The Pacific

Alaska

In one of the most memorable elections in state history, voters overwhelmingly supported their own as Sarah Palin and John McCain captured 61.5 percent of the vote to Barack Obama's 36.1 percent.

Voters also turned out for incumbent Sen. Ted Stevens (R), despite his conviction on seven felony counts by a jury that decided he did not report gifts worth more than $250,000. With most votes counted, Stevens held a narrow 48.1 percent to 46.5 percent lead over Anchorage Mayor Mark Begich (D). But Begich spokeswoman Julie Hasquet said yesterday that the race could still go either way.

Rep. Don Young (R), the state's sole congressman since 1973, held a solid lead over Anchorage lawyer Ethan Berkowitz (D).

California

Obama won easily in California, where voters were driven to the polls by ballot initiatives and close House races. With more than 95 percent of the precincts reporting by yesterday morning, he had drawn 61.2 percent of the vote.

Just six months after the state Supreme Court ruled that gays and lesbians could legally marry, voters approved Proposition 8 to ban same-sex marriage. They voted down Proposition 7, which would have required utilities to generate half their power from renewable energy by 2025. Opponents had characterized it as a bad execution of a good intention.

In what would be a status-quo outcome for one of the nation's most conservative House seats, GOP state Sen. Tom McClintock was leading Democrat Charlie Brown in the 4th District. With McClintock holding 50.1 percent of the vote to Brown's 49.9 percent, the Brown campaign said "tens of thousands" of uncounted ballots remained and the race was too close to call.

In the 11th District, Democrat Jerry McNerney won a second term over GOP challenger Dean Andal. In the 52nd, GOP Rep. Duncan Hunter was succeeded by his son Duncan D. Hunter.

Hawaii

Hawaii overwhelmingly supported its native son, with Obama drawing 71.8 percent of the vote to McCain's 26.6 percent. The margin exceeded the 40-point spread that Democrats in the state were gunning for.

"If you take the 50 states, we're going for number one," said Chuck Freedman, executive director of Hawaii's Democratic Party, on Election Day. Only the District of Columbia had a wider spread between the two candidates, with Obama drawing 92.8 percent of the vote.

Nevada

Buoyed by 100,000 new registered Democratic voters, Obama won 55 percent to 42.6 percent in a state that backed George W. Bush in the past two elections. It was the first time a Democrat has carried Nevada since 1964.

Both candidates campaigned intensively, but Obama gained votes because of widespread anxiety about the economic downturn, which has hit Nevada particularly hard. The state has had the highest foreclosure rate in the nation for 20 months, and Las Vegas has the highest rate of any U.S. city, according to RealtyTrac, which publishes a national database of foreclosed and bank-owned properties. One in 91 Nevada homes was in foreclosure in August.

Democrats picked up a congressional seat with the victory of former state Senate minority leader Dina Titus over three-term incumbent Jon Porter (R) in suburban Las Vegas. Titus, who lost a race for governor in 2006, won the congressional seat by 47 to 42 percent.