Breakdown of demographics reveals how black voters swept Obama into White House
By
Claire Cohen for MailOnline
Yesterday, 140 million Americans - a staggering 65% of the registered electorate - cast their votes to make Barack Obama the 44th president of the United States of America. Here we show how the results break down...
Black Americans
95% of black voters went to the ballot for Obama and only 4% for McCain.
Obama has succeeded in mobilising African-American voters who, although strongly Democratic, have in the past been apathetic in turning out to vote.
Yesterday's surge in black voters, however, only boosted black turnout by two percentage points from 11% to 13%.
As in previous years, more black women turned out than men.
<img src="
http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2008/11/05/article-1083335-025B38F6000005DC-494_468x336.jpg" height="336" width="468" alt="Black voters" class="blkBorder"/>
Black voters have been waiting in line since 5am to vote at the Martin Luther King Jr. Elementary School in the Anacostia neighborhood of Washington
Whites
55% of white votes went to McCain including the notoriously hard-to-win white working class vote, but Obama stunned many by taking an impressive 43% of total white votes, cutting the Republican lead compared with 2004.
<img src="
http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2008/11/05/article-1083335-025B808A000005DC-98_468x277.jpg" height="277" width="468" alt="White voters" class="blkBorder"/>
Jenna Mahood, 11, watches her mother, Mary Jo Mahood, cast her ballot in the US Presidential election at the Rootstown fire station in Rootstown, Ohio
Hispanics
66% of Hispanic voters turned out for Obama - the best ever result for a Democrat.
McCain only took 31% of the Hispanic vote, despite courting them heavily in his campaign.
Obama used techniques such as Spanish-language adverts to win the Hispanic voters over, many of whom had grown disgruntled with the Bush administration.
Women
56% of the female vote went to Obama, exceeding the usual Democrat advantage.
Many consider that Obama's appeal to women has been key to his electoral victory, while McCain's selection of Sarah Palin as his running mate, failed to help him secure the support of America's women.
It should be noted that while Obama won the female vote overall, he lost the battle over white women by 7 points.
<img src="
http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2008/11/05/article-1083335-02360AD1000005DC-764_468x297.jpg" height="297" width="468" alt="Women voters" class="blkBorder"/>
Three women from different backgrounds vote early in Pompano Beach, Florida
Men
The male vote was essentially tied with 49% voting for Obama, thus evening the score on the male-heavy Republican advantage in 2004.
41% of white males voted for Obama, making him the first Democrat since Jimmy Carter to take more than 38% in this category.
<img src="
http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2008/11/05/article-1083335-025C5894000005DC-329_468x286.jpg" height="286" width="468" alt="Ohio voters" class="blkBorder"/>
These two male voters have a long hard think before casting their ballots in Columbus, Ohio
Under- 30's
66% of under-30's showed their support for Obama - far higher than in any previous election - compared to 31% for McCain.
A staggering 54% of young white voters also went for Obama.
Overall, this also helped Obama secure a high number of first time voters; 71% of whom voted Democrat.
McCain only managed to secure 29% of first-time voters, compared to 53% for John Kerry in 2004.
Obama's youth - at 47 he is one of the youngest ever presidents - appealed to and energised many of those who were voting for the first time.
<img src="
http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2008/11/05/article-1083335-025BCA30000005DC-261_468x286.jpg" height="286" width="468" alt="Tanner Tillotson" class="blkBorder"/>
First-time voter Tanner Tillotson casts his ballot in Dixville Notch, New Hampshire
Catholics
Nearly 25 per cent of U.S. adults - about 30 million - are Catholic and 54 per cent of them voted for pro-abortion Obama as opposed to 46 per cent for McCain.
Observers say the economy became the key issue for many Catholic Americans, which, along with issues such as the Iraq War and health care, eclipsed abortion.
Extras:
Asians
63% of Asian voters went to the ballot for Obama and 34% for McCain.
<img src="
http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2008/11/05/article-1083335-025BB526000005DC-27_468x304.jpg" height="304" width="468" alt="Voters line up outside a polling centre in Kansas City, Missouri" class="blkBorder"/>
Voters line up outside a polling centre in Kansas City, Missouri
Jews
78% of the Jewish vote went to Obama. Jewish support - which made up 2% of the overall electorate - has, in recent years, been overwhelmingly Democrat; with Al Gore receiving 79% in 2000 and John Kerry 74% in 2004.
