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United States presidential election, 2008

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Image:Vote.png This article or section contains information about an upcoming or ongoing election.
Content may change dramatically as the election approaches and unfolds.
Presidential electoral votes by state

The United States Presidential election of 2008 will be held on November 4, 2008. The election will determine electors for the United States Electoral College, and whichever presidential candidate receives a majority of votes in the Electoral College (at least 270) will be the 44th President of the United States. If no candidate receives a majority in the Electoral College then the president-elect is selected by a vote of the House of Representatives.

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 will be inaugurated on Tuesday, January 20, 2009.

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[edit] An election without incumbents

In the three most recent Presidential administrations in which the President could not run for a third term due to term limits (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).

However, the current Vice President Dick Cheney announced in 2001 that he would never run for President, a statement he reiterated 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." <ref>Transcript: Vice President Cheney on 'FOX News Sunday'. Fox News Sunday. February 7, 2005. Retrieved November 14, 2006</ref>

The 2008 race will be a non-incumbent or "open seat" election in which a sitting President is not a candidate. Assuming Cheney completes his term in full, the 2008 race will be the first time since 1928 that neither the sitting President nor the sitting Vice President will run for President, though the 1952 general election between Dwight D. Eisenhower and Adlai Stevenson did not include a sitting President or Vice President since neither President Harry Truman (who dropped out after losing the New Hampshire Primary) nor Vice President Alben Barkley won the Democratic nomination.

[edit] Timeline

Main article: U.S. presidential election, 2008 timeline

[edit] Early stages

Candidates began to emerge during 2006, where the first "cattle calls" were held and at least two straw polls were taken. In 2007, because of the long lead time for fundraising and because Federal election laws require the reporting of funds raised for the primary elections, fundraising will begin in earnest.

During the "primary" the media will anoint "front-runners" on the basis of reported fund-raising totals. For example, the media treated Howard Dean as the front-runner going into the 2004 cycle, although he was initially considered by some to be a long-shot.

The South Carolina Republican Party will host a Republican Party debate May 15, 2007, at the University of South Carolina in Columbia. [1]

[edit] Official primary caucus election dates

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, including 2004, the Democratic and Republican candidates were effectively chosen by the March primaries, because the leading candidates had collected enough committed delegates to win in the national convention. Most third parties select delegates to their national conventions through state conventions.

[edit] Democratic primaries and caucuses

[edit] Republican primaries and caucuses

[edit] Later events

[edit] Potential candidates

While it is rare for candidates to officially declare their candidacy prior to the year preceding the presidential election (in this case, 2007), some potential candidates may have expressed their interest in running, and are listed below. At this early stage, many of the strongest candidates might have yet to emerge, and these lists include a few politcians who excite speculation among political activists, insiders, media commentators and political junkies.

[edit] Conditions for listing a candidate

As stated above, the election is currently in its early stages and candidates are not yet official.

  1. Private Official Campaign Web Site, Required Data
    1. Private web page (non-free web page)
    2. Statement of FEC Status
    3. Valid current contact information (name, address, telephone, non-free email)
    4. Date and place of birth
    5. Intent of ballot placement or write-in status.
    6. Current list of Registration for write-in status

FEC - FEC Registered Candidate.
FEC-Other - FEC Registered Candidate, other election.
Non-FEC - Non-FEC Registered Candidate

[edit] Democratic Party

Main article: Potential Democratic candidates in the 2008 United States presidential election

Official candidates who have filed with the FEC for the Democratic Party:

Candidates who have formed exploratory committees

Candidates who have expressed serious interest

[edit] Republican Party

Main article: Potential Republican candidates in the 2008 United States presidential election

Official candidates who have filed with the FEC for the Republican Party:

Candidates who have formed exploratory committees

Candidates who have expressed serious interest:

[edit] Third parties

Main article: Potential third party candidates in the 2008 United States presidential election

[edit] Constitution Party

Actively pursuing or interested in candidacy for the Constitution Party (United States):

[edit] Green Party

Actively pursuing or interested in candidacy for the Green Party:

[edit] Libertarian Party

Official candidates who have filed with the FEC for the Libertarian Party:

Announced candidates:

Actively pursuing or interested in candidacy:

[edit] Prohibition Party

Actively pursuing or interested in candidacy for the Prohibition Party:

[edit] Reform Party

Actively pursuing or interested in candidacy for the Reform Party: None yet.

[edit] Socialist Party USA

Actively pursuing or interested in candidacy for the Socialist Party USA: None yet.

[edit] Independents

Actively pursuing or interested in candidacy


[edit] Opinion polling

Opinion polling for the 2008 United States presidential election has offered various projections for who the top contenders may be.

[edit] Possible electoral college changes

In 2006, the "DC Fair and Equal House Voting Rights Act" was introduced in the U.S. House. If enacted, the act would have the effect of increasing the size of the electoral college by 1. The bill's primary purpose is to give House representation to the District of Columbia. But the bill also grants, for partisan balancing, an additional House seat to Utah, and increases Utah's electoral votes by 1, since Utah is likely to vote Republican and the District of Columbia is likely to vote Democratic. However, this will only be valid until the next census, when the extra seat will be reapportioned like all other seats. The District of Columbia's electoral vote count would remain unchanged at 3, as required by the 23rd amendment. The likely effect of the change, if enacted, on the 2008 presidential election would be to give a +1 advantage to the Republican candidate: Utah has not been carried by a Democratic presidential candidate since 1964, and in the most recent election gave the Republican 71% of the vote. Even though the size of the electoral college would increase to 539, a candidate would still need 270 electoral votes to win.

Also, the National Popular Vote Interstate Compact is a proposed agreement between states in the United States dealing with their allocation of electoral votes. This interstate compact would effectively shift the method of election of the President of the United States to a national popular vote system. By the terms of the compact, states agree to give all of their electoral votes to the national popular vote winner, regardless of the balance of votes in their own states. The compact would only go into effect once it was joined by states representing a majority of the electoral college.

[edit] References

<references/>

[edit] External links

[edit] Navigation

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See also: House • Senate • Governors
de:Präsidentschaftswahl 2008 (Vereinigte Staaten)

fr:Élection présidentielle des États-Unis d'Amérique 2008 id:Pemilihan Umum presiden Amerika Serikat 2008 nl:Amerikaanse presidentsverkiezingen 2008 ja:2008年アメリカ合衆国大統領選挙 pl:Wybory prezydenckie w USA, 2008 fi:Yhdysvaltain presidentinvaalit 2008 sv:Presidentvalet i USA 2008 zh:2008年美国总统选举

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