Obama, Democratic Victory Redraws Political Map

How the Race Was Decided

Independent, The; London (UK)

As the polls closed and the parties began, the early results showed how the new President was set for victory

Pennsylvania: Obama

One of three crucial swing states that has played a decisive role in presidential elections for the past 50 years. No candidate has won the White House without capturing two of three out of Pennsylvania, Ohio and Florida since 1960. It's the sixth most populous state and Obama lost big to Hillary Clinton here during the primaries, with blue-collar workers appearing uncomfortable with the relative newcomer to national politics. But the state swung behind Obama in the end, and he got the prized trove of 21 electoral votes.

Vermont: Obama

In the 2004 election, Vermont - the sparsely-populated land of maple syrup and granola - was the third most Democratic state. There was never any doubt that its three electoral votes were safely in Obama's column. Vermont has been Democrat in the past four elections. John Kerry, the senator from neighbouring Massachusetts who lost the presidency in 2004, had a 20-point margin over Bush in Vermont. It is a fiercely independent state and also one of the most liberal. Like the rest of New England, before the Republican party moved to the right, it was reliable Republican territory. Vermont's liberal Republican Senator James Jeffords became the country's only independent senator in 2001. When he retired in 2006, he was replaced by Bernie Sanders who was the only independent in the Senate until Joe Lieberman left the Democratic party.

Massachusetts: Obama

The most Democratic state in the country for the past 10 presidential elections and it was no surprise that Obama swept its 12 electoral votes. Massachusetts has been a factory for producing Democratic party presidential candidates, including John Kerry who won the state with a 25 point margin in 2004. Other presidential candidates from the state including Ted Kennedy, Michael Dukakis, Paul Tsongas and the Republican Mitt Romney.

New Hampshire: Obama

New Hampshire is special in the US electoral calendar because the first primary of the campaign has been held in the state since 1920. Obama won its four electoral college votes after losing a shock result in January's primary to his then rival Hillary Clinton after being expected to win handily after victory in Iowa.

Delaware: Obama

Delaware has been hotly contested in most presidential races for decades and was a reliable bellwether until 2000, voting for every presidential winner from 1952 to 1996. But in the past two elections it leant more heavily to the Democrats: Al Gore and John Kerry won it easily. It was never likely to be anything but solid Obama with its Senator Joe Biden on the ticket as his running mate.

Georgia: McCain

Georgia was always going to be a long shot for Obama but he had been hoping that a big turnout among black voters in the state where Martin Luther King was born, preached and was buried might put him in contention. But George Bush had won with significantly more than 50 per cent of the vote in 2000 and 2004, and, in the end, Georgia stuck with Republicans, and gave its 15 electoral votes to war hero John McCain.

South Carolina: McCain

South Carolina was always reliably Republican and McCain won its eight electoral college votes; since 1968 it has only voted Democrat once, for Jimmy Carter in 1976. Even at the last election when native son John Edwards was the vice-presidential nominee on the Democratic ticket, it was not enough to move it into the blue column. George W Bush won the state with almost 60 per cent of the vote in 2000 and 2004.

Kentucky: McCain

The blue grass state has not been a competitive state for the Democrats since the days of Bill Clinton, and 2008 was no exception. It was firmly in the Bush camp for 2000 and 2004 as rural America moved towards the Republican party and McCain carried the state with its eight electoral votes. Al Gore, from neighbouring Tennessee, set his sights on Kentucky in the 2000 election after the Clinton-Gore ticket was successful. But Gore, the environmentalist, was seen as hostile to Kentucky's leading industries such as coal, cars and tobacco. Obama was hammered in the primaries by Hillary Clinton.

Tennessee: McCain

The fact that native son Al Gore was unable to carry the state when he ran for president in 2000 as the candidate for the incumbent Democrat party, meant it was unlikely that Obama would ever win Tennessee. While the first black nominee was a big hit with African- American voters in the big cities of Memphis and Nashville, McCain won through state-wide and pocketed the state's11 Electoral College votes.

(c) 2008 Independent, The; London (UK). Provided by ProQuest LLC. All rights Reserved.

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