John McCain carried South Dakota R+8.4.

Barack Obama (D) vs John McCain (R) in South Dakota, 2008. The state ran 15.7 points more Republican than the nation (D+7.3 nationally). A US Senate contest shared the 2008 ballot here.

Nominees: Barack Obama (D) · John McCain (R)

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South Dakota result

381,975 votes counted

Obama (D)

170,924

44.7%

McCain (R)

203,054

53.2%

All others

7,997

2.1%

Margin

R+8.4

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2008 presidential election

South Dakota, 2008

McCainR+8.4

How it voted

Share of the 2008 vote

John McCain ✓Republican	53.2%	203,054
Barack ObamaDemocratic	44.7%	170,924
OtherAll other candidates	2.1%	7,997

D+60

R+60

66 counties, each filled by 2008 D-vs-R margin. Hover any county for its result.

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South Dakota's presidential margins

1892–2024, the 2008 contest in context

South Dakota's presidential margins

Year	Margin (D minus R)
1892	−36.5%
1896	+0.2%
1900	−15.6%
1904	−49.4%
1908	−23.8%
1912	+42.1%
1916	+3.9%
1920	−41.0%
1924	−36.3%
1928	−21.0%
1932	+29.2%
1936	+11.5%
1940	−14.8%
1944	−16.7%
1948	−4.8%
1952	−38.5%
1956	−16.8%
1960	−16.4%
1964	+11.2%
1968	−11.3%
1972	−8.6%
1976	−1.5%
1980	−28.8%
1984	−26.5%
1988	−6.3%
1992	−3.5%
1996	−3.5%
2000	+22.7%
2004	−21.3%
2008	−8.4%
2012	−18.0%
2016	−29.8%
2020	−26.2%
2024	−29.2%

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County results — 2008

66 counties; every row links to the county's full page.

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County	Won	Margin	Democratic	Republican	Total
Aurora County	R	−9.3%	655	794	1,495
Beadle County	R	−7.3%	3,493	4,054	7,714
Bennett County	R	−4.7%	557	614	1,208
Bon Homme County	R	−10.9%	1,367	1,712	3,175
Brookings County	D	+5.6%	7,207	6,431	13,945
Brown County	D	+5.6%	9,041	8,067	17,426
Brule County	R	−18.1%	965	1,407	2,439
Buffalo County	D	+48.1%	454	156	619
Butte County	R	−35.6%	1,306	2,821	4,256
Campbell County	R	−40.7%	243	591	854
Charles Mix County	R	−7.6%	1,807	2,109	3,978
Clark County	R	−12.1%	830	1,065	1,940
Clay County	D	+24.2%	3,808	2,296	6,242
Codington County	R	−6.4%	5,595	6,374	12,185
Corson County	D	+21.5%	837	535	1,406
Custer County	R	−31.8%	1,475	2,909	4,507
Davison County	R	−13.9%	3,554	4,731	8,455
Day County	D	+12.9%	1,785	1,372	3,205
Deuel County	R	−1.5%	1,054	1,088	2,218
Dewey County	D	+33.1%	1,328	659	2,019
Douglas County	R	−49.5%	424	1,293	1,756
Edmunds County	R	−19.0%	819	1,213	2,076
Fall River County	R	−26.5%	1,338	2,348	3,809
Faulk County	R	−26.3%	426	739	1,192
Grant County	R	−4.3%	1,786	1,951	3,830
Gregory County	R	−29.0%	771	1,423	2,247
Haakon County	R	−65.2%	187	939	1,153
Hamlin County	R	−22.2%	1,043	1,661	2,787
Hand County	R	−26.3%	718	1,247	2,011
Hanson County	R	−19.1%	961	1,426	2,431
Harding County	R	−59.9%	135	575	734
Hughes County	R	−26.7%	3,037	5,298	8,468
Hutchinson County	R	−28.9%	1,242	2,285	3,608
Hyde County	R	−40.9%	226	547	785
Jackson County	R	−20.6%	435	668	1,133
Jerauld County	R	−0.4%	542	546	1,105
Jones County	R	−50.4%	147	463	627
Kingsbury County	R	−5.7%	1,277	1,435	2,784
Lake County	D	+0.6%	3,033	2,993	6,157
Lawrence County	R	−15.4%	4,932	6,787	12,055
Lincoln County	R	−15.2%	8,642	11,803	20,767
Lyman County	R	−11.2%	710	894	1,641
Marshall County	D	+16.5%	1,261	900	2,191
McCook County	R	−14.5%	1,219	1,646	2,945
McPherson County	R	−34.5%	441	915	1,375
Meade County	R	−32.4%	3,751	7,515	11,606
Mellette County	R	−8.5%	373	445	843
Miner County	D	+2.3%	605	577	1,218
Minnehaha County	D	+0.7%	39,838	39,251	80,552
Moody County	D	+4.8%	1,663	1,508	3,254
Oglala Lakota County	D	+78.8%	2,971	331	3,350
Pennington County	R	−21.2%	17,802	27,603	46,280
Perkins County	R	−35.8%	499	1,102	1,686
Potter County	R	−31.6%	482	937	1,440
Roberts County	D	+19.6%	2,672	1,781	4,536
Sanborn County	R	−14.0%	500	669	1,207
Spink County	R	−3.4%	1,550	1,660	3,269
Stanley County	R	−32.6%	510	1,017	1,553
Sully County	R	−41.8%	233	581	833
Todd County	D	+57.9%	2,208	571	2,828
Tripp County	R	−33.3%	914	1,859	2,839
Turner County	R	−19.7%	1,681	2,538	4,352
Union County	R	−13.8%	3,244	4,310	7,701
Walworth County	R	−28.1%	923	1,668	2,650
Yankton County	R	−2.0%	4,838	5,039	10,134
Ziebach County	D	+27.2%	554	312	891