2008 Republican Party presidential primaries

2008 Republican Party presidential primaries

← 2004 January 3 to June 3, 2008 2012 →
2,173 delegates to the Republican National Convention 1,087 delegates votes needed to win
Candidate John McCain Mitt Romney Home state Arizona Massachusetts Delegate count 1,575 271 Contests won 37 11 Popular vote 9,902,797[1] 4,699,788 Percentage 46.7% 22.2%   Candidate Mike Huckabee Ron Paul Home state Arkansas Texas Delegate count 278 35 Contests won 8 0 Popular vote 4,276,046 1,160,403 Percentage 20.1% 5.6%
First place by popular vote and plurality of delegates   John McCain (37)   Mitt Romney (11)   Mike Huckabee (8)
Previous Republican nominee George W. Bush Republican nominee John McCain

2008 U.S. presidential election
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v t e

From January 3 to June 3, 2008, voters of the Republican Party chose their nominee for president in the 2008 United States presidential election. Senator John McCain of Arizona was selected as the nominee through a series of primary elections and caucuses culminating in the 2008 Republican National Convention held from Monday, September 1, through Thursday, September 4, 2008, in Saint Paul, Minnesota. President George W. Bush was ineligible to be elected to a third term due to the term limits established by the 22nd Amendment.

In a crowded primary of several prominent Republicans eyeing the nomination, former New York City mayor Rudy Giuliani was the early frontrunner.^[2] However, former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee won the Iowa Caucuses as he gained momentum just two months prior to the primary. Moderate U.S. Senator and former presidential candidate John McCain won the New Hampshire and Florida primaries. After failing to win in Florida, Giuliani ended his campaign.

McCain ultimately won the nomination after winning most of the primaries on Super Tuesday. He was officially nominated at the 2008 Republican National Convention on September 4, 2008, but went on to lose the general election to Barack Obama.