Iowa — 2008 presidential election
Recent presidential results
Akashicstate2008 presidential electionIowa · PresidentObamaD+9.5
How it voted
Share of the 2008 vote
| Barack Obama ✓Democratic | 53.9% | 828,940 |
|---|---|---|
| John McCainRepublican | 44.4% | 682,379 |
| OtherAll other candidates | 1.7% | 25,501 |
2008presidential margin
D+60R+60
99 counties, each filled by 2008 D-vs-R margin. Hover any county for its result.
Iowa cast 7 electoral votes this cycle.
County-level results (99 counties) — table
| County | Winner | Margin |
|---|---|---|
| Adair County, IA | Republican | R+3.4 |
| Adams County, IA | Democratic | D+3.3 |
| Allamakee County, IA | Democratic | D+14.3 |
| Appanoose County, IA | Republican | R+1.9 |
| Audubon County, IA | Democratic | D+3.1 |
| Benton County, IA | Democratic | D+4.5 |
| Black Hawk County, IA | Democratic | D+22.4 |
| Boone County, IA | Democratic | D+7.6 |
| Bremer County, IA | Democratic | D+9.3 |
| Buchanan County, IA | Democratic | D+18.5 |
| Buena Vista County, IA | Republican | R+1.8 |
| Butler County, IA | Republican | R+4.7 |
| Calhoun County, IA | Republican | R+7.7 |
| Carroll County, IA | Democratic | D+3.7 |
| Cass County, IA | Republican | R+10.8 |
| Cedar County, IA | Democratic | D+9.6 |
| Cerro Gordo County, IA | Democratic | D+20.8 |
| Cherokee County, IA | Republican | R+7.6 |
| Chickasaw County, IA | Democratic | D+20.8 |
| Clarke County, IA | Democratic | D+2.3 |
| Clay County, IA | Republican | R+5.1 |
| Clayton County, IA | Democratic | D+17.2 |
| Clinton County, IA | Democratic | D+23.0 |
| Crawford County, IA | Democratic | D+5.1 |
| Dallas County, IA | Republican | R+5.5 |
| Davis County, IA | Republican | R+9.1 |
| Decatur County, IA | Republican | R+0.8 |
| Delaware County, IA | Democratic | D+6.0 |
| Des Moines County, IA | Democratic | D+23.0 |
| Dickinson County, IA | Republican | R+5.4 |
| Dubuque County, IA | Democratic | D+20.8 |
| Emmet County, IA | Democratic | D+3.9 |
| Fayette County, IA | Democratic | D+16.6 |
| Floyd County, IA | Democratic | D+21.9 |
| Franklin County, IA | Democratic | D+1.4 |
| Fremont County, IA | Republican | R+3.6 |
| Greene County, IA | Democratic | D+0.5 |
| Grundy County, IA | Republican | R+16.9 |
| Guthrie County, IA | Republican | R+7.7 |
| Hamilton County, IA | Democratic | D+1.3 |
| Hancock County, IA | Republican | R+3.6 |
| Hardin County, IA | Democratic | D+0.9 |
| Harrison County, IA | Republican | R+4.7 |
| Henry County, IA | Republican | R+5.0 |
| Howard County, IA | Democratic | D+25.8 |
| Humboldt County, IA | Republican | R+14.3 |
| Ida County, IA | Republican | R+16.4 |
| Iowa County, IA | Democratic | D+0.2 |
| Jackson County, IA | Democratic | D+24.4 |
| Jasper County, IA | Democratic | D+7.5 |
| Jefferson County, IA | Democratic | D+20.2 |
| Johnson County, IA | Democratic | D+41.5 |
| Jones County, IA | Democratic | D+10.4 |
| Keokuk County, IA | Republican | R+3.6 |
| Kossuth County, IA | Democratic | D+3.3 |
| Lee County, IA | Democratic | D+16.0 |
| Linn County, IA | Democratic | D+21.5 |
| Louisa County, IA | Democratic | D+4.2 |
| Lucas County, IA | Republican | R+6.7 |
| Lyon County, IA | Republican | R+45.0 |
| Madison County, IA | Republican | R+10.0 |
| Mahaska County, IA | Republican | R+16.5 |
| Marion County, IA | Republican | R+10.8 |
| Marshall County, IA | Democratic | D+9.4 |
| Mills County, IA | Republican | R+16.6 |
| Mitchell County, IA | Democratic | D+12.3 |
| Monona County, IA | Republican | R+2.4 |
| Monroe County, IA | Republican | R+5.2 |
| Montgomery County, IA | Republican | R+10.6 |
| Muscatine County, IA | Democratic | D+15.6 |
| O'Brien County, IA | Republican | R+34.9 |
| Osceola County, IA | Republican | R+31.7 |
| Page County, IA | Republican | R+19.7 |
| Palo Alto County, IA | Democratic | D+2.8 |
| Plymouth County, IA | Republican | R+25.1 |
| Pocahontas County, IA | Republican | R+8.4 |
| Polk County, IA | Democratic | D+14.6 |
| Pottawattamie County, IA | Republican | R+1.9 |
| Poweshiek County, IA | Democratic | D+11.8 |
| Ringgold County, IA | Republican | R+6.1 |
| Sac County, IA | Republican | R+8.9 |
| Scott County, IA | Democratic | D+14.5 |
| Shelby County, IA | Republican | R+9.7 |
| Sioux County, IA | Republican | R+62.8 |
| Story County, IA | Democratic | D+16.2 |
| Tama County, IA | Democratic | D+12.2 |
| Taylor County, IA | Republican | R+8.6 |
| Union County, IA | Democratic | D+3.7 |
| Van Buren County, IA | Republican | R+12.2 |
| Wapello County, IA | Democratic | D+13.5 |
| Warren County, IA | Democratic | D+0.6 |
| Washington County, IA | Republican | R+0.7 |
| Wayne County, IA | Republican | R+7.0 |
| Webster County, IA | Democratic | D+8.5 |
| Winnebago County, IA | Democratic | D+8.6 |
| Winneshiek County, IA | Democratic | D+22.7 |
| Woodbury County, IA | Republican | R+0.5 |
| Worth County, IA | Democratic | D+22.4 |
| Wright County, IA | Republican | R+1.5 |
Iowa results by county
99 counties. Third-party and independent votes are reported by the county source as one combined figure; every named candidate is listed in the complete result below.
| Led by | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Adair County | John McCain+136 | 1,92447.5% | 2,06050.8% | 691.7% | 4,053 |
| Adams County | Barack Obama+72 | 1,11850.7% | 1,04647.4% | 421.9% | 2,206 |
| Allamakee County | Barack Obama+1,006 | 3,97156.3% | 2,96542.0% | 1231.7% | 7,059 |
| Appanoose County | John McCain+116 | 2,97048.1% | 3,08650.0% | 1201.9% | 6,176 |
| Audubon County | Barack Obama+105 | 1,73950.6% | 1,63447.6% | 621.8% | 3,435 |
| Benton County | Barack Obama+611 | 7,05851.5% | 6,44747.0% | 2071.5% | 13,712 |
| Black Hawk County | Barack Obama+14,522 | 39,18460.5% | 24,66238.1% | 9291.4% | 64,775 |
| Boone County | Barack Obama+1,063 | 7,35652.8% | 6,29345.2% | 2802.0% | 13,929 |
| Bremer County | Barack Obama+1,199 | 6,94053.9% | 5,74144.6% | 1901.5% | 12,871 |
| Buchanan County | Barack Obama+1,911 | 6,05058.5% | 4,13940.0% | 1491.4% | 10,338 |
| Buena Vista County | John McCain+148 | 4,07548.4% | 4,22350.2% | 1201.4% | 8,418 |
| Butler County | John McCain+336 | 3,36446.9% | 3,70051.6% | 1021.4% | 7,166 |
| Calhoun County | John McCain+400 | 2,34145.1% | 2,74152.8% | 1132.2% | 5,195 |
| Carroll County | Barack Obama+380 | 5,30251.0% | 4,92247.4% | 1631.6% | 10,387 |
| Cass County | John McCain+795 | 3,21143.7% | 4,00654.5% | 1331.8% | 7,350 |
| Cedar County | Barack Obama+932 | 5,22154.0% | 4,28944.4% | 1551.6% | 9,665 |
| Cerro Gordo County | Barack Obama+5,030 | 14,40559.7% | 9,37538.8% | 3601.5% | 24,140 |
| Cherokee County | John McCain+482 | 2,89045.4% | 3,37253.0% | 1031.6% | 6,365 |
| Chickasaw County | Barack Obama+1,366 | 3,92359.6% | 2,55738.8% | 1031.6% | 6,583 |
| Clarke County | Barack Obama+100 | 2,21849.9% | 2,11847.7% | 1072.4% | 4,443 |
| Clay County | John McCain+430 | 3,92546.7% | 4,35551.9% | 1181.4% | 8,398 |
| Clayton County | Barack Obama+1,544 | 5,19557.8% | 3,65140.6% | 1431.6% | 8,989 |
| Clinton County | Barack Obama+5,694 | 15,01860.8% | 9,32437.7% | 3771.5% | 24,719 |
| Crawford County | Barack Obama+370 | 3,71551.7% | 3,34546.5% | 1311.8% | 7,191 |
| Dallas County | John McCain+1,805 | 15,14946.4% | 16,95451.9% | 5371.6% | 32,640 |
| Davis County | John McCain+349 | 1,68044.0% | 2,02953.2% | 1062.8% | 3,815 |
| Decatur County | John McCain+34 | 1,98648.4% | 2,02049.2% | 962.3% | 4,102 |
| Delaware County | Barack Obama+536 | 4,64952.2% | 4,11346.2% | 1391.6% | 8,901 |
| Des Moines County | Barack Obama+4,741 | 12,46260.6% | 7,72137.5% | 3871.9% | 20,570 |
| Dickinson County | John McCain+537 | 4,62546.7% | 5,16252.1% | 1191.2% | 9,906 |
| Dubuque County | Barack Obama+9,960 | 28,61159.7% | 18,65138.9% | 6911.4% | 47,953 |
| Emmet County | Barack Obama+197 | 2,57051.2% | 2,37347.3% | 721.4% | 5,015 |
| Fayette County | Barack Obama+1,703 | 5,90857.6% | 4,20541.0% | 1461.4% | 10,259 |
| Floyd County | Barack Obama+1,771 | 4,82259.6% | 3,05137.7% | 2182.7% | 8,091 |
| Franklin County | Barack Obama+74 | 2,57550.0% | 2,50148.6% | 721.4% | 5,148 |
| Fremont County | John McCain+141 | 1,84847.5% | 1,98951.1% | 571.5% | 3,894 |
| Greene County | Barack Obama+22 | 2,37149.4% | 2,34948.9% | 841.7% | 4,804 |
| Grundy County | John McCain+1,155 | 2,79040.9% | 3,94557.8% | 931.4% | 6,828 |
| Guthrie County | John McCain+449 | 2,62544.9% | 3,07452.6% | 1482.5% | 5,847 |
| Hamilton County | Barack Obama+105 | 4,01849.7% | 3,91348.4% | 1471.8% | 8,078 |
| Hancock County | John McCain+211 | 2,80547.3% | 3,01650.9% | 1091.8% | 5,930 |
| Hardin County | Barack Obama+78 | 4,39349.6% | 4,31548.7% | 1511.7% | 8,859 |
| Harrison County | John McCain+354 | 3,55546.9% | 3,90951.6% | 1141.5% | 7,578 |
| Henry County | John McCain+473 | 4,34946.4% | 4,82251.4% | 2062.2% | 9,377 |
| Howard County | Barack Obama+1,219 | 2,94162.2% | 1,72236.4% | 651.4% | 4,728 |
| Humboldt County | John McCain+735 | 2,16042.2% | 2,89556.5% | 671.3% | 5,122 |
| Ida County | John McCain+582 | 1,45441.0% | 2,03657.4% | 571.6% | 3,547 |
| Iowa County | Barack Obama+14 | 4,20249.2% | 4,18849.0% | 1561.8% | 8,546 |
| Jackson County | Barack Obama+2,429 | 6,10261.3% | 3,67336.9% | 1801.8% | 9,955 |
| Jasper County | Barack Obama+1,456 | 10,25052.8% | 8,79445.3% | 3771.9% | 19,421 |
| Jefferson County | Barack Obama+1,746 | 5,07058.7% | 3,32438.5% | 2372.7% | 8,631 |
| Johnson County | Barack Obama+30,295 | 51,02769.9% | 20,73228.4% | 1,2161.7% | 72,975 |
| Jones County | Barack Obama+1,041 | 5,44654.4% | 4,40544.0% | 1531.5% | 10,004 |
| Keokuk County | John McCain+194 | 2,51847.0% | 2,71250.6% | 1312.4% | 5,361 |
| Kossuth County | Barack Obama+296 | 4,62550.8% | 4,32947.6% | 1431.6% | 9,097 |
| Lee County | Barack Obama+2,759 | 9,82157.0% | 7,06241.0% | 3412.0% | 17,224 |
| Linn County | Barack Obama+24,411 | 68,03760.0% | 43,62638.5% | 1,6921.5% | 113,355 |
| Louisa County | Barack Obama+209 | 2,52351.3% | 2,31447.0% | 831.7% | 4,920 |
| Lucas County | John McCain+301 | 2,02945.4% | 2,33052.1% | 1122.5% | 4,471 |
| Lyon County | John McCain+2,796 | 1,67526.9% | 4,47171.9% | 711.1% | 6,217 |
| Madison County | John McCain+846 | 3,73344.0% | 4,57954.0% | 1682.0% | 8,480 |
| Mahaska County | John McCain+1,807 | 4,46440.8% | 6,27157.4% | 1971.8% | 10,932 |
| Marion County | John McCain+1,835 | 7,42143.6% | 9,25654.4% | 3532.1% | 17,030 |
| Marshall County | Barack Obama+1,745 | 10,02353.7% | 8,27844.4% | 3561.9% | 18,657 |
| Mills County | John McCain+1,207 | 2,97640.9% | 4,18357.4% | 1231.7% | 7,282 |
| Mitchell County | Barack Obama+710 | 3,17955.1% | 2,46942.8% | 1182.0% | 5,766 |
| Monona County | John McCain+116 | 2,29547.9% | 2,41150.3% | 901.9% | 4,796 |
| Monroe County | John McCain+202 | 1,79846.4% | 2,00051.6% | 751.9% | 3,873 |
| Montgomery County | John McCain+561 | 2,32644.0% | 2,88754.6% | 741.4% | 5,287 |
| Muscatine County | Barack Obama+2,991 | 10,92057.1% | 7,92941.5% | 2701.4% | 19,119 |
| O'Brien County | John McCain+2,556 | 2,33831.9% | 4,89466.7% | 1011.4% | 7,333 |
| Osceola County | John McCain+990 | 1,03733.2% | 2,02764.8% | 632.0% | 3,127 |
| Page County | John McCain+1,451 | 2,90039.4% | 4,35159.1% | 1051.4% | 7,356 |
| Palo Alto County | Barack Obama+134 | 2,42850.5% | 2,29447.7% | 841.7% | 4,806 |
| Plymouth County | John McCain+3,136 | 4,62937.0% | 7,76562.1% | 1180.9% | 12,512 |
| Pocahontas County | John McCain+338 | 1,80044.9% | 2,13853.3% | 731.8% | 4,011 |
| Polk County | Barack Obama+31,316 | 120,98456.4% | 89,66841.8% | 3,7341.7% | 214,386 |
| Pottawattamie County | John McCain+801 | 20,43648.3% | 21,23750.2% | 6471.5% | 42,320 |
| Poweshiek County | Barack Obama+1,179 | 5,51955.0% | 4,34043.3% | 1721.7% | 10,031 |
| Ringgold County | John McCain+165 | 1,23646.0% | 1,40152.1% | 521.9% | 2,689 |
| Sac County | John McCain+449 | 2,25644.6% | 2,70553.5% | 921.8% | 5,053 |
| Scott County | Barack Obama+12,562 | 48,92756.6% | 36,36542.1% | 1,0791.2% | 86,371 |
| Shelby County | John McCain+625 | 2,86344.4% | 3,48854.1% | 1021.6% | 6,453 |
| Sioux County | John McCain+10,460 | 3,03018.2% | 13,49081.0% | 1440.9% | 16,664 |
| Story County | Barack Obama+7,553 | 26,54857.0% | 18,99540.8% | 1,0322.2% | 46,575 |
| Tama County | Barack Obama+1,079 | 4,89955.4% | 3,82043.2% | 1311.5% | 8,850 |
| Taylor County | John McCain+260 | 1,34744.5% | 1,60753.1% | 722.4% | 3,026 |
| Union County | Barack Obama+219 | 3,00050.8% | 2,78147.1% | 1282.2% | 5,909 |
| Van Buren County | John McCain+440 | 1,54642.8% | 1,98655.0% | 762.1% | 3,608 |
| Wapello County | Barack Obama+2,157 | 8,82055.4% | 6,66341.8% | 4482.8% | 15,931 |
| Warren County | Barack Obama+155 | 12,29949.4% | 12,14448.8% | 4371.8% | 24,880 |
| Washington County | John McCain+77 | 5,17048.7% | 5,24749.4% | 2092.0% | 10,626 |
| Wayne County | John McCain+208 | 1,35745.5% | 1,56552.5% | 581.9% | 2,980 |
| Webster County | Barack Obama+1,580 | 9,91753.4% | 8,33744.9% | 3001.6% | 18,554 |
| Winnebago County | Barack Obama+524 | 3,25453.5% | 2,73044.9% | 981.6% | 6,082 |
| Winneshiek County | Barack Obama+2,556 | 6,82960.5% | 4,27337.9% | 1781.6% | 11,280 |
| Woodbury County | John McCain+236 | 21,98349.1% | 22,21949.6% | 5991.3% | 44,801 |
| Worth County | Barack Obama+955 | 2,56760.3% | 1,61237.9% | 781.8% | 4,257 |
| Wright County | John McCain+96 | 3,10248.5% | 3,19850.0% | 951.5% | 6,395 |
Nominees: Barack Obama (D) · John McCain (R)
Iowa's presidential margins
1892–2024, the 2008 contest in context
| Year | Margin (D minus R) |
|---|---|
| 1892 | −5.3% |
| 1896 | −12.6% |
| 1900 | −18.6% |
| 1904 | −32.7% |
| 1908 | −15.0% |
| 1912 | +13.3% |
| 1916 | −11.4% |
| 1920 | −45.5% |
| 1924 | −38.6% |
| 1928 | −24.2% |
| 1932 | +17.7% |
| 1936 | +11.7% |
| 1940 | −4.4% |
| 1944 | −4.5% |
| 1948 | +2.7% |
| 1952 | −28.2% |
| 1956 | −18.4% |
| 1960 | −13.5% |
| 1964 | +24.0% |
| 1968 | −12.2% |
| 1972 | −17.1% |
| 1976 | −1.0% |
| 1980 | −12.7% |
| 1984 | −7.4% |
| 1988 | +10.2% |
| 1992 | +6.0% |
| 1996 | +10.3% |
| 2000 | +0.3% |
| 2004 | −0.7% |
| 2008 | +9.5% |
| 2012 | +5.8% |
| 2016 | −9.3% |
| 2020 | −8.2% |
| 2024 | −13.2% |
Same ballot, 2008IA
Source. MIT Election Data + Science Lab — 2008 presidential returns · official county-level results. Real returns — nothing estimated.