The 2008 general election, which will forever be known as unprecedented and historical, was especially relevant to San Francisco.
At 8 pm on Nov. 4, 2008, Barack Obama won the title of president-elect, and first-ever black president-elect, with a landslide victory of 364 electoral votes to Republican candidate John McCain's 162 (with Missouri still counting ballots). Obama's total vote tally ended up at 52.5 percent at 64,424,892, while McCain brought in 56,741,774 supporting ballots. San Francisco's support for Obama eclipsed the national trend — 84.7 percent of San Francisco voters chose the Democrat senator from Illinois to be their next president. This nearly unanimous local support for Obama resulted in an atmosphere of widespread celebration in the city, with jubilant crowds in the Mission and the Castro temporarily blocking traffic.
Newspapers around the country sold out their Nov. 5 editions early on, and the San Francisco Chronicle ran a second printing that afternoon. Commemorative reprints of that day's paper were available for sale on the Chronicle's website for $7.95 and posters of that issue's front page were available for upwards of $39.95.
Several state and county propositions also gained widespread attention; Proposition 8, which called the overturning of legalized gay marriage, passed narrowly on a state level, but San Francisco voters strongly opposed it, 76.5 percent.
Results
Source: [the San Francisco Chronicle].
Presidential Race
| Candidate (Running Mate) | Party | San Francisco votes (%) | National votes (%) | Results | ||||
| Barack Obama (Joe Biden) | Democrat | 198,989 (84.7) | 64,424,892 (52.5) | Won | ||||
| John McCain (Sarah Palin) | Republican | 30,888 (13.2) | 56,741,774 (46.4) | Lost | ||||
| Ralph Nader (Matt Gonzalez) | Independent, Peace and Freedom | 2,453 (1.0) | - | Lost | ||||
| Bob Barr (Wayne Allyn Root) | Libertarian | 1,128 (0.5) | - | Lost | ||||
| Cynthia McKinney (Rosa Clemente) | Green | 1,077 (0.5) | - | Lost | ||||
| Alan Keyes (Brian Rohrbough) | America's Independent Party | 266 (0.1) | - | Lost | ||||
California Propositions
| Measure | San Francisco votes (%) | National votes (%) | Results | |||
| 1A - High-speed train | 177,066 (79.2) | 5,058,289 (52.1) | Passed | |||
| 2 - Treatment of Farm Animals | 164,483 (73.7) | 6,243,609 (63.1) | Passed | |||
| 3 - Children's Hospital Bond | 129,217 (59.9) | 5,300,928 (54.8) | Passed | |||
| 4 - Minor Abortions | 53,168 (23.7) | 4,751,583 (48.0) | Failed | |||
| 5 - Sentencing Guidelines | 134,058 (61.4) | 3,898,700 (40.1) | Failed | |||
| 6 - Law Enforcement Fund | 43,504 (20.8) | 2,920,603 (30.8) | Failed | |||
| 7 - Renewable Energy Generation | 66,950 (31.0) | 3,411,425 (35.2) | Failed | |||
| 8 - Same-Sex Marriage Ban | 54,321 (23.5) | 5,376,424 (52.5) | Passed | |||
| 9 - Victims' Rights | 75,128(36.2) | 5,089,419 (53.5) | Passed | |||
| 10 - Alternative Fuel Vehicles | 76,879 (36.2) | 3,879,699 (40.3) | Failed | |||
| 11 - Redistricting | 72,467 (36.0) | 4,656,475 (50.6) | Passed | |||
| 12 - Veterans | 144,228 (69.1) | 5,983,589 (63.5) | Passed | |||
San Francisco Propositions
| Measure | Votes For (%) | Votes Against (%) | Results | |||
| H - Renewable Electricity | 86,859 (40.9) | 125,639 (59.1) | Failed | |||
| K - Legalize Prostitution | 89,833 (42.4) | 121,815 (57.6) | Failed | |||
| R - Bush Sewage Plant | 63,879 (30.9) | 143,087 (69.1) | Failed | |||
| V - Junior ROTC | 107,846 (53.2) | 94,882 (46.8) | Passed | |||
