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United States Presidential Election, 2008
4 November 2008
PartyRepublican PartyDemocratic Party
The United States presidential election of 2008, scheduled to be held on November 4, 2008, will be the 55th consecutive quadrennial election for president and vice president of the United States. The election will coincide with the 2008 Senate elections, House of Representatives elections, and gubernatorial elections, as well as many state and local elections.

As laid out by the United States Constitution, the individual who receives a majority of votes for president in the Electoral College — 270 votes are needed for a majority — will be the 44th president of the United States, and the individual who receives a majority of electoral votes for vice president will be the 47th vice president of the United States. If no presidential candidate receives a majority in the Electoral College at that time, then the president-elect will be selected by a vote of the House of Representatives, with each state receiving a single vote. If no vice presidential candidate receives a majority, then the vice president-elect will be selected by a vote of the Senate. These situations, however, have not occurred since 1825 and 1837, respectively.

As in the 2004 presidential election, the allocation of electoral votes to each state will be partially based on the 2000 Census. The president-elect and vice president-elect are scheduled to be inaugurated on Tuesday, January 20, 2009.

2008 presidential election characteristics

First election without incumbents in the primaries since 1928

When a United States President leaves office, his vice president is usually considered a leading candidate and likely nominee to succeed him. However, current Vice President Dick Cheney announced in 2001 that he would never run for president, a statement he re-iterated in 2004. While appearing on Fox News Sunday, Cheney stated: "I will say just as hard as I possibly know how to say... If nominated, I will not run; if elected, I will not serve."[1] The 2008 election will therefore mark the first time since the 1928 election in which there is neither an incumbent president nor an incumbent vice president running for his party's nomination in the presidential election. The 1952 election was the last time neither the incumbent president nor incumbent vice president ran in the general election, as Vice President Alben Barkley sought but failed to win the Democratic nomination.[2]

In the three most recent presidential administrations featuring an outgoing two-term president — those of Eisenhower, Reagan, and Clinton — the incumbent vice president has immediately thereafter run for president. (Richard Nixon lost the 1960 election, George H. W. Bush won the 1988 election, and Al Gore lost the 2000 election.)[3][4]

A noteworthy fact is that the last time there were consecutive presidents who had both completed 2 full terms in office was in April of 1825 when James Monroe left office as the 5th president. Since the back-to-back presidencies of James Madison and James Monroe, there have been no consecutive 2 full-term presidencies until Bill Clinton and George W. Bush.

In the 1952 election, the race was between Republican candidate Dwight D. Eisenhower and Democratic candidate Adlai Stevenson; earlier that year, incumbent President Harry S Truman allowed his name to stand in the New Hampshire primary but did not campaign. He lost to Tennessee Senator Estes Kefauver and formally withdrew his name from consideration.

In the 1968 election, Lyndon Johnson initially decided to seek re-election. He entered the New Hampshire primary and won. However, he had a national poll conducted, which yielded results against his favor. Therefore, in a nationally televised speech, Johnson announced to the public that he would not seek re-election. Incumbent Vice President Hubert Humphrey then chose to run and was the eventual Democratic nominee. Had LBJ stayed in the race and won (and completed his second elected term), he would have served more than 9 years. The 22nd Amendment didn't disqualify him for a second elected term, as he served only 14 months of John F. Kennedy's unexpired term.<ref name="historicalresults" /> The other recent Vice Presidents, such as Dan Quayle and Walter Mondale, have also sought the office of president at various times. Mondale succeeded his President, the one-term Jimmy Carter, as his party's candidate, and Quayle was unsuccessful in winning the nomination for the country's highest office.<ref name="2000results" />

Campaign costs

Main article: Fundraising for the 2008 presidential election


The reported cost of campaigning for President has risen significantly in recent years. One source reported that if the costs for both Democratic and Republican campaigns are added together (for the Presidential primary election, general election, and the political conventions) the costs have more than doubled in only eight years ($448.9 million in 1996, $649.5 million in 2000, and $1.01 billion in 2004).[5] In January 2007, Federal Election Commission Chairman Michael Toner estimated that the 2008 race will be a "$1 billion election," and that to be "taken seriously," a candidate will need to raise at least $100 million by the end of 2007.

Although he has said that he will not be running for president, published reports indicate that billionaire and New York City mayor Michael Bloomberg has been considering a presidential bid with $1 billion of his own fortune to finance it.[6] Should Bloomberg decide to run as an independent, he would not need to campaign in the primary elections or participate in the conventions, greatly reducing both the necessary length and cost of his campaign.

Effect of the Internet

In late April, Huffington Post, Yahoo!, and Slate magazine announced that they would be hosting one Democratic and one Republican debate for Presidential hopefuls. The debates are proposed to be held after Labor Day and hosted by Charlie Rose. Of the debates, Arianna Huffington remarked "It was clear to me, the 2008 campaign was going to be dominated by what's happening online — new technologies, new media like never before."[7]

CNN and YouTube hosted a debate between the Democratic presidential candidates on July 23, 2007, with questions coming from YouTube viewer submitted videos. The debate took place at The Citadel in Charleston, South Carolina. In all, 39 questions were asked from the 3,000 submissions YouTube said it received. Different types of questions were asked of the candidates. Most observers agreed that none of the candidates debating particularly outshone their rivals, doing nothing to challenge Hillary Clinton's position as the Democratic race's front-runner[8]. A Republican debate was scheduled for September 17, 2007, in Florida[8], but has been rescheduled to November 28, 2007, at the Mahaffey Theatre in St. Petersburg.[9]

Yahoo! Answers has become a platform for an ongoing Q & A process for voters to ask and answer questions posed by presidential candidates and US voters[10] including Hillary Clinton, John McCain, and Barack Obama.

Many of the presidential candidates have been trying to connect with younger voters, through YouTube[11], MySpace[12], and Facebook<ref name="garry" />. Currently Republican Ron Paul[13][14] and Democratic candidate Barack Obama are most actively courting the Internet.[15]

Timeline

Main article: United States presidential election, 2008 timeline

Early stages

Federal law requires reporting of funds spent and raised for elections. Potential candidates harboring serious intentions of running in the 2008 election had to create and register a campaign committee before receiving contributions. As the first candidates began filing the paperwork, other politicians felt a pressure to build support before a front-runner emerged, spurring on further declarations of candidacy. News media coverage and attendant "buzz" would increase around certain individuals, and those without an active campaign (and not just a legal status as a candidate) risked being regarded non-contenders. Most potential candidates formed exploratory committees or announced their candidacies outright by November 2006. The goals of these committees were media attention and fund-raising. Broadcast media discussions by various pundits and a series of events sponsored by the different parties during 2007, including debates, straw polls, and other events were staged to give voters a chance to get to know the candidates. The Democrats, for example, hosted a series of candidate forums and debates in Nevada, which began on February 21, as well as a debate in South Carolina on April 26.

The Republican Party also planned events for the candidates, for example, the televised debate at the Ronald Reagan Library in California on May 3, was the first of a series that would last through the summer and fall, and after the traditional Ames Straw Poll in Iowa on August 11, Tommy Thompson withdrew from the race after faring poorly there.

"Front runner" status is dependent on the news agency reporting, but by October 2007, the consensus listed about six candidates as leading the pack. For example, CNN lists Clinton, Edwards, Giuliani, Fred Thompson, Obama, and Romney as the front runners. [16] The Washington Post listed Clinton, Edwards and Obama as the Democratic frontrunners, "leading in polls and fundraising and well ahead of the other major candidates." [17] MSNBC's Chuck Todd christened Giuliani and McCain the Republican front runners after the second Republican presidential debate. [18]

Three candidates, Clinton, Obama, and Romney, raised over $20 million in the first three months of 2007, and three others, Edwards, Giuliani, and McCain, raised over $12 million, the next closest candidate was Bill Richardson, who raised over $6 million. [19]

According to a poll featured on ABC News and released February 2007, 65% of respondents stated that they are following the 2008 election closely, a very high number considering that the election was more than a year away.

Official primary and caucus dates

Main articles: Democratic Party (United States) presidential primaries, 2008 and Republican Party (United States) presidential primaries, 2008
Delegates to national party conventions are selected through direct primary elections, state caucuses, and state conventions. The process continues through June, but in previous cycles, the Democratic and Republican candidates were effectively chosen by the March primaries. This is due to winning candidates collecting a majority of committed delegates to win their party's nomination. Most third parties select delegates to their national conventions through state conventions.

February 5, 2008, looks set to be a decisive date, one month before the traditional Super Tuesday, as up to twenty states, with half of the population of the United States among them, are moving to hold their primaries on what is being called Tsunami Tuesday, National Presidential Primary Day, Giga Tuesday, The Unofficial National Primary or Super Duper Tuesday.[20][21][22][23][24]

Later events

Candidates and potential candidates

Main article: United States presidential candidates, 2008


Politicians with ambition have begun to express formally their desire for the presidency in the form of "exploratory committees," which allow the hopeful to raise money and travel without having to follow certain financial restrictions mandated by federal law. With official events, such as debates and candidate forums, beginning as early as February 2007, the status of a candidate will be based on whether or not he or she is invited. Several minor candidates in the past have tried to litigate their way in, generating some publicity but little public support.

Politicians who have expressed interest in a 2008 candidacy and have not ruled it out qualify for listing in the "Potential candidates" sections.

Major Parties

Democratic Party

Main article: United States Democratic presidential candidates, 2008
Candidates for the Democratic Party: Active draft movement:

External links

News media
 •  • [ e]
United States presidential election, 2008
Democratic Party: Primaries Primary polls Convention Debates
Candidates: Biden (campaign, views) Clinton (campaign, views) Dodd
Edwards (campaign, views) Gravel (campaign, views)
Kucinich (campaign, views) Obama (campaign, views)
Richardson
Other candidates: LaManga Prattas Francis Active draft movements: Clark Gore
Withdrawn candidates: Vilsack
Republican Party: Primaries Primary polls Convention Debates
Candidates: Brownback Giuliani (campaign, views) Huckabee (campaign, views) Hunter (campaign, views) McCain (campaign, views) Paul (campaign, views) Romney (campaign, views) Tancredo F. Thompson (campaign, views)
Other candidates: Cort Cox Furniss Gilbert Klein Kennedy M. Smith R. Smith McKinney Sprankle Wuensche Active draft movements: Gingrich Keyes Rice
Withdrawn candidates: Gilmore T. Thompson
Third party candidates: Constitution Party-- Grundmann Malatesta Templin Green Party-- Adams Brown Kann Mesplay Schriner Swift Libertarian Party-- Imperato Jackson Jingozian Kubby Link Milnes Phillies (campaign) Root Smith Prohibition Party-- Amondson Dodge
Independent draft movements: Bloomberg Nader Self-declared potential candidates: Nunn General articles: Candidates Opinion polling (Dem Election timeline Fundraising
Other 2008 elections: House Senate Gubernatorial
Federal Election Commission: Campaign filings of 2008 Presidential hopefuls
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An election is a decision making process where people choose people to hold official offices. This is the usual mechanism by which modern democracy fills offices in the legislature, sometimes in the executive and judiciary, and for regional and local government.
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