Fort Worth)
4. Duval, Florida (Jacksonville)
5. Kern, California (Bakersfield)
6. Gwinnett, Georgia (suburban Atlanta)
7. Collin, Texas (suburban Dallas)
8. Oklahoma, Oklahoma (Okla. City)
9. Cobb, Georgia (suburban Atlanta)
10. Monmouth, New Jersey (north Jersey Shore)

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