List of United States presidential candidates, 2008
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This article or section contains information about an upcoming or ongoing election in the United States. Content may change as the election approaches. |
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The United States presidential election of 2008, to be held on November 4, 2008, will be the 55th consecutive quadrennial election for President and Vice president of the United States. There also will be elections for all 435 members of the U.S. House of Representatives and elections for 34 members of the United States Senate.
This article lists major candidates of the Republican and Democratic parties, as well as notable third party and independent candidates in the upcoming United States Presidential election.
Contents |
[edit] Republicans
| These candidates have filed with the Federal Elections Commission (FEC), and are conducting multi-state campaigns. | |
|---|---|
 Senator John McCain Presumptive nominee (Website) |
John McCain, born August 29, 1936, in the U.S.-controlled Panama Canal Zone, Senator from Arizona. Often characterized as a Republican maverick in the Senate, he is well-known. In 2000, he failed in his attempt against George W. Bush for the Republican nomination: McCain continued his ultimately unsuccessful campaign long after the other Republican candidates had united behind Bush. McCain's bipartisan compromise on judicial nominations and his strong support of campaign finance reform have drawn the ire of many groups,[1] many of which have vowed to work against any McCain campaigns for the Republican nomination in 2008. He has a strong stance on many issues and economically falls more along the lines of traditional "fiscal conservatism." These factors, along with his commitment to the War on Terror (including Iraq) have boosted his popularity amongst conservatives since 2004, when he emphasized these traits while stumping for Republican candidates. On November 15, 2006, McCain announced he would form an exploratory committee. On the Late Show with David Letterman on February 28, 2007, he announced he would seek the GOP presidential nomination. He made a formal announcement on April 25, 2007. As of March 4, 2008, he is the presumptive Republican nominee.[2][3] |
 Representative Ron Paul (Website) |
Ron Paul, born August 20, 1935, in Green Tree, Pennsylvania, is a long time U.S. Representative from Texas with a strong constitutionalist and libertarian voting record. Nicknamed "Dr. No" for his opposition to tax increases and spending bills, Paul has chastened his fellow Republicans for abandoning the party's commitment to limited government, and for helping to create an unsustainable national debt now in the trillions of dollars.[4] Paul seeks to "reinstate the Constitution and restore the Republic."[5] On January 11, 2007, Paul filed papers to form an exploratory committee for the 2008 presidential race.[6][7] He formally declared his candidacy 12 March 2007 as a guest on Washington Journal on C-SPAN.[8][9] Paul ran for President as a Libertarian nearly two decades ago. He is opposed to the Iraq War and had the distinction of being one of only seven Republican congressmen who voted against Iraq War authorization in October 2002. He has also opposed George W. Bush and the majority of Republican congressmen on many other issues, including the PATRIOT Act. Although John McCain is the party's presumptive nominee, Paul can still theoretically win the party's nomination in the unlikely event of multiple ballots or released delegates. |
[edit] Democrats
| These have filed with the Federal Elections Commission (FEC), and are conducting multi-state campaigns. | |
Senator Barack Obama |
Barack Obama, born August 4, 1961, in Honolulu, Hawaii, U.S. Senator from Illinois. A "draft Obama" movement began with his well-received 2004 Democratic National Convention keynote address. Obama was the featured speaker at Iowa Senator Tom Harkin's annual steak fry, a political event favored by presidential hopefuls in the lead-up to the Iowa caucus. He was endorsed by talk show host Oprah Winfrey in 2006.[10] If elected, he would become the first African-American President of the United States. Obama announced his candidacy on February 10, 2007. On June 3, 2008, he clinched the Democratic nomination by acquiring the 2,118 delegates required to win the Democratic nomination, according to multiple news sources.[11] On 4 June 2008 Hillary Clinton announced she would support Obama amidst rumour of her withdrawal.[12]
As of June 3, 2008 he is the Democratic presumptive nominee.[11] |
[edit] Third parties and Independents
[edit] Third parties
[edit] Constitution Party
| Nominee | ||
|---|---|---|
| Image:Chuck Baldwin.jpg Chuck Baldwin (Website) |
Minister and long-time conservative political activist. Nominated by the Constitution Party at its 2008 National Convention on April 26, 2008.[13] Darrell Castle of Tennessee is his running mate. | |
[edit] Green Party
| Declared candidates | |
|---|---|
 Cynthia McKinney (Website) |
Former Congresswoman from Georgia. |
| Kent Mesplay
(Website) |
Biomedical engineer who sought Green presidential nomination in 2004 from California. |
| Jesse Johnson (Website) | Filmmaker, Farmer, Activist, Former State Chair of West Virginia Mountain Party, 2004 Gubernatorial nominee, 2006 Senatorial nominee |
 Kat Swift (Website) |
Former State Party Co-Chair, progressive activist and accounts payable bookkeeper for a homeless services non-profit from Texas. |
[edit] Libertarian Party
| Nominee | ||
|---|---|---|
| Bob Barr
|
Former U.S. Congressman and U.S. Attorney from Georgia. Barr received the presidential nomination of the Libertarian Party at its National Convention on May 25, 2008.
 Wikinews has related news:
Wayne Allyn Root of Nevada is his running mate. |
|
[edit] Prohibition Party
| Nominee | |
|---|---|
| Gene Amondson
(Website) |
Leroy Pletten of Michigan is his running mate. |
[edit] Socialist Party USA
| Nominee | |
|---|---|
| Brian Moore
|
Antiwar activist, independent (Green Party endorsed[15]) candidate for U.S. Senate in Florida in 2006.[16][17] Moore received the party's official presidential nomination at its National Convention in St. Louis, Missouri on October 20, 2007.
|
[edit] Independents
| Declared candidates | |
|---|---|
 Frank Moore (Website) |
Performance artist, writer, painter and musician.
|
 Alan Keyes. (Website) |
Former Ambassador in the Ronald Reagan administration. Unsuccessfully sought the endorsements of the Republican Party and the Constitution Party before beginning a campaign as an independent. |
 Ralph Nader (Website) |
Consumer advocate, perennial presidential candidate, Green Party presidential nominee in 1996 and 2000, and 2004 independent presidential candidate. Announced candidacy February 24, 2008 on Meet the Press.
Wikinews has related news:
|
| Jonathon Sharkey.
(Website) |
Professional boxer and wrestler. |
[edit] References
- ^ David S. Broder, "The Senate's Real Leader", Washington Post, May 25, 2005,
- ^ "McCain clinches GOP nomination, CNN projects", March 4, 2008.
- ^ "McCain wins GOP nomination. Huckabee bows out.", CNN.com, March 5, 2008.
- ^ The Coming Entitlement Meltdown at lewrockwell.com accessed at April 17, 2007.
- ^ GOP Presidential candidate would restore Constitution at rawstory.com accessed at April 21, 2007
- ^ Ron Paul Running for President Again? on Third Party Watch accessed at March 4, 2007
- ^ An Actual Peace and Freedom Candidate on blog.lewrockwell.com accessed at March 4, 2007
- ^ Stinebaker, Joe. "Rep. Ron Paul to run for president", The Dallas Morning News, 2007-03-11. Retrieved on 2007-03-11.
- ^ Martin, Gary. "Paul formally launches presidential bid", San Antonio Express-News, 2007-03-12. Retrieved on 2007-03-13.
- ^ Anne E. Kornblut, For This Red Meat Crowd, Obama's '08 Choice Is Clear, The New York Times, September 18, 2006.
- ^ a b http://www.realclearpolitics.com/epolls/2008/president/democratic_delegate_count.html
- ^ Nagourney, Adam; JEFF ZELENY. "Clinton to End Bid and Endorse Obama", The New York Times. Retrieved on 2008-06-04.
- ^ "Constitution Party stunner: Chuck Baldwin KOs firebrand Alan Keyes", KCstar.com. April 26, 2008
- ^ Our Campaigns Blog - Chronicler's Minutiae
- ^ "Green Party endorses Brian Moore for U.S. Senate", Green Party of Florida, 9 September 2006 (accessed 18 November 2007).
- ^ a b "Socialist Party Ticket is Moore-Alexander", Ballot Access News, 20 October 2007 (accessed 20 October 2007).
- ^ Campaign site (accessed 20 October 2007).
