The following are lists of candidates in the 2008 United States presidential election. 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 was on the ballot in Louisiana with Barry Goldwater, Jr. on the Louisiana Taxpayers Party ticket and in Montana with Michael Peroutka 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 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, had ballot access in all 50 US states and the District of Columbia.
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, NLP is the Natural Law Party, IEP is the Independent-Ecology Party, 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
| Electoral Votes | Nader | Libertarian (Barr) | Constitution (Baldwin) | Green (McKinney) | |
| States + D.C. | 51 | 46 (50) | 45 (47) | 37 (49) | 32 (49) |
| Electoral votes (EV) | 538 | 456 (531) | 503 (510) | 318 (516) | 368 (528) |
| Percent of EV | 100% | 84.8% (98.7%) | 93.5% (94.8%) | 59.1% (95.9%) | 68.4% (98.1%) |
| Alabama | 9 | (write-in) | |||
| Alaska | 3 | (write-in) | |||
| Arizona | 10 | (write-in) | |||
| Arkansas | 6 | ||||
| California | 55 | PF | (write-in) | ||
| Colorado | 9 | ||||
| Connecticut | 7 | IEP | (write-in) | (write-in) | |
| Delaware | 3 | IP | |||
| Florida | 27 | IEP | |||
| Georgia | 15 | (write-in) | (write-in) | (write-in) | |
| Hawaii | 4 | IEP | |||
| Idaho | 4 | (write-in) | |||
| Illinois | 21 | ||||
| Indiana | 11 | (write-in) | (write-in) | (write-in) | |
| Iowa | 7 | PF | |||
| Kansas | 6 | (write-in) | |||
| Kentucky | 8 | (write-in) | |||
| Louisiana | 9 | ||||
| Maine | 4 | (write-in) | (write-in) | ||
| Maryland | 10 | IEP | |||
| Massachusetts | 12 | ||||
| Michigan | 17 | NLP | |||
| Minnesota | 10 | ||||
| Mississippi | 6 | ||||
| Missouri | 11 | (write-in) | |||
| Montana | 3 | (write-in) | (write-in) | ||
| Nebraska | 5 | ||||
| Nevada | 5 | ||||
| New Hampshire | 4 | (write-in) | (write-in) | ||
| New Jersey | 15 | ||||
| New Mexico | 5 | IEP | |||
| New York | 31 | (write-in) | |||
| North Carolina | 15 | (write-in) | (write-in) | ||
| North Dakota | 3 | (write-in) | |||
| Ohio | 20 | ||||
| Oklahoma | 7 | ||||
| Oregon | 7 | ||||
| Pennsylvania | 21 | (write-in) | (write-in) | ||
| Rhode Island | 4 | ||||
| South Carolina | 8 | ||||
| South Dakota | 3 | ||||
| Tennessee | 11 | ||||
| Texas | 34 | (write-in) | (write-in) | (write-in) | |
| Utah | 5 | ||||
| Vermont | 3 | (write-in) | |||
| Virginia | 13 | ||||
| Washington | 11 | ||||
| West Virginia | 5 | ||||
| Wisconsin | 10 | ||||
| Wyoming | 3 | (write-in) | |||
| District of Columbia | 3 | (write-in) | (write-in) |
- 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.
| Electoral Votes | Prohibition (Amondson) | Socialist Workers (Calero) | Boston Tea (Jay) | America's Independent (Keyes) | Socialism and Liberation (La Riva) | Socialist (Moore) | Objectivist (Stevens) | |
| States + D.C. | 51 | 3 | 10 (11) | 3 (7) | 3 (8) | 12 | 8 (30) | 2 |
| EV | 538 | 45 | 125 (180) | 47 (75) | 91 (168) | 137 | 102 (338) | 36 |
| % of EV | 100% | 8.4% | 23.2% (33.5%) | 8.7% (13.9%) | 16.9% (31.2%) | 25.5% | 19.7% (62.8%) | 6.7% |
| Alabama | 9 | (write-in) | ||||||
| Alaska | 3 | (write-in) | ||||||
| Arizona | 10 | (write-in) | ||||||
| Arkansas | 6 | |||||||
| California | 55 | (JH write-in) | ||||||
| Colorado | 9 | JH | ||||||
| Connecticut | 7 | (write-in) | ||||||
| Delaware | 3 | (write-in) | ||||||
| Florida | 27 | JH | ||||||
| Georgia | 15 | |||||||
| Hawaii | 4 | |||||||
| Idaho | 4 | (write-in) | ||||||
| Illinois | 21 | |||||||
| Indiana | 11 | (write-in) | ||||||
| Iowa | 7 | JH | ||||||
| Kansas | 6 | (write-in) | ||||||
| Kentucky | 8 | (write-in) | (write-in) | |||||
| Louisiana | 9 | JH | ||||||
| Maine | 4 | |||||||
| Maryland | 10 | (write-in) | (write-in) | (write-in) | ||||
| Massachusetts | 12 | |||||||
| Michigan | 17 | (write-in) | ||||||
| Minnesota | 10 | (write-in) | ||||||
| Mississippi | 6 | |||||||
| Missouri | 11 | |||||||
| Montana | 3 | (write-in) | ||||||
| Nebraska | 5 | (write-in) | ||||||
| Nevada | 5 | |||||||
| New Hampshire | 4 | (write-in) | ||||||
| New Jersey | 15 | |||||||
| New Mexico | 5 | |||||||
| New York | 31 | (write-in) | ||||||
| North Carolina | 15 | (write-in) | ||||||
| North Dakota | 3 | |||||||
| Ohio | 20 | (write-in) | ||||||
| Oklahoma | 7 | |||||||
| Oregon | 7 | (write-in) | ||||||
| Pennsylvania | 21 | (write-in) | ||||||
| Rhode Island | 4 | (write-in) | ||||||
| South Carolina | 8 | |||||||
| South Dakota | 3 | |||||||
| Tennessee | 11 | |||||||
| Texas | 34 | (write-in) | (write-in) | |||||
| Utah | 5 | (write-in) | (write-in) | |||||
| Vermont | 3 | |||||||
| Virginia | 13 | (write-in) | ||||||
| Washington | 11 | JH | (write-in) | |||||
| West Virginia | 5 | |||||||
| Wisconsin | 10 | |||||||
| Wyoming | 3 | (write-in) | ||||||
| District of Columbia | 3 |
- 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/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/Frank McEnulty (Reform—Mississippi)
Guam
Although Guam 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)
- Joe Biden (Democratic)
- Sam Brownback (Republican)
- Eric Chester (Socialist)
- Stephen Colbert (Democratic)
- Hillary Clinton (Democratic)
- Chris Dodd (Democratic)
- Susan Gail Ducey (Constitution)
- John Edwards (Democratic)
- Mike Gravel (Democratic, Libertarian)
- Rudy Giuliani (Republican)
- Mike Huckabee (Republican)
- Duncan Hunter (Republican)
- Daniel Imperato (Constitution, Libertarian)
- Mike Jingozian (Libertarian)
- Jesse Johnson (Green)
- Alan Keyes (Republican, Constitution)
- Steve Kubby (Libertarian)
- Dennis Kucinich (Democratic)
- Lee L. Mercer Jr. (Democratic)
- Kent Mesplay (Green)
- Ralph Nader (Green)
- Ron Paul (Republican)
- George Phillies (Libertarian)
- Bill Richardson (Democratic)
- Max Riekse (Constitution)
- Mitt Romney (Republican)
- Wayne Allyn Root (Libertarian)
- Mary Ruwart (Libertarian)
- Christine Smith (Libertarian)
- Kat Swift (Green)
- Tom Tancredo (Republican)
- Fred Thompson (Republican)
- Tom Vilsack (Democratic)
Democratic Party primary ballot access
Main articles: Democratic Party (United States) presidential primaries, 2008 and Democratic Party (United States) presidential candidates, 2008 Candidate actively campaigning Candidate with suspended or canceled campaign Candidate not on ballot| Primary | Biden | Clinton | Dodd | Edwards | Gravel | Kucinich | Obama | Richardson |
| Iowa (January 3) | JB | HC | CD | JE | MG | DK | BO | BR |
| New Hampshire (January 8) | JB | HC | CD | JE | MG | DK | BO | BR |
| Michigan (January 15) | HC | CD | MG | DK | ||||
| Nevada (January 19) | JB | HC | CD | JE | DK | BO | BR | |
| South Carolina (January 26) | JB | HC | CD | JE | MG | DK | BO | BR |
| Florida (January 29) | JB | HC | CD | JE | MG | DK | BO | BR |
Republican Party primary ballot access
Main articles: Republican Party (United States) presidential primaries, 2008 and Republican Party (United States) presidential candidates, 2008and Republican Party comprehensive summary at
Candidate actively campaigning Candidate with suspended or canceled campaign Candidate not on ballot| Giuliani | Huckabee | Hunter | Keyes | McCain | Paul | Romney | Thompson | |
| Iowa (January 3) | RG | MH | DH | JM | RP | MR | FT | |
| Wyoming (January 5) | RG | MH | DH | JM | RP | MR | FT | |
| New Hampshire (January 8) | RG | MH | DH | AK | JM | RP | MR | FT |
| Michigan (January 15) | RG | MH | DH | JM | RP | MR | FT | |
| Nevada (January 19) | RG | MH | DH | JM | RP | MR | FT | |
| South Carolina (January 19) | RG | MH | DH | JM | RP | MR | FT | |
| Florida (January 29) | RG | MH | DH | AK | JM | RP | MR | FT |
See also
- List of candidates in the United States presidential election, 2004
- Comparison of United States presidential candidates, 2008
- Third party (United States) presidential candidates, 2008
References
- "Ballot Access News » Blog Archive » Louisiana Asked to Print Ron Paul on Ballot as Presidential Candidate". Ballot-access.org. Retrieved 2011-09-23.
- "Ballot Access News » Blog Archive » Montana Constitution Party Submits Presidential Electors Pledged to Ron Paul and Michael Peroutka". Ballot-access.org. Retrieved 2011-09-23.
- Winger, Richard (2008-09-15). "Montana Verifies That Ron Paul Will Remain on Ballot". Ballot Access News. Retrieved 2008-09-16.
The Montana Secretary of State has told Ron Paul that his request to be removed from the ballot arrived too late
- ^ NEW YORK STATE BOARD OF ELECTIONS. Archived from the original on 2008-10-01. Retrieved 2013-08-09.
- "Ecology Party home page". Ecologyparty.org. Retrieved 2008-11-03.
- "Kansas Will Print Baldwin on Ballot". Ballot-Access.org. 2008-09-15. Retrieved 2008-09-15.
- "Kansas Grants Administrative Hearing to Chuck Baldwin". Ballot-Access.org. 2008-09-13. Retrieved 2008-09-15.
- Alabama ballot information accessed: 2008-09-27
- Alaska ballot information accessed: 2008-09-27 Archived May 7, 2008, at the Wayback Machine
- Arizona ballot information Archived 2012-02-14 at the Wayback Machine accessed: 2008-09-27
- Arkansas ballot information accessed: 2008-09-27
- California ballot information Archived 2008-10-23 at the Wayback Machine accessed: 2008-09-27
- Colorado ballot information accessed: 2008-09-27
- Connecticut ballot information accessed: 2008-09-27
- Delaware ballot information accessed: 2008-09-27
- Florida ballot information Archived 2010-08-31 at the Wayback Machine accessed: 2008-09-27
- Georgia ballot information accessed: 2008-09-27
- Hawaii ballot information accessed: 2008-09-27 Archived July 30, 2008, at the Wayback Machine
- Idaho ballot information accessed: 2008-09-27 Archived July 30, 2008, at the Wayback Machine
- Illinois ballot information accessed: 2008-09-27 Archived October 4, 2008, at the Wayback Machine
- Indiana ballot information accessed: 2008-09-27 Archived September 27, 2008, at the Wayback Machine
- Iowa ballot information accessed: 2008-09-27
- Kansas ballot information Archived 2008-03-16 at the Wayback Machine accessed: 2008-09-27
- Kentucky ballot information Archived 2016-09-30 at the Wayback Machine accessed: 2008-09-27
- Louisiana ballot information accessed: 2008-09-27
- Maine ballot information accessed: 2008-09-27
- Maryland ballot information accessed: 2008-09-27
- Massachusetts ballot information accessed: 2008-09-27
- Michigan ballot information accessed: 2008-09-27
- Minnesota ballot information accessed: 2008-09-27
- Mississippi ballot information accessed: 2008-09-27
- Missouri ballot information accessed: 2008-09-27
- Montana ballot information accessed: 2008-09-27 Archived July 30, 2008, at the Wayback Machine
- Nebraska ballot information accessed: 2008-09-27
- Nevada ballot information accessed: 2008-09-27 Archived September 24, 2008, at the Wayback Machine
- New Hampshire ballot information accessed: 2008-09-27
- New Jersey ballot information accessed: 2008-09-27
- New Mexico ballot information accessed: 2008-09-27
- New York ballot information accessed: 2008-09-27
- North Carolina ballot information Archived 2009-03-21 at the Wayback Machine accessed: 2008-09-27
- North Dakota ballot information accessed: 2008-09-27
- Ohio ballot information accessed: 2008-09-27
- "Oklahoma ballot information" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2008-10-22. Retrieved 2013-08-09.
- Oregon ballot information accessed: 2008-09-27
- Pennsylvania ballot information accessed: 2008-09-27 Archived September 24, 2008, at the Wayback Machine
- Rhode Island ballot information accessed: 2008-09-27
- South Carolina ballot information accessed: 2008-09-27
- South Dakota ballot information accessed: 2008-09-27
- Tennessee ballot information accessed: 2008-09-27
- Texas ballot information accessed: 2008-09-27
- Utah ballot information Archived 2008-09-24 at the Wayback Machine accessed: 2008-09-27
- Vermont ballot information accessed: 2008-09-27
- Virginia ballot information accessed: 2008-09-27
- Washington ballot information Archived 2010-06-11 at the Wayback Machine accessed: 2008-09-27
- West Virginia ballot information accessed: 2008-09-27
- Wisconsin ballot information accessed: 2008-09-27
- Wyoming ballot information accessed: 2008-09-27
- D.C. ballot information accessed: 2008-09-27
- "www.heartquake08.com". www.heartquake08.com. Retrieved 2011-09-23.
- "U.S. Pacifist Party homepage".
- McEnulty is both the New American Independent Party presidential nominee, and also the Reform Party vice-presidential nominee, but is on the Colorado ballot as an independent. McEnulty's presidential campaign site
- "No Illinois Challenges to Any Presidential Petition", Ballot Access News, June 30, 2008 (accessed September 17, 2008).
- "Guam Legislature Moves General Election Presidential Vote to the September Primary". Ballot-Access.org. 2008-07-10. Retrieved 2008-09-17.
- "Guam Bill to Move Presidential Election from November to September is Vetoed". Ballot-Access.org. 2008-07-25. Retrieved 2008-09-17.
- ^ Florida presidential primary candidates' list released - Bay News 9 Archived May 28, 2008, at the Wayback Machine
- "About Republican Party USA". What is USA News. 19 April 2013. Retrieved 2012-12-20.
- "List of Filed Candidates". Sos.nh.gov. Retrieved 2011-09-23.