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Obama achieves historic U.S. presidential victory
270 electoral college votes needed to capture White House
Last Updated: Tuesday, November 4, 2008 | 11:04 PM ET CBC News
Democratic candidate Barack Obama made history on election night Tuesday with a victory over Republican rival John McCain to become the nation's first black president.
Several U.S. media outlets projected Obama captured at least the required minimum of 270 electoral votes, including those in the coveted states of Pennsylvania and Ohio, which has backed the victorious presidential candidate since 1964 and no Republican president has been elected to office without winning the state.
Obama also exceeded expectations with a projected win in Virginia, the former bedrock of the Confederacy and a state that hasn't backed a Democratic presidential candidate in 40 years.
An Obama victory was also being projected in Iowa and New Mexico, which were won by President George W. Bush in 2004.
Meanwhile, McCain was the projected winner of 135 electoral votes in southern states his campaign expected to capture, including Georgia, Texas, Alabama, Kentucky, Tennessee and South Carolina, as well as in traditionally Republican states in the west, such as Utah and Wyoming.
But the defeat early in the evening in Pennsylvania narrowed the chances of victory for the Republican hopeful, who had poured significant resources into the state and made several campaign appearances there in recent months.
The Democratic candidate also added New York, Michigan, Minnesota, Rhode Island and Wisconsin to his earlier projected victories in traditionally Democratic states, including New Hampshire, Massachusetts and Illinois, the state he has represented in the Senate since 2006.
In Florida, Obama was leading early and performing better in reporting polls than Democratic hopeful John Kerry did four years ago, but it was too early to predict a winner in the state that ultimately elected Bush over Al Gore in 2000.
The last polls close in Alaska at 1 a.m. ET Wednesday, but the majority of states are expected to be decided between 10 p.m. and midnight ET.
States are apportioned electoral votes according to the size of their population, and in most cases the winner of a state's popular vote gets all its electoral votes.
McCain tells reporters: 'We had a great ride'
Earlier in the day before polls closed, McCain remained undeterred by polls suggesting Obama was poised to win, vowing on the flight to his home state of Arizona that momentum was on his side to stage an upset victory.
"I'm feeling good, feeling confident about the way things have turned out," McCain told reporters and photographers who travelled the country with him during the presidential contest.
Alongside his wife, Cindy, McCain reminisced about the lengthy journey over the past 22 months of campaigning.
"We've had a great ride, a great experience full of memories that we will always treasure," he said.
A victory for McCain would also be historic — his running mate, Alaskan Gov. Sarah Palin, would become the first female vice-president. McCain, at 72, would also become the oldest president ever elected to a first term.
A Reuters/Zogby poll released Tuesday had Obama expanding his national lead to 11 points over McCain. But other polls suggest the race is tighter.
Meanwhile, an Associated Press exit poll of more than 10,000 voters conducted in 300 precincts nationally suggested the majority of those casting their ballots were most worried about the nation's economy.
Six in 10 voters picked it as the most important issue facing the nation, while none of the four other issues listed by exit pollsters — energy, Iraq, terrorism and health care — was picked by more than one in 10 people, according to the poll's preliminary results.
Obama was the first of the presidential candidates to get out to the polls.
The 47-year-old Illinois senator cast his ballot after arriving at his voting precinct in Chicago shortly after 7:30 a.m. local time, accompanied by his wife, Michelle, and their two young daughters.
"I voted," Obama said, holding up the validation slip.
McCain voted in Phoenix at a church near his home later Tuesday morning. The Arizona senator cast his ballot after arriving with his wife.
'We've had a great ride, a great experience full of memories that we will always treasure.'
—John McCain, Republican presidential candidateThe longtime senator and Vietnam veteran signed a poster and gave a thumbs-up sign before leaving for a rally in Grand Junction, Colo.
Palin, Biden vote in home states
At least 130 million Americans were expected to cast ballots to elect the 44th president of the United States.
Both candidates were on the campaign trail until the bitter end, with Obama made a campaign stop in Indiana before heading back to Chicago.
In addition to the Colorado rally, McCain held another event in New Mexico before heading to his home state for an election night party in Phoenix.
Palin, meanwhile, voted early Tuesday in her home town of Wasilla, Alaska, accompanied by her husband, Todd Palin.
"Tomorrow, I hope, I pray, I believe that I'll be able to wake up as vice-president elect and be able to get to work," she said.
Democratic vice-presidential candidate Joe Biden voted in Wilmington, Del., with his wife, Jill Biden, and his 91-year-old mother.
After giving reporters a thumbs-up sign, Biden turned to his mother and joked, "Don't tell them who you voted for."
Bush: 'May God bless whoever wins tonight'
As they wound down their campaigns on Monday, the candidates stuck to familiar themes in their addresses to supporters.
Democratic vice-presidential candidate Joe Biden waves after after voting with his wife Jill, far left, and mother Jean, centre, on Tuesday in Wilmington, Del. (Rob Carr/Associated Press)Obama warned that a vote for McCain would continue the failed policies of the administration of Bush, who is slated to leave office after eight years with near-record low approval ratings as America faces one of the largest financial crises since the Great Depression.
"When it comes to the economy, the truth is that John McCain has stood with President Bush every step of the way," he told his supporters at a rally in Virginia on Monday night.
But McCain — who has portrayed himself during the lengthy campaign as a maverick candidate of change despite Republicans being the incumbent party in the White House — countered that Obama's policies are far left of the political views of the majority of Americans.
"He's in the far left lane of American politics and he's stuck there," McCain said Monday in Blountville, Tenn.
Bush, whose record as president was under fire for much of the campaign, was conspicuously absent on Tuesday, making no public appearances.
The president cast an absentee ballot several days ago and was spending election night in the White House residence at a dinner with his wife Laura and several friends, according to a spokeswoman.
White House press secretary Dana Perino said Bush ended his dinner toast this way: "And may God bless whoever wins tonight."
270 electoral college votes needed to capture White House
Last Updated: Tuesday, November 4, 2008 | 11:04 PM ET CBC News
Democratic candidate Barack Obama made history on election night Tuesday with a victory over Republican rival John McCain to become the nation's first black president.
Several U.S. media outlets projected Obama captured at least the required minimum of 270 electoral votes, including those in the coveted states of Pennsylvania and Ohio, which has backed the victorious presidential candidate since 1964 and no Republican president has been elected to office without winning the state.
Obama also exceeded expectations with a projected win in Virginia, the former bedrock of the Confederacy and a state that hasn't backed a Democratic presidential candidate in 40 years.
An Obama victory was also being projected in Iowa and New Mexico, which were won by President George W. Bush in 2004.
Meanwhile, McCain was the projected winner of 135 electoral votes in southern states his campaign expected to capture, including Georgia, Texas, Alabama, Kentucky, Tennessee and South Carolina, as well as in traditionally Republican states in the west, such as Utah and Wyoming.
But the defeat early in the evening in Pennsylvania narrowed the chances of victory for the Republican hopeful, who had poured significant resources into the state and made several campaign appearances there in recent months.
The Democratic candidate also added New York, Michigan, Minnesota, Rhode Island and Wisconsin to his earlier projected victories in traditionally Democratic states, including New Hampshire, Massachusetts and Illinois, the state he has represented in the Senate since 2006.
In Florida, Obama was leading early and performing better in reporting polls than Democratic hopeful John Kerry did four years ago, but it was too early to predict a winner in the state that ultimately elected Bush over Al Gore in 2000.
The last polls close in Alaska at 1 a.m. ET Wednesday, but the majority of states are expected to be decided between 10 p.m. and midnight ET.
States are apportioned electoral votes according to the size of their population, and in most cases the winner of a state's popular vote gets all its electoral votes.
McCain tells reporters: 'We had a great ride'
Earlier in the day before polls closed, McCain remained undeterred by polls suggesting Obama was poised to win, vowing on the flight to his home state of Arizona that momentum was on his side to stage an upset victory.
"I'm feeling good, feeling confident about the way things have turned out," McCain told reporters and photographers who travelled the country with him during the presidential contest.
Alongside his wife, Cindy, McCain reminisced about the lengthy journey over the past 22 months of campaigning.
"We've had a great ride, a great experience full of memories that we will always treasure," he said.
A victory for McCain would also be historic — his running mate, Alaskan Gov. Sarah Palin, would become the first female vice-president. McCain, at 72, would also become the oldest president ever elected to a first term.
A Reuters/Zogby poll released Tuesday had Obama expanding his national lead to 11 points over McCain. But other polls suggest the race is tighter.
Meanwhile, an Associated Press exit poll of more than 10,000 voters conducted in 300 precincts nationally suggested the majority of those casting their ballots were most worried about the nation's economy.
Six in 10 voters picked it as the most important issue facing the nation, while none of the four other issues listed by exit pollsters — energy, Iraq, terrorism and health care — was picked by more than one in 10 people, according to the poll's preliminary results.
Obama was the first of the presidential candidates to get out to the polls.
The 47-year-old Illinois senator cast his ballot after arriving at his voting precinct in Chicago shortly after 7:30 a.m. local time, accompanied by his wife, Michelle, and their two young daughters.
"I voted," Obama said, holding up the validation slip.
McCain voted in Phoenix at a church near his home later Tuesday morning. The Arizona senator cast his ballot after arriving with his wife.
'We've had a great ride, a great experience full of memories that we will always treasure.'
—John McCain, Republican presidential candidateThe longtime senator and Vietnam veteran signed a poster and gave a thumbs-up sign before leaving for a rally in Grand Junction, Colo.
Palin, Biden vote in home states
At least 130 million Americans were expected to cast ballots to elect the 44th president of the United States.
Both candidates were on the campaign trail until the bitter end, with Obama made a campaign stop in Indiana before heading back to Chicago.
In addition to the Colorado rally, McCain held another event in New Mexico before heading to his home state for an election night party in Phoenix.
Palin, meanwhile, voted early Tuesday in her home town of Wasilla, Alaska, accompanied by her husband, Todd Palin.
"Tomorrow, I hope, I pray, I believe that I'll be able to wake up as vice-president elect and be able to get to work," she said.
Democratic vice-presidential candidate Joe Biden voted in Wilmington, Del., with his wife, Jill Biden, and his 91-year-old mother.
After giving reporters a thumbs-up sign, Biden turned to his mother and joked, "Don't tell them who you voted for."
Bush: 'May God bless whoever wins tonight'
As they wound down their campaigns on Monday, the candidates stuck to familiar themes in their addresses to supporters.
Democratic vice-presidential candidate Joe Biden waves after after voting with his wife Jill, far left, and mother Jean, centre, on Tuesday in Wilmington, Del. (Rob Carr/Associated Press)Obama warned that a vote for McCain would continue the failed policies of the administration of Bush, who is slated to leave office after eight years with near-record low approval ratings as America faces one of the largest financial crises since the Great Depression.
"When it comes to the economy, the truth is that John McCain has stood with President Bush every step of the way," he told his supporters at a rally in Virginia on Monday night.
But McCain — who has portrayed himself during the lengthy campaign as a maverick candidate of change despite Republicans being the incumbent party in the White House — countered that Obama's policies are far left of the political views of the majority of Americans.
"He's in the far left lane of American politics and he's stuck there," McCain said Monday in Blountville, Tenn.
Bush, whose record as president was under fire for much of the campaign, was conspicuously absent on Tuesday, making no public appearances.
The president cast an absentee ballot several days ago and was spending election night in the White House residence at a dinner with his wife Laura and several friends, according to a spokeswoman.
White House press secretary Dana Perino said Bush ended his dinner toast this way: "And may God bless whoever wins tonight."
