Indiana was won by Democratic nominee Barack Obama by 28,391 votes, a 1.03% margin of victory. Prior to the election, major news organizations considered the state as leaning toward Republican nominee John McCain or as a toss-up. On election day, Obama narrowly carried Indiana, which marked what is to date the only time a Democratic presidential nominee won Indiana since Lyndon B. Johnson in 1964.
As of the 2024 presidential election[update], this is the last time that the Democratic nominee won any of the following counties: Madison, Spencer, Starke, Vanderburgh, and Vermillion, and the last time the state was decided by a single digit margin. Obama's 1,374,039 votes is the most received by a Democratic presidential candidate in the state's history. While both states went to the Democratic nominee, Indiana voted more Democratic in this election than North Carolina, a modern-day swing state whereas Indiana would return to its Republican roots just four years later.
