Democratic and liberal support for John McCain in 2008
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John McCain John Sidney McCain III (August 29, 1936 – August 25, 2018) was an American politician and United States Navy officer who served as a United States senator from Arizona from 1987 until his death in 2018. He previously served two terms ...
, the
Republican Party Republican Party is a name used by many political parties around the world, though the term most commonly refers to the United States' Republican Party. Republican Party may also refer to: Africa *Republican Party (Liberia) * Republican Part ...
nominee, was endorsed or supported by some members of the
Democratic Party Democratic Party most often refers to: *Democratic Party (United States) Democratic Party and similar terms may also refer to: Active parties Africa *Botswana Democratic Party *Democratic Party of Equatorial Guinea *Gabonese Democratic Party *Demo ...
and by some political figures holding liberal views in the
2008 United States presidential election The 2008 United States presidential election was the 56th quadrennial presidential election, held on Tuesday, November 4, 2008. The Democratic ticket of Barack Obama, the junior senator from Illinois, and Joe Biden, the senior senator from ...
. McCain Democrat and McCainocrat are terms applied to Democrats who supported McCain. Democratic and liberal supporters of McCain included some elected officials, retired elected officials, journalists, and some supporters of Hillary Clinton's unsuccessful primary campaign. According to exit polls on Election Day, 10% of those who identified themselves as Democrats voted for John McCain, approximately the same percentage of Democratic votes that
George W. Bush George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Republican Party, Bush family, and son of the 41st president George H. W. Bush, he ...
won in 2004.


History of the term "McCain Democrat"

The term "McCain Democrat" first appeared during McCain's 2000 primary campaign. McCain garnered attention for reportedly having cross-party appeal. In Texas, Charles Gandy explicitly ran for the Senate as a "McCain Democrat."


Joe Lieberman

The most well-known Democratic Party member to support McCain was Senator Joe Lieberman, who had run for vice-president as a Democrat in 2000. On December 17, 2007, Lieberman endorsed McCain, contradicting his stance in July 2006 where he stated, "I want Democrats to be back in the majority in Washington and elect a Democratic president in 2008." Lieberman cited his agreement with McCain's stance on the War on Terrorism as the primary reason for the endorsement. On June 5, Lieberman launched "Citizens for McCain," hosted on the McCain campaign website, to recruit Democratic support for John McCain's candidacy. He emphasized the group's outreach to supporters of Hillary Clinton, who was at that time broadly expected to lose the Democratic Presidential nomination to Barack Obama. Citizens for McCain was prominently featured in McCain team efforts to attract disgruntled Hillary Clinton supporters such as Debra Bartoshevich. Lieberman spoke at the
2008 Republican National Convention The 2008 Republican National Convention took place at the Xcel Energy Center in Saint Paul, Minnesota, from September 1, through September 4, 2008. The first day of the Republican Party's convention fell on Labor Day, the last day of the popul ...
on behalf of McCain and his running mate, Alaska Governor
Sarah Palin Sarah Louise Palin (; Heath; born February 11, 1964) is an American politician, commentator, author, and reality television personality who served as the ninth governor of Alaska from 2006 until her resignation in 2009. She was the 2008 R ...
. Lieberman was alongside McCain and Senator Lindsey Graham during a visit to French president
Nicolas Sarkozy Nicolas Paul Stéphane Sarközy de Nagy-Bocsa (; ; born 28 January 1955) is a French politician who served as President of France from 2007 to 2012. Born in Paris, he is of Hungarian, Greek Jewish, and French origin. Mayor of Neuilly-sur-Se ...
on March 21, 2008.


Republican vice president talk

Lieberman was mentioned as a possible vice presidential nominee on a McCain ticket. ABC News reported that Lieberman was McCain's first choice for vice president until several days before the selection, when McCain had decided that picking Lieberman would alienate the conservative base of the Republican Party, due to his left-of-center positions on social issues. Lieberman had been mentioned as a possible secretary of state under a McCain administration. In 2018 McCain confirmed that his advisers had counseled him to not pick Lieberman for the ticket, and that he regretted following their advice.


Fallout and support from Barack Obama

Many Democrats wanted Lieberman to be stripped of his chairmanship of the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs due to his support for John McCain. Republican Minority Leader
Mitch McConnell Addison Mitchell McConnell III (born February 20, 1942) is an American politician and retired attorney serving as the senior United States senator from Kentucky and the Senate minority leader since 2021. Currently in his seventh term, McConne ...
reached out to Lieberman, asking him to caucus with the Republicans. Ultimately, the Senate Democratic Caucus voted 42 to 13 to allow Lieberman to keep chairmanship (although he did lose his membership for the Environment and Public Works Committee). Subsequently, Lieberman announced that he will continue to caucus with the Democrats. Lieberman credited President-elect Barack Obama for helping him keep his chairmanship. Obama had privately urged Democratic Senate majority Leader Harry Reid not to remove Lieberman from his position. Reid stated that Lieberman's criticism of Obama during the election angered him, but that "if you look at the problems we face as a nation, is this a time we walk out of here saying, 'Boy did we get even'?" Senator Tom Carper of Delaware also credited the Democrats' decision on Lieberman to Obama's support, stating that "If Barack can move on, so can we."Lieberman credits Obama after Dems let him keep post
CNN.com, November 18, 2008.


McCain campaign efforts to recruit Democratic support

The case of Debra Bartoshevich, a 41-year-old emergency room nurse from Wisconsin who was featured in McCain's national television ads, is an example of McCain team efforts to recruit high-profile Democrats and supporters of Hillary Clinton. In the ad, Bartoshevich declares herself "a proud Hillary Clinton Democrat" who will vote for
John McCain John Sidney McCain III (August 29, 1936 – August 25, 2018) was an American politician and United States Navy officer who served as a United States senator from Arizona from 1987 until his death in 2018. He previously served two terms ...
, rather than Barack Obama, in the 2008 presidential election. Bartoshevich's support for McCain made national news because she was a delegate to the
Democratic National Convention The Democratic National Convention (DNC) is a series of presidential nominating conventions held every four years since 1832 by the United States Democratic Party. They have been administered by the Democratic National Committee since the 1852 ...
, one of four people from Racine County, Wisconsin selected by a local Democratic caucus. The
Racine, Wisconsin Racine ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Racine County, Wisconsin, United States. It is located on the shore of Lake Michigan at the mouth of the Root River. Racine is situated 22 miles (35 km) south of Milwaukee and approximately 60 ...
''Journal Time'' quotes her, "in a speech before the votes were cast" telling other delegates "I support her because of her universal health care plan...I see the devastating consequences of diseases on the uninsured." Bartoshevich can be seen on YouTube telling a television interviewer that she was contacted by the McCain campaign "approximately three minutes" after Hillary Clinton's June 5 speech suspending her campaign for the presidency. On Friday, June 13, the Milwaukee, Wisconsin Journal Sentinel's website reported Bartoshevich's public affiliation with the McCain campaign. She told the Journal Sentinel that her sister had "encouraged" her to sign up as a supporter with “Citizens for McCain,” an arm of the campaign targeting Democrats and independents. Bartoshevich added that it was the McCain campaign, not she herself, who then notified a reporter. In a later statement to Wisconsin Democratic Party leaders, however, Bartoshevich claimed that it was in fact her sister, who was working for Citizens for McCain, who had put her name onto the McCain campaign website. McCain himself traveled to Racine in July, where he met with Bartoshevich before introducing her and her family to a campaign gathering of about 1,000 people. On August 25, the new ad (called "Debra") was launched. A second McCain ad launched the same day (called "Passed Over") also urged Hillary Clinton's followers to switch allegiance to McCain. Also on August 25, Bartoshevich was made the central figure of a press conference sponsored by the Republican National Committee and hosted by Carly Fiorina. Bartoshevich, who is pro-choice, was asked about McCain's views on ''
Roe v. Wade ''Roe v. Wade'', 410 U.S. 113 (1973),. was a landmark decision of the U.S. Supreme Court in which the Court ruled that the Constitution of the United States conferred the right to have an abortion. The decision struck down many federal and st ...
''. She responded by saying, "Going back to 1999, John McCain did an interview with the San Francisco Chronicle saying that overturning ''Roe v. Wade'' would not make any sense, because then women would have to have illegal abortions". This raised questions, because McCain's position was that ''Roe v. Wade'' should be overturned. In the presidential debate held on October 15, McCain reiterated this point.


Conservative Democratic voters and Hillary Clinton supporters

The Gallup Poll indicates McCain's support among Democrats calling themselves "conservative" by party standards has varied from a low of 15% to a high of 26% according to Gallup. During the campaign, there was significant media discussion of Democratic Hillary Clinton voters backing McCain, in particular members of
People United Means Action "People United Means Action" (or PUMA) was a political action committee in the United States that opposed the Democratic Party leadership and the nomination of Senator Barack Obama as the Democratic candidate for President in the 2008 preside ...
(also known as PUMA, originally standing for "Party Unity My Ass," and also known as "Just Stay No Deal") and those sympathetic to it. After Clinton's June 8 concession, 40% of women who supported Clinton described themselves as dissatisfied and 7% described themselves as angry; 25% said they would support McCain in November.


Polling data

According to Gallup Polls from June 9 to August 17 McCain's cross-party support fluctuated between 10% and 13%. In the poll for August 18 to August 24 support for McCain among Democrats peaked at 14%. From October 13 to October 19 polls showed McCain's support among Democrats to be 7%, which was the lowest thus far. The CNN
exit poll An election exit poll is a poll of voters taken immediately after they have exited the polling stations. A similar poll conducted before actual voters have voted is called an entrance poll. Pollsters – usually private companies working for n ...
s placed his Democratic support at 10% with the same percentage for liberal support. These results may not represent the general voters due to early voting. According to exit polls on Election Day, McCain won the votes of only 10% of Democrats nationwide, the same percentage of Democrats' votes that George W. Bush won in 2004.


Democrats and former Democrats who endorsed John McCain

*
Bartle Bull Bartle Breese Bull or Bartle Bull III (born 1970) is an American businessman and writer. Bull is a former editor of the ''Middle East Monitor'' and foreign editor of '' Prospect'', a leading London-based political and cultural magazine. Early l ...
(the elder), aide for Robert F. Kennedy. *Wendy Button, former speechwriter for Barack Obama, John Edwards, and Hillary Clinton. * Orson Scott Card, science fiction author and Democratic columnist said that he supported and voted for Barack Obama during the primary season, but had become a McCain supporter by September 2008. * David Carlin, former Democratic majority leader of the Rhode Island Senate (pre-1992) * Mark W. Erwin, former U.S. Ambassador *Brenda Ferland, formerly Democratic member of the
New Hampshire House of Representatives The New Hampshire House of Representatives is the lower house in the New Hampshire General Court, the bicameral legislature of the state of New Hampshire. The House of Representatives consists of 400 members coming from 204 legislative district ...
. *
Dick A. Greco Richard Attilio Greco (born September 14, 1933) is a politician, businessman, and civic activist from Tampa, Florida. Early life Dick Greco was born in the Ybor City neighborhood of Tampa, where his Italian-American father owned a hardware sto ...
, former
Mayor of Tampa, Florida In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a Municipal corporation, municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilities ...
* Doreen Howard, member of the
New Hampshire House of Representatives The New Hampshire House of Representatives is the lower house in the New Hampshire General Court, the bicameral legislature of the state of New Hampshire. The House of Representatives consists of 400 members coming from 204 legislative district ...
* Paul Johnson, former
Mayor of Phoenix, Arizona The following is a list of the mayors of Phoenix, Arizona. Living former mayors of Phoenix There are six living former mayors of Phoenix, the oldest being John B. Nelson (served 1994, born 1936). The most recent death of a former mayor of ...
(1990–94) * Alexander M. Keith, former Lt. Governor (1963–1967) of Minnesota (conservative, member of the Minnesota Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party) * Elaine Lafferty, former editor of
Ms. (magazine) ''Ms.'' is an American feminist magazine co-founded in 1971 by journalist and social/political activist Gloria Steinem. It was the first national American feminist magazine. The original editors were Letty Cottin Pogrebin, Mary Thom, Patricia Car ...
* Joe Lieberman, Former Senator for the state of Connecticut and 2000 Democratic vice-presidential candidate ( ID-CT) *Shelly Mandell, president of the Los Angeles, California chapter of National Organization for Women * Zell Miller, former U.S. Senator (D-GA) * Tim Penny, former Representative (1983–1995) (once a member of the Minnesota Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party) *
Lynn Forester de Rothschild Lynn Forester, Lady de Rothschild (born July 2, 1954) is an American-British billionaire businesswoman who is the chief executive officer of E.L. Rothschild, a holding company she owns (previoulsy together with her third husband, Sir Evelyn Robe ...
, businesswoman and fundraiser for Hillary Clinton * Donald Trump, businessman, television personality, politician, and (subsequently, as a Republican) the 45th president of the United States from January 20th 2017 to January 20th 2021. *Bill Veroneau, former mayor of
Concord, New Hampshire Concord () is the capital city of the U.S. state of New Hampshire and the seat of Merrimack County. As of the 2020 census the population was 43,976, making it the third largest city in New Hampshire behind Manchester and Nashua. The village of ...
* Steve Wenzel, former state representative in Minnesota (Bush appointee to the USDA, since then he has only contributed to Republicans) *
R. James Woolsey, Jr. Robert James Woolsey Jr. (born September 21, 1941) is an American political appointee who has served in various senior positions. He headed the Central Intelligence Agency as Director of Central Intelligence from February 5, 1993, until January 1 ...
, former CIA Director under President Bill Clinton, who describes himself as a " Scoop Jackson Democrat."


Democratic politicians who voted for McCain, but did not formally endorse

* Dov Hikind, New York Assemblyman and host of "The Dov Hikind Show" * Gene Taylor – Former representative of
Mississippi's 4th congressional district Mississippi's 4th congressional district covers the southeastern region of the state. It includes all of Mississippi's Gulf Coast, stretching ninety miles between the Alabama border to the east and the Louisiana border to the west, and extends n ...


See also

*
Democrats for Nixon Democrats for Nixon was a campaign to promote Democratic support for the then-incumbent Republican President Richard Nixon in the 1972 presidential election. The campaign was led by the former Democratic governor of Texas, John Connally. Connally ...
* Reagan Democrat * Party switching *
Obama Republican United States President Barack Obama, a member of the Democratic Party, was endorsed or supported by some members of the Republican Party and by some political figures holding conservative views in the 2008 election. Although the vast majority ...
*
People United Means Action "People United Means Action" (or PUMA) was a political action committee in the United States that opposed the Democratic Party leadership and the nomination of Senator Barack Obama as the Democratic candidate for President in the 2008 preside ...


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mccain, John, Democratic And Liberal Support For John McCain 2008 presidential campaign Factions in the Democratic Party (United States)