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. Presidential candidate/running mate PartyCampaign siteBarack Obama/Joe Biden (campaign)Democratic, South Carolina United Citizens, New York Working Familiesbarackobama.comJohn McCain/Sarah Palin (campaign)Republican, New York Independence, New York Conservativejohnmccain.comRalph Nader/Matt Gonzalez (campaign)Independent, Independence-Ecology, Peace and Freedom, Michigan Natural Law, Delaware Independent, Oregon Peace, New York Populistvotenader.orgBob Barr/Wayne Allyn Root (campaign)Libertarianbobbarr2008.comCynthia McKinney/Rosa Clemente (campaign)GreenChuck Baldwin/Darrell Castle (campaign)Constitution, Kansas Reform, Virginia Independent Greenbaldwin2008.comAlan Keyes/Brian Rohrbough (campaign)Independent, America's Independentalankeyes.comGloria La Riva/Eugene PuryearSocialism & Liberationvotepsl.orgBrian Moore/Stewart AlexanderSocialist, Vermont Liberty UnionRóger Calero/Alyson KennedySocialist Workersthemilitant.comCharles Jay/Thomas L. KnappBoston TeaCJ08.comThomas Stevens/Alden LinkObjectivistobjectivistparty.usGene Amondson/Leroy PlettenProhibitiongeneamondson.com
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 VotesNaderLibertarian (Barr)Constitution (Baldwin)Green (McKinney)States + D.C.5146 (50)45 (47)37 (49)32 (49)Electoral votes (EV)538456 (531)503 (510)318 (516)368 (528)Percent of EV100%84.8% (98.7%)93.5% (94.8%)59.1% (95.9%)68.4% (98.1%)AlabamaAlabama ballot information accessed: 2008-09-279 (write-in)AlaskaAlaska ballot information accessed: 2008-09-273 (write-in)ArizonaArizona ballot information accessed: 2008-09-2710 (write-in) Arkansas accessed: 2008-09-276 CaliforniaCalifornia ballot information accessed: 2008-09-2755PF (write-in) ColoradoColorado ballot information accessed: 2008-09-279 ConnecticutConnecticut ballot information accessed: 2008-09-277IEP(write-in)(write-in)DelawareDelaware ballot information accessed: 2008-09-273IP FloridaFlorida ballot information accessed: 2008-09-2727IEP GeorgiaGeorgia ballot information accessed: 2008-09-2715(write-in) (write-in)(write-in)HawaiiHawaii ballot information accessed: 2008-09-27 4IEP IdahoIdaho ballot information accessed: 2008-09-27 4 (write-in)IllinoisIllinois ballot information accessed: 2008-09-27 21 IndianaIndiana ballot information accessed: 2008-09-27 11(write-in) (write-in)(write-in)IowaIowa ballot information accessed: 2008-09-277PF KansasKansas ballot information accessed: 2008-09-276 (write-in)KentuckyKentucky ballot information accessed: 2008-09-278 (write-in)LouisianaLouisiana ballot information accessed: 2008-09-279 MaineMaine ballot information accessed: 2008-09-274 (write-in)(write-in) MarylandMaryland ballot information accessed: 2008-09-2710IEP MassachusettsMassachusetts ballot information accessed: 2008-09-2712 MichiganMichigan ballot information accessed: 2008-09-2717NLP MinnesotaMinnesota ballot information accessed: 2008-09-2710 MississippiMississippi ballot information accessed: 2008-09-276 MissouriMissouri ballot information accessed: 2008-09-2711 (write-in)MontanaMontana ballot information accessed: 2008-09-27 3 (write-in)(write-in)NebraskaNebraska ballot information accessed: 2008-09-275 NevadaNevada ballot information accessed: 2008-09-27 5 New HampshireNew Hampshire ballot information accessed: 2008-09-274 (write-in)(write-in)New JerseyNew Jersey ballot information accessed: 2008-09-2715 New MexicoNew Mexico ballot information accessed: 2008-09-275IEP New YorkNew York ballot information accessed: 2008-09-2731 (write-in) North CarolinaNorth Carolina ballot information accessed: 2008-09-2715(write-in) (write-in)North DakotaNorth Dakota ballot information accessed: 2008-09-273 (write-in)OhioOhio ballot information accessed: 2008-09-2720 Oklahoma7OregonOregon ballot information accessed: 2008-09-277 PennsylvaniaPennsylvania ballot information accessed: 2008-09-27 21 (write-in)(write-in)Rhode IslandRhode Island ballot information accessed: 2008-09-274 South CarolinaSouth Carolina ballot information accessed: 2008-09-278 South DakotaSouth Dakota ballot information accessed: 2008-09-273 TennesseeTennessee ballot information accessed: 2008-09-2711 TexasTexas ballot information accessed: 2008-09-2734(write-in) (write-in)(write-in)UtahUtah ballot information accessed: 2008-09-275 VermontVermont ballot information accessed: 2008-09-273 (write-in)VirginiaVirginia ballot information accessed: 2008-09-2713 WashingtonWashington ballot information accessed: 2008-09-2711 West VirginiaWest Virginia ballot information accessed: 2008-09-275 WisconsinWisconsin ballot information accessed: 2008-09-2710 WyomingWyoming ballot information accessed: 2008-09-273 (write-in)District of ColumbiaD.C. ballot information accessed: 2008-09-273 (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 VotesProhibition (Amondson)Socialist Workers (Calero)Boston Tea (Jay)America's Independent (Keyes)Socialism and Liberation (La Riva)Socialist (Moore)Objectivist (Stevens)States + D.C.51310 (11)3 (7)3 (8)128 (30)2EV53845125 (180)47 (75)91 (168)137102 (338)36% of EV100%8.4%23.2% (33.5%)8.7% (13.9%)16.9% (31.2%)25.5%19.7% (62.8%)6.7%Alabama9(write-in)Alaska3(write-in)Arizona10(write-in)Arkansas6 California55(JH write-in) Colorado9 JH Connecticut7(write-in)Delaware3 (write-in)Florida27 JH Georgia15Hawaii4Idaho4(write-in)Illinois21Indiana11(write-in)Iowa7JH Kansas6(write-in)Kentucky8(write-in)(write-in)Louisiana9 JH Maine4Maryland10(write-in)(write-in)(write-in)Massachusetts12Michigan17(write-in)Minnesota10 (write-in)Mississippi6Missouri11Montana3(write-in)Nebraska5(write-in)Nevada5New Hampshire4(write-in)New Jersey15 New Mexico5New York31 (write-in)North Carolina15(write-in)North Dakota3Ohio20(write-in) Oklahoma7Oregon7(write-in)Pennsylvania21(write-in)Rhode Island4 (write-in)South Carolina8South Dakota3Tennessee11 Texas34(write-in)(write-in)Utah5(write-in)(write-in) Vermont3 Virginia13(write-in)Washington11JH (write-in)West Virginia5Wisconsin10 Wyoming3(write-in)District of Columbia3
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)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 John Joseph Polachek (New Party—Illinois)"No Illinois Challenges to Any Presidential Petition", Ballot Access News, June 30, 2008 (accessed September 17, 2008). 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
PrimaryBidenClintonDoddEdwardsGravelKucinichObamaRichardsonIowa (January 3)JBHCCDJEMGDKBOBRNew Hampshire (January 8)JBHCCDJEMGDKBOBRMichigan (January 15)HCCDMGDKNevada (January 19)JBHCCDJEDKBOBRSouth Carolina (January 26)JBHCCDJEMGDKBOBRFloridaFlorida presidential primary candidates' list released - Bay News 9 (January 29)JBHCCDJEMGDKBOBR
Republican Party primary ballot access and Republican Party comprehensive summary at
GiulianiHuckabeeHunterKeyesMcCainPaulRomneyThompsonIowa (January 3)RGMHDHJMRPMRFTWyoming (January 5)RGMHDHJMRPMRFTNew Hampshire (January 8)RGMHDHAKJMRPMRFTMichigan (January 15)RGMHDHJMRPMRFTNevada (January 19)RGMHDHJMRPMRFTSouth Carolina (January 19)RGMHDHJMRPMRFTFlorida (January 29)RGMHDHAKJMRPMRFT
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
External links Ballot Access News Politics1 - Ballot Access