2008 Campaign Tracker
Following is a listing of the times the major party nominees for president and vice president visited each state from September 5, the day after the Republican presidential convention, to November 4. This information was compiled from the Washington Post and is based on publicly available information from media reports, campaigns, and other sources. Some events--particularly fundraisers--may not be included in the data, as they are often unannounced.Visits to states not included in the chart include Sarah Palin's two visits to her home state of Alaska, Joe Biden's four visits to his home state of Delaware, and the visits by each candidate corresponding to the debates in Mississippi, Missouri, Tennessee, and New York.

Press Release Series: The Swing States of America

        
  12/4/08 - 2008's Shrinking Battleground
10/29/08 - 99% of 2008 Presidential Campaign Visits in Only 17 States

10/22/08 - With two weeks to go, presidential candidates spoil six lucky states

10/17/08 - In the "Swing States of America," Candidates Ignore a Majority of States and Follow Voting Patterns of 2004 Presidential Election

10/9/08 - Candidates Focus Their Times and Resources on a Handful of States and Follow Voting Patterns of 2004 Presidential Election

2008 Presidential Ad Spending
State Obama 
Biden  
Democrat 

McCain 
Palin  
Republican 

All Visits*
Alabama 0 0 0
0 0 0
0
Alaska 0 0 0
0 0
0

0
Arizona 0 0 0
2
0 2

2
Arkansas 0 0 0
0 0 0
0
California 0 0 0
0 0 0
0
Colorado 5
3
8

5
4
9

17
Connecticut 0 0 0
0 0 0
0
Delaware 0 0
0

0 0 0
0
District of Columbia 0 1 1
0 0 0
1
Florida 12
5
17

8
5
13

30
Georgia 0 0 0
0 0 0
0
Hawaii 0 0 0
0 0 0
0
Idaho 0 0 0
0 0 0
0
Illinois 1
0 1

0 0 0
1
Indiana 4
2
6

1
3
4

10
Iowa 1
0 1

4
3
7

8
Kansas 0 0 0
0 0 0
0
Kentucky 0 0 0
0 0 0
0
Louisiana 0 0 0
0 0 0
0
Maine 0 0 0
0 1
1

1
Maryland 0 1
1

0 0 0
1
Massachusetts 0 0 0
0 0 0
0
Michigan 3 2 5
4 3 7
12
Minnesota 0 0 0
1
0
1

1
Mississippi 0
0 0

0
0 0

0
Missouri 3
5
8

4
4
8

16
Montana 0 0 0
0 0 0
0
Nebraska 0 0 0
0 0 0
0
Nevada 4
1
5

1
3
4

9
New Hampshire 3
3
6

2
1
3

9
New Jersey 0 0 0
0 0 0
0
New Mexico 2
1
3

5
1
6

9
New York 3
1 4

4
2
6

10
North Carolina 5
3
8

2
3
5

13
North Dakota 0 0 0
0 0 0
0
Ohio 6
9
15

9
11
20

35
Oklahoma 0 0 0
0 0 0
0
Oregon 0 0 0
0 0 0
0
Pennsylvania 4
5
9

11
9
20

29
Rhode Island 0 0 0
0 0 0
0
South Carolina 0 0 0
0 0 0
0
South Dakota 0 0 0
0 0 0
0
Tennessee 0
0 0

1
0 1

1
Texas 0 1
1

0 0 0
1
Utah 0 0 0
0 0 0
0
Vermont 0 0 0
0 0 0
0
Virginia 9
6
15

3
3
6

21
Washington 0 0 0
0 0 0
0
West Virginia 0 1
1

0 0 0
1
Wisconsin 2 0 2
5
4
9

11
Wyoming 0 0 0
0 0 0
0
Total







           249

*Information in this chart is based on data from The Washington Post 2008 Campaign Tracker. Visits and fundraisers documented in alternative news sources may not be included. Any portion of a day spent in a state constitutes a visit to that state. For example, if a candidate spends one day in Alabama and has two rallies on that day, this is documented as a single visit to Alabama. Multiple events held in one state on the same day are considered a single visit. Consecutive days spent in a single state are considered multiple visits. For example, if a candidate holds a rally on Monday and holds a speech on Tuesday, both in Alabama, each day constitutes its own visit, and the candidate therefore has two visits to Alabama. For the purposes of our research non-traditional campaign events such as fundraisers, visits to candidates' home states, schedule debates, and work-related visits are excluded from the data.
 
March 16th 2006
Time to Scrap the Electoral College?
New York Times

FairVote executive director Rob Richie writes commentary on the link between the Electoral College and racial minority-voter inequality.

March 14th 2006
Drop Out of the College
The New York Times

The New York Times speaks out in favor of National Popular Vote for President - cites FairVote's research.

March 12th 2006
Bypassing the Electoral College
Fort Worth Star-Telegram

Former U.S. Speaker of the House speaks up for National Popular Vote of the president.

March 9th 2006
Electoral College Drop-Out
Los Angeles City Beat

Prominent columnist Andrew Gumbel voices support for the National Popular Vote Campaign; he criticizes the problems of the Electoral College and the lack of campaigning in most states.

March 5th 2006
At long last: A truly fair popular presidential vote?
The Houston Chronicle

Nationally syndicated columnist Neal Peirce, an Electoral College and popular vote expert, quotes FairVote chairman John Anderson in an op-ed hopeful for reform.

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