2008 United States presidential election in Illinois facts for kids

The 2008 United States presidential election in Illinois happened on November 4, 2008. People in Illinois voted for their next president. They chose between two main candidates.

One candidate was Barack Obama, a Democrat. He was a Senator from Illinois, so he was from the state itself. His running mate, who would become Vice President, was Joe Biden, a Senator from Delaware. The other main candidate was John McCain, a Republican. He was a Senator from Arizona. His running mate was Sarah Palin, the governor of Alaska.

Barack Obama won the election in Illinois. He received 21 electoral votes from the state. This was a big win for him, especially because he was from Illinois and was very popular in the city of Chicago. Obama got about 3.42 million votes in Illinois. John McCain received about 2.03 million votes.

This election was special for Illinois. It was the last time that more than 20 counties in the state voted for a Democrat in a presidential election. It was also the first time that a Democrat won in six new counties, including Kane, Carroll, Kendall, and McHenry counties. In fact, it was the only presidential election where three specific counties—Boone, McHenry, and Kendall—voted for the Democratic candidate.

Images for kids

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  Illinois delegation at the 2008 Green Party National Convention

See also

In Spanish: Elecciones presidenciales de Estados Unidos en Illinois de 2008 para niños