South Dakota was won by Republican nominee John McCain by an 8.4 point margin of victory.

Although South Dakota stayed in the GOP column in 2008 as Republican John McCain carried the state with 53.16% of the popular vote, Obama greatly improved upon John Kerry's performance from four years earlier.

McCain was able to keep South Dakota in the GOP column in 2008, taking in 53.16% of the total statewide vote over Obama who received 44.75%, an 8.41-percent margin of victory.

While McCain did well throughout the state, his main strength was in Western South Dakota, where he often won by landslide margins.

In contrast, Obama ran best in Eastern South Dakota, losing most counties by fairly close margins.

Obama was able to substantially improve upon John Kerry's showing in South Dakota in 2004 by a number of factors.

In the general election, Obama was able to cut the margin significantly by narrowly carrying Minnehaha County, which contains the state's largest city of Sioux Falls.

He did much better than Kerry in Eastern South Dakota, which is where most of the people live, but McCain's margins throughout the state were too large to overcome.

South Dakota has only one congressional district because of its small population compared to other states.