List of candidates in the 2008 United States presidential election
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

The following are lists of candidates 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 fr ...
. Candidates who are not on any state ballots, withdrew from the race, suspended their presidential campaign, or failed to earn their party's nomination are listed separately.


Party nominees

All candidates in the table below were on the ballot in multiple states. Those who were on the ballot in enough states to win a majority in the U.S. Electoral College are marked in bold. Candidates who were on the ballot in no more than one state are listed in the next section.
Ron Paul Ronald Ernest Paul (born August 20, 1935) is an American author, activist, physician and retired politician who served as the U.S. representative for Texas's 22nd congressional district from 1976 to 1977 and again from 1979 to 1985, as we ...
was on the ballot in Louisiana with Barry Goldwater, Jr. on the Louisiana Taxpayers Party ticket and in Montana with
Michael Peroutka Michael Anthony Peroutka (born 1952) is an American far-right politician, lawyer, and neo-Confederate activist from Maryland. He was the Republican nominee for Attorney General of Maryland in 2022, and was the Constitution Party candidate f ...
on the Constitution Party of Montana ticket, even though the latter is associated with the national Constitution Party. Paul's supporters also qualified him to receive
write-in A write-in candidate is a candidate whose name does not appear on the ballot but seeks election by asking voters to cast a vote for the candidate by physically writing in the person's name on the ballot. Depending on electoral law it may be pos ...
votes in California. Paul was no longer actively running for president when he attained ballot status and asked to be removed. His request was denied by the Montana Secretary of State, because the request was sent to him too late.


Ballot access

The two major parties in the United States, the Democratic Party and 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 Party ...
, had ballot access in all 50 US states and the
District of Columbia ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle (Washington, D.C.), Logan Circle, Jefferson Memoria ...
. Each state sets its own requirements for candidates to gain ballot access. In some cases it is easier for party nominees to gain ballot access than for independent candidates, so Ralph Nader's independent campaign is associated with parties (pre-existing or newly formed) in some states: PF is the
Peace and Freedom Party The Peace and Freedom Party (PFP) is a left-wing political party with affiliates and former members in more than a dozen American states, including California, Colorado, Florida, Hawaii, Indiana and Utah, but none now have ballot status besides C ...
, NLP is the Natural Law Party, IEP is the
Independent-Ecology Party The 2008 presidential campaign of Ralph Nader, political activist, author, lecturer and attorney began on February 24, 2008. He announced his intent to run as an independent candidate, on NBC's ''Meet The Press''. It was Nader's fifth campaign; ...
, and IP is the Independent Party. In Kansas, Chuck Baldwin's campaign is associated with the Kansas Reform Party after a legal challenge had been brought to recognize national Reform Party candidate Ted Weill on the ballot. George Phillies appeared on the ballot in New Hampshire with the label "Libertarian", with Chris Bennett as his running mate. ;Candidates who had ballot access to enough electoral votes to win the presidency ;Other third party candidates Notes: *Since Socialist Workers party candidate Róger Calero was constitutionally disqualified to be President, in some states the Socialist Workers Party had James Harris (JH) listed on the ballot. ;Other candidates The tickets below were on the ballot in one state. Those without party labels are independents. Some do not have vice-presidential candidates. *Jonathan Allen/Jeffrey Stath (Heartquake '08—Colorado, write-in in Arizona, Georgia, Montana, Ohio, and Texas) *Jeff Boss/Andrea Marie Psoras (Vote Here—New Jersey) *Richard Duncan/Ricky Johnson (Ohio) *
Bradford Lyttle Bradford Lyttle (born November 20, 1927) is an American pacifist and peace activist. He was an organizer with the Committee for Non-Violent Action of several major campaigns against militarism, including "Omaha Action", against land-based nuclea ...
/Abraham Bassford (United States Pacifist Party—Colorado) *Frank McEnulty/David Mangan (Colorado) *John Joseph Polachek (New Party—Illinois) *Jeffrey Wamboldt (We the People Party—Wisconsin) *
Ted Weill Theodore C. Weill (July 25, 1925 – November 20, 2009) was an American politician who served as the presidential nominee of the Reform Party of the United States of America during the 2008 presidential election. Early life Theodore Clark Wei ...
/Frank McEnulty (
Reform Reform ( lat, reformo) means the improvement or amendment of what is wrong, corrupt, unsatisfactory, etc. The use of the word in this way emerges in the late 18th century and is believed to originate from Christopher Wyvill's Association movement ...
—Mississippi)


Guam

Although
Guam Guam (; ch, Guåhan ) is an organized, unincorporated territory of the United States in the Micronesia subregion of the western Pacific Ocean. It is the westernmost point and territory of the United States (reckoned from the geographic cent ...
has no votes in the Electoral College, it has held a straw poll for its presidential preferences since 1980. In 2008, their ballot included Barr, McCain, and Obama. On July 10, 2008, the Guam legislature passed a law moving that poll forward to gain notoriety for Guam's election. The legislation was eventually vetoed.


Primary and convention candidates

* Jared Ball (
Green Green is the color between cyan and yellow on the visible spectrum. It is evoked by light which has a dominant wavelength of roughly 495570 nm. In subtractive color systems, used in painting and color printing, it is created by a combin ...
) * Joe Biden ( Democratic) *
Sam Brownback Samuel Dale Brownback (born September 12, 1956) is an American attorney, politician, diplomat, and member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party who served as the United States Ambassador-at-Large for International Religious Fr ...
(
Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...
) * Eric Chester (
Socialist Socialism is a left-wing economic philosophy and movement encompassing a range of economic systems characterized by the dominance of social ownership of the means of production as opposed to private ownership. As a term, it describes the ...
) *
Stephen Colbert Stephen Tyrone Colbert ( ; born May 13, 1964) is an American comedian, writer, producer, political commentator, actor, and television host. He is best known for hosting the satirical Comedy Central program '' The Colbert Report'' from 2005 ...
( Democratic) *
Hillary Clinton Hillary Diane Rodham Clinton ( Rodham; born October 26, 1947) is an American politician, diplomat, and former lawyer who served as the 67th United States Secretary of State for President Barack Obama from 2009 to 2013, as a United States sen ...
( Democratic) *
Chris Dodd Christopher John Dodd (born May 27, 1944) is an American lobbyist, lawyer, and Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party politician who served as a United States senator from Connecticut from 1981 to 2011. Dodd is the List of United Sta ...
( Democratic) * Susan Gail Ducey (
Constitution A constitution is the aggregate of fundamental principles or established precedents that constitute the legal basis of a polity, organisation or other type of entity and commonly determine how that entity is to be governed. When these pr ...
) *
John Edwards Johnny Reid Edwards (born June 10, 1953) is an American lawyer and former politician who served as a U.S. senator from North Carolina. He was the Democratic nominee for vice president in 2004 alongside John Kerry, losing to incumbents George ...
( Democratic) *
Mike Gravel Maurice Robert "Mike" Gravel ( ; May 13, 1930 – June 26, 2021) was an American politician and writer who served as a United States Senator from Alaska from 1969 to 1981 as a member of the Democratic Party, and who later in life twice ran for ...
( Democratic,
Libertarian Libertarianism (from french: libertaire, "libertarian"; from la, libertas, "freedom") is a political philosophy that upholds liberty as a core value. Libertarians seek to maximize autonomy and political freedom, and minimize the state's en ...
) *
Rudy Giuliani Rudolph William Louis Giuliani (, ; born May 28, 1944) is an American politician and lawyer who served as the 107th Mayor of New York City from 1994 to 2001. He previously served as the United States Associate Attorney General from 1981 to 19 ...
(
Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...
) *
Mike Huckabee Michael Dale Huckabee (born August 24, 1955) is an American politician, Baptist minister, and political commentator who served as the 44th governor of Arkansas from 1996 to 2007. He was a candidate for the Republican Party presidential nominati ...
(
Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...
) * Duncan Hunter (
Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...
) * Daniel Imperato (
Constitution A constitution is the aggregate of fundamental principles or established precedents that constitute the legal basis of a polity, organisation or other type of entity and commonly determine how that entity is to be governed. When these pr ...
,
Libertarian Libertarianism (from french: libertaire, "libertarian"; from la, libertas, "freedom") is a political philosophy that upholds liberty as a core value. Libertarians seek to maximize autonomy and political freedom, and minimize the state's en ...
) * Mike Jingozian (
Libertarian Libertarianism (from french: libertaire, "libertarian"; from la, libertas, "freedom") is a political philosophy that upholds liberty as a core value. Libertarians seek to maximize autonomy and political freedom, and minimize the state's en ...
) * Jesse Johnson (
Green Green is the color between cyan and yellow on the visible spectrum. It is evoked by light which has a dominant wavelength of roughly 495570 nm. In subtractive color systems, used in painting and color printing, it is created by a combin ...
) *
Alan Keyes Alan Lee Keyes (born August 7, 1950) is an American politician, political activist, author, and perennial candidate who served as the Assistant Secretary of State for International Organization Affairs from 1985 to 1987. A member of the Repub ...
(
Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...
,
Constitution A constitution is the aggregate of fundamental principles or established precedents that constitute the legal basis of a polity, organisation or other type of entity and commonly determine how that entity is to be governed. When these pr ...
) *
Steve Kubby Steven Wynn "Steve" Kubby (December 28, 1946 – November 20, 2022) was a Libertarian Party activist who played a key role in the drafting and passage of California Proposition 215. The proposition was a ballot initiative to legalize medical mari ...
(
Libertarian Libertarianism (from french: libertaire, "libertarian"; from la, libertas, "freedom") is a political philosophy that upholds liberty as a core value. Libertarians seek to maximize autonomy and political freedom, and minimize the state's en ...
) *
Dennis Kucinich Dennis John Kucinich (; born October 8, 1946) is an American politician. A U.S. Representative from Ohio from 1997 to 2013, he was also a candidate for the Democratic nomination for president of the United States in 2004 and 2008. He ran fo ...
( Democratic) * Lee L. Mercer Jr. ( Democratic) * Kent Mesplay (
Green Green is the color between cyan and yellow on the visible spectrum. It is evoked by light which has a dominant wavelength of roughly 495570 nm. In subtractive color systems, used in painting and color printing, it is created by a combin ...
) *
Ralph Nader Ralph Nader (; born February 27, 1934) is an American political activist, author, lecturer, and attorney noted for his involvement in consumer protection, environmentalism, and government reform causes. The son of Lebanese immigrants to the Un ...
(
Green Green is the color between cyan and yellow on the visible spectrum. It is evoked by light which has a dominant wavelength of roughly 495570 nm. In subtractive color systems, used in painting and color printing, it is created by a combin ...
) *
Ron Paul Ronald Ernest Paul (born August 20, 1935) is an American author, activist, physician and retired politician who served as the U.S. representative for Texas's 22nd congressional district from 1976 to 1977 and again from 1979 to 1985, as we ...
(
Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...
) * George Phillies (
Libertarian Libertarianism (from french: libertaire, "libertarian"; from la, libertas, "freedom") is a political philosophy that upholds liberty as a core value. Libertarians seek to maximize autonomy and political freedom, and minimize the state's en ...
) *
Bill Richardson William Blaine Richardson III (born November 15, 1947) is an American politician, author, and diplomat who served as the 30th governor of New Mexico from 2003 to 2011. He was also the U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations and Energy Secretary ...
( Democratic) * Max Riekse (
Constitution A constitution is the aggregate of fundamental principles or established precedents that constitute the legal basis of a polity, organisation or other type of entity and commonly determine how that entity is to be governed. When these pr ...
) *
Mitt Romney Willard Mitt Romney (born March 12, 1947) is an American politician, businessman, and lawyer serving as the junior United States senator from Utah since January 2019, succeeding Orrin Hatch. He served as the 70th governor of Massachusetts ...
(
Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...
) * Wayne Allyn Root (
Libertarian Libertarianism (from french: libertaire, "libertarian"; from la, libertas, "freedom") is a political philosophy that upholds liberty as a core value. Libertarians seek to maximize autonomy and political freedom, and minimize the state's en ...
) * Mary Ruwart (
Libertarian Libertarianism (from french: libertaire, "libertarian"; from la, libertas, "freedom") is a political philosophy that upholds liberty as a core value. Libertarians seek to maximize autonomy and political freedom, and minimize the state's en ...
) * Christine Smith (
Libertarian Libertarianism (from french: libertaire, "libertarian"; from la, libertas, "freedom") is a political philosophy that upholds liberty as a core value. Libertarians seek to maximize autonomy and political freedom, and minimize the state's en ...
) *
Kat Swift The 2008 Green National Convention took place on July 10–14, 2008 in Chicago, Illinois at the Palmer House Hilton and Symphony Center. This served as both the venue for the National Convention and the Annual Meeting of the Green Party of the ...
(
Green Green is the color between cyan and yellow on the visible spectrum. It is evoked by light which has a dominant wavelength of roughly 495570 nm. In subtractive color systems, used in painting and color printing, it is created by a combin ...
) *
Tom Tancredo Thomas Gerard Tancredo (; born December 20, 1945) is an American politician from Colorado, who represented the state's sixth congressional district in the United States House of Representatives from 1999 to 2009 as a Republican. He ran for Pres ...
(
Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...
) *
Fred Thompson Freddie Dalton Thompson (August 19, 1942 – November 1, 2015) was an American politician, attorney, lobbyist, columnist, actor, and radio personality. A member of the Republican Party, he served as a United States Senator from Tennessee fr ...
(
Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...
) * Tom Vilsack ( Democratic)


Democratic Party primary ballot access


Republican Party primary ballot access

and Republican Party comprehensive summary at


See also

*
List of candidates in the United States presidential election, 2004 The following are lists of candidates in the 2004 U.S. presidential election. Candidates who were not on any state ballots, withdrew from the race, suspended their presidential campaign, or failed to earn their party's nomination are listed separa ...
*
Comparison of United States presidential candidates, 2008 This article compares the presidential candidates in the United States' 2008 presidential election. It does not cover previous elections. Because of ballot access restrictions in the United States, not all candidates appeared on the ballots in a ...
*
Third party (United States) presidential candidates, 2008 This article contains lists of official third party or independent candidates associated with the 2008 United States presidential election. Third party is a term commonly used in the United States to refer to political parties other than the two ...


References


External links


Ballot Access News
{{DEFAULTSORT:United States Presidential Election, 2008, Candidates 2008-related lists 2000s politics-related lists
2008 File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing; ...