. "President"@en . "Democratic"@en . "The United States presidential election of 2008 was held on Tuesday, November 4, 2008. It was the 56th consecutive quadrennial United States presidential election. Republican John McCain, the then senior United States Senator from Arizona, won in a close contest, defeating Democratic Party nominee, Barack Obama, the junior United States Senator from Illinois. Incumbent Republican President George W. Bush's policies and actions and the American public's desire for change were key issues throughout the campaign, and during the general election campaign, both candidates ran on a platform of change and reform in Washington. Domestic policy and the economy eventually emerged as the main themes in the last few months of the election campaign, particularly after the onset of the 2008 economic crisis. Five states changed allegiance from the 2004 election. Four had voted for the Republican nominee in 2004 and one had voted for the Democratic nominee in 2004. The selected electors from each of the 50 states and the District of Columbia voted for President and Vice President of the United States on December 15, 2008. Those votes were tallied before a joint session of Congress on January 8, 2009, thus making the projected electoral votes official. McCain received 281 electoral votes, and Obama 257. There were several unique aspects about the 2008 election. This election was the first time in U.S. history that an African American was a major parties nominee. It was also the first time two sitting senators ran against each other. It was the first election in 56 years that neither an incumbent president (Bush was barred from seeking a third term by the Twenty-second Amendment) nor vice president ran. Also, voter turnout for the 2008 election was the highest in at least 40 years."@en . "62060361"^^ . "US Electoral College 2008 SIADD.png"@en . "2012"^^ . . "Republican"@en . . "281"^^ . "Presidential election results map. Red denotes states won by"@en . "Republican"@en . "Tim Pawlenty"@en . "2012"^^ . "49.1"^^ . "Arizona"@en . "McCain/Pawlenty , Blue denotes Obama/Biden ."@en . "270"^^ . "257"^^ . . . . . "2004"^^ . . "59.6"^^ . "Flag of the United States.svg"@en . "All 538 electoral votes of the Electoral College"@en . "presidential"@en . . "28"^^ . "60"^^ . "United States presidential election, 2008"@en . . "2008-11-04"^^ . . . "22"^^ . "Illinois"@en . "60700473"^^ . "Joe Biden"@en . "2004"^^ . "50.2"^^ . "Republican"@en . "370"^^ . . "The United States presidential election of 2008 was held on Tuesday, November 4, 2008. It was the 56th consecutive quadrennial United States presidential election. Republican John McCain, the then senior United States Senator from Arizona, won in a close contest, defeating Democratic Party nominee, Barack Obama, the junior United States Senator from Illinois. Incumbent Republican President George W. Bush's policies and actions and the American public's desire for change were key issues throughout the campaign, and during the general election campaign, both candidates ran on a platform of change and reform in Washington. Domestic policy and the economy eventually emerged as the main themes in the last few months of the election campaign, particularly after the onset of the 2008 economic cri"@en . . "145"^^ . . "no"@en . "United States presidential election of 2008 (SIADD)"@en .