This article refers to the selection process of the Republican U.S. presidential candidate in the 2008 general election. For results of specific primaries and caucuses , see Results of the 2008 Republican Party presidential primaries.
Candidates
Main article: United States Republican presidential candidates, 2008Notes for the following table: Delegate counts is the final estimated delegate count.
Calendar and representation
Republican candidates in the 2008 U.S. presidential election campaigned for the nomination of their party in a series of primary elections and caucus events.
Delegate selection
Unlike the Democratic Party, which mandates a proportional representation for delegate selection, the Republican Party has no such limitation. For states with primaries, some states choose to use the "winner-take-all" method to allocate delegates within a state, while others do winner-take-all within a specific congressional district, and still others use the proportional process. Unlike the Democratic Party state party by-laws determine whether each delegate is pledged and for long the delegate is pledged.
In caucus states, most state parties use a two pronged process. A straw poll, often called a presidential preference poll , is conducted of the attendees at the caucus. The results are released to the media and published on the state party website. Delegates are then elected to the county conventions. It is at the county conventions that delegates are elected to state conventions, and from the state convention to the national convention. At each level, delegates may be bound or unbound to a candidate. If unbound, delegates are not obligated to follow the results of the presidential preference poll. Thus, all estimates of delegates from caucus states are dependent on state party by-laws.
Endorsements
Main article: Congressional endorsements for the 2008 United States presidential electionUnlike in the Democratic Party, Republican members of Congress (including Senate members, House members, and non-voting delegates), and state governors are not automatically made delegates to the party's national convention, however their endorsements can hold sway on voters in caucuses and primaries.
Each state's two members of the Republican National Committee, and the party chairs of each US state and the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, American Samoa, Guam, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and Northern Mariana Islands are the only automatic delegates to the party's national convention. These superdelegates while officially uncommitted, may also publicly endorse a candidate.
Campaign timeline
Further information: Republican Party (United States) presidential debates, 2008Early campaigning
With Vice President Dick Cheney choosing not to seek the nomination, the race for the 2008 presidential nomination was wide open. It officially began in March 2006 when John H. Cox became the first candidate to enter the 2008 race. The Democratic takeover of both houses of Congress and President Bush's unflattering popularity were strong issues for the GOP field. At the beginning of 2007, the announced Republican field was former Governor of Wisconsin and Cabinet member Tommy Thompson, former Governor of Virginia Jim Gilmore, and Senator of Kansas Sam Brownback. Former senator of Virginia George Allen was considered a top contender until his loss in the midterm elections. He announced on December 10, 2006 that he would not seek the 2008 nomination. Several others, such as Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice also ruled themselves out of the race. In early January former Governor of Massachusetts Mitt Romney announced he was forming an exploratory committee. Afterwards several others announced they were running, including U.S.Congressman Ron Paul, Mike Huckabee of Arkansas, Rudy Giuliani of New York City, U.S. Senator John McCain, U.S. Congressman Duncan Hunter, and U.S. Congressman Tom Tancredo. A poll released in early February had Giuliani leading with 32% and John McCain second with 18%. By early March, Giuliani had become the frontrunner. Alan Keyes and former Senator and actor Fred Thompson entered the race later in September.
Early dropouts
The first to drop out of the race was Former Virginia Governor Jim Gilmore in July. After that Tommy Thompson also dropped out in August after finishing sixth in the Ames Iowa straw poll. Then pro-life advocate Sam Brownback dropped out of the race in October. In December, staunch illegal-immigration opponent Tom Tancredo and businessman John H. Cox also left the race.
Iowa and New Hampshire
On January 3, 2008, The Caucuses in Iowa began. The final averaged results from Real Clear Politics showed Mike Huckabee at 30%, Romney at 27%, McCain and Thompson tied at 12%, Paul at 7%, and Giuliani at 6%. Among those surveyed in Exit Polling data, 45% cited themselves as very conservative and voted for Huckabee 35% to Romney's 23% and Thompson's 22%. Among those who called themselves "somewhat conservative" (43%), Huckabee won 34% to Romney's 27% and McCain's 18%.
Final Results showed Huckabee swept much of the state with the exception of the western and eastern portions of the state which included Davenport, Cedar Rapids, as well as Sioux City. Romney swept the eastern and western portions of the state and Paul took one southern county. The final results in Iowa were Huckabee with 34%, Romney with 25%, Thompson and McCain each with 13%, Paul with 10% and Giuliani with 4%.
In the New Hampshire Primary, both McCain and Romney had gambled much on the state. McCain had staked much on his grassroots efforts in the state he won in 2000, as well as the state with one of the most independent voting blocks which was McCain's strong suit. Romney, coming from neighboring Massachusetts was known by many in New Hampshire and even owned a home in the state of New Hampshire. Pre-Primary polling showed McCain with a slight edge (32%-28%)with Huckabee leading Giuliani for third (12%-9%).
On Primary night, McCain won 37%-32% and Huckabee beat Giuliani for third 11%-9%. After the results, Huckabee decided to focus on the South Carolina primary, while both McCain and Romney went to Michigan where polls showed a competitive race between the two.
Michigan
With different winners in Iowa and New Hampshire - and Mitt Romney taking the lower-profile Wyoming caucus - the January 15 Michigan primary loomed as an important battle. Polls after New Hampshire showed a tight race between McCain and Romney, with Huckabee a close third. Many saw Michigan as Romney's last chance for a campaign-saving win after disappointments in the first two races. Others said that a win in Michigan could cement McCain's status as the "front-runner" for the nomination. McCain's campaign garnered about $1 million in newly contributed funds immediately after the New Hampshire win, but still had $3.5 million in bank debt. He was not alone in feeling a financial pinch; the entire Republican field suffered from a lack of enthusiasm and lower donations than the Democratic candidates were getting, with by comparison Hillary Rodham Clinton getting $6 million in new funds immediately after her New Hampshire win.
Nevertheless, some polls showed McCain getting a significant national bounce from his New Hampshire win; the January 11 CNN nationwide poll had him at 34 percent support, a 21-point increase from where he had been just a month before, and a significant lead over follow-upers Huckabee (21 percent) and Giuliani (18 percent). As the Michigan race entered its final days, McCain gained some notoriety by sending out mailers there and in South Carolina attacking Romney's tax record and touting his own. A Romney campaign spokesman called the ad "as sloppy as it is factually incorrect", and FactCheck.org called the piece "misleading." McCain responded by saying, "It's not negative campaigning. I think it's what his record is." "It's a tough business," he added.
The dominant issue in Michigan was the state of the economy. Michigan had by far the nation's largest unemployment rate, at 7.4 percent, and was continuing to lose jobs from its historical manufacturing base. McCain offered a bit of his "straight talk", saying that "There are some jobs that aren't coming back to Michigan," and proposing federal job training plans and other remedies to compensate. Romney seized on McCain's statement as overly pessimistic and promoted instead his family heritage — " got the automobile industry in my blood veins" — as well as his being a Washington outsider who would go there and "turn Washington inside out."
In the end, McCain finished second in the primary behind Romney, gaining 30 percent of the vote to Romney's 39 percent.
Nevada and South Carolina
Mitt Romney was heavily favored to win Nevada, leading 34% to 19% in polls. He exceeded expectations, earning 51% of the vote with Ron Paul beating out John McCain for second. Romney campaigned hard in Nevada and did not campaign in South Carolina, while the other leading Republican candidates, John McCain and Mike Huckabee, kept the
Warning : file_put_contents() [ function.file-put-contents ]: Only 0 of 13494 bytes written, possibly out of free disk space in /home/malkuth/domains/things.hobby-site.com/public_html/11/html/includes/simplepie.inc on line 8252
Warning : ./html/images/86bf3c7699d265d08dbe0cbe89bf1a93.spc is not writeable in /home/malkuth/domains/things.hobby-site.com/public_html/11/html/includes/simplepie.inc on line 1771
Phase Four Ltd | Your Essential Benefit Planning Partner | Phase Four ...
©2009 Phase Four, Ltd. 17515 West Nine Mile Road, Suite 250, Southfield, Michigan 48075, Phone: (248) 559-6980, Toll-Free: (877) 251-9472, Facsimile: (248 ...
Phase Four
Due to various state regulations and registration requirements concerning the dissemination of information regarding investment products and services, we are currently required to ...
Letters and Sounds: Phase four
Resource for practitioners and teachers on the fourth phase of Letters and Sounds, largely on the Communication, Language and Literacy area of learning of the Early Years ...
Phase Four
Awareness Involvement Join Passport Calendar Missions Dept. Page 14 — Phase Four. Participate in and gain approval from the sending organization's missions assessment.
Phase Four Productions - The Phase Four Blog
Archives Categories FOLLOW US ON TWITTER http://phasefour.info/iv # 2009/10/27. Sorry about the technical snag. Had some reports of streaming problems, but it should all in order ...
Phase Four Ltd | Your Essential Benefit Planning Partner | Phase Four ...
Phase Four will guide you through the seasons of life’s uncertainties by providing personal insurance, employee benefits & financial planning. If you are seeking insurance-based ...
Phase Four - 1st Release - Albuquerque, New Mexico developed land and ...
Rancho Verde, New Mexico Real Estate land and property. Developed land for sale near Albuquerque and Santa Fe, New Mexico. East Mountain Real Estate. Great place for new homes in ...
Four Phases to an Optimal Balance & Balanced Diet - Atkins
Atkins Weight Loss Programs have four Phases to an Optimal Health Balance & Balanced Diet. Learn about how to maintain ongoing weight loss and understand nutrition with the Atkins ...
Phase Four Productions: Original web-based serials
Your source for original web-based programming. Original content includes Jordan and Bear, Heartbeat in the Brain and El Cartógrafo. Phase Four Productions is based in Montreal ...
Phase Four of BHS: Building on Excellence
District Homepage. Bartlesville High School: Building on Excellence. Phase Four: Library/Media Center & Connecting Link & 1st Floor Restroom Renovations