Bob Barr 2008 presidential campaign

Bob Barr 2008
Campaign	U.S. presidential election, 2008
Candidate	Bob Barr United States House of Representative from Georgia (1995–2003)
Affiliation	Libertarian Party
Status	Defeated on Election Day (November 4, 2008)
Headquarters	Atlanta, Georgia
Key people	Wayne Allyn Root (Running mate) Russ Verney (Campaign Manager)
Receipts	US$1,405,899 ((2008-12-31)[1])
Slogan	Liberty for America
Website
Bob Barr 2008

The 2008 presidential campaign of Bob Barr, former Congressman of Georgia began on May 12, 2008. He announced his candidacy for the Libertarian Party's president after months of grassroots draft efforts. Barr (who had formerly been a Republican) was criticized by Libertarians who opposed his efforts in Congress, which included sponsorship of the Defense of Marriage Act and votes in favor of the USA PATRIOT Act and authorization of the War in Iraq, but he was supported by others who accepted his regret for those positions. Barr won the party's nomination after six rounds of balloting at the 2008 Libertarian Party National Convention. Former contender Wayne Allyn Root was named as his running mate. Reason magazine senior editor Radley Balko called Barr "the first serious candidate the LP has run since I've been eligible to vote."^[2]

In the general election, Barr hoped to portray himself as a conservative alternative to the Republican nominee John McCain. He emphasized his opposition to the Republican Party for its positions on the War in Iraq and the USA PATRIOT Act and stood as an advocate of fiscal constraint, demonstrated by his opposition to the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008. The candidate never made headway in election polls, placing third or fourth when included. Barr's efforts to be invited to presidential debates with the two main candidates also fell short when he failed to meet the 15% polling threshold.

Barr campaigned throughout the nation. He litigated to gain ballot access in several states and to prevent McCain and the Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama from appearing on the Texas ballot for failing to meet the filing deadline. On election day, Barr appeared on the ballot in 44 states; he finished fourth in the general election, behind Ralph Nader, receiving 523,686 votes, or 0.4% of the total, 126,448 more votes than the Badnarik/Campagna ticket four years prior. ^[3]