This article contains the results of the 2008 Republican presidential primaries and caucuses.
The 2008 Republican primaries were the selection processes by which the Republican Party selected delegates to attend the 2008 Republican National Convention. The series of primaries, caucuses, and state conventions culminated in the National Convention which was held in Saint Paul, Minnesota, September 1–4, 2008, where the delegates voted on and selected a candidate. A simple majority of delegate votes in September (1,191 out of 2,380) was required to become the party's nominee; estimates based on delegate pledges had John McCain surpassing this total after the March 4 primaries in Ohio, Rhode Island, Texas, and Vermont.
Candidates
The only candidate with a national campaign at the end of the primary season was John McCain. Withdrawn candidates who had national campaigns were Ron Paul, Mike Huckabee,CNN Huckabee bows to 'inevitable,' ends GOP run, retrieved 2008-03-05 Sam Brownback, John H. Cox, Jim Gilmore, Rudy Giuliani, Duncan Hunter, Mitt Romney, Tom Tancredo, Fred Thompson, and Tommy Thompson.
Overview of results
Convention floor vote
JohnMcCainRonPaulMittRomneyNot votingTotal delegates Convention Floor Vote 2,343(98.45%) 21(0.88%) 2(0.08%) 14(0.59%) 2,380(100.00%)
Delegate count estimates
Several media sources estimated the number of delegates supporting each candidate using the popular vote results of primary contests and statements from party officials and individual delegates. Delegates could be "pledged" and obligated by state party rules to vote for a specific candidate on the first ballot of the convention, or "unpledged" and able to vote for any candidate. Since several states selected delegates months after their primary or caucus date, many delegate counts for individual states were estimated based on the popular vote results in the contest.
JohnMcCainRonPaulAlanKeyesMikeHuckabeeMittRomneyRudyGiulianiFredThompsonDuncanHunterUncommitted or UnprojectedTotal delegates ABC 1,267(53.24%) 14(0.59%) 0(0.00%) 272(11.43%) 273(11.47%) 1(0.04%) 5(0.21%) 1(0.04%) 547(22.98%) 2,380(100.00%) CNN 1,575(66.18%) 35(1.47%) -(0.00%) 278(11.68%) 271(11.39%) 0(0.00%) 0(0.00%) 0(0.00%) 221(9.29%) RealClearPolitics 1,563(65.67%) 29(1.22%) -(0.00%) 282(11.85%) 272(11.43%) -(0.00%) -(0.00%) -(0.00%) 234(9.83%) The Green Papers 1,568(65.88%) 42(1.76%) 2(0.08%) 257(10.80%) 158(6.64%) 0(0.00%) 8(0.34%) 1(0.04%) 344(14.45%) The New York Times 1,401(58.87%) 20(0.84%) 2(0.08%) 240(10.08%) 148(6.22%) 0(0.00%) 0(0.00%) 0(0.00%) 717(30.13%)
Popular vote
JohnMcCainRonPaulAlanKeyesMikeHuckabeeMittRomneyRudyGiulianiFredThompsonDuncanHunterUncommitted and minor candidatesTotal Popular votes 9,615,153(46.65%) 1,145,138(5.56%) 56,280(0.27%) 4,147,961(20.12%) 4,567,127(22.16%) 592,391(2.87%) 287,581(1.40%) 37,880(0.18%) 163,694(0.79%) 20,613,585 Withdrawal date Presumptive nominee June 12,2008 April 15,2008 March 4,2008 February 7,2008 January 30,2008 January 22,2008 January 19,2008
Primaries and caucuses