Presidential Elections In The United States

2008 Presidential Election Candidates

The 2008 United States presidential election was the 56th quadrennial American presidential election, held on Tuesday, November 4, 2008. The Democratic nominee, Barack Obama, defeated the Republican nominee, John McCain. Obama was the first African American to be elected president of the United States.

Biographical Information

Barack Obama was born on August 4, 1961, in Honolulu, Hawaii. He graduated from Columbia University in 1983 and Harvard Law School in 1991. Obama served as a community organizer in Chicago from 1985 to 1992, and was elected to the Illinois State Senate in 1996. He served in the United States Senate from 2005 to 2008.

John McCain was born on August 29, 1936, in the Panama Canal Zone. He graduated from the United States Naval Academy in 1958 and served in the United States Navy for 22 years. McCain was a prisoner of war in North Vietnam from 1967 to 1973. He was elected to the United States Senate from Arizona in 1986 and served until 2018.

Election Results

Obama won the 2008 presidential election by a landslide, receiving 52.9% of the popular vote and 365 electoral votes. McCain received 45.7% of the popular vote and 173 electoral votes. Obama was inaugurated as the 44th president of the United States on January 20, 2009.