section_path: Political career (1973–2011)/2011 presidential campaign
section_name: 2011 presidential campaign
paragraph_text: 2011 presidential campaign
  
  In September 2010, Higgins indicated that he was interested in receiving the Labour Party's nomination for the 2011 presidential election. He said prior to and during the election campaign that he would serve only one seven-year term as president, and not seeking a second term of office if elected.
  
  He was selected as a candidate for the presidency at a convention in Dublin on 19 June 2011, beating former senator Kathleen O'Meara and former party adviser Fergus Finlay. His candidacy was endorsed by Hollywood actor Martin Sheen, who described Higgins as a "dear friend". Higgins assisted his rival David Norris by urging his party colleagues on Dublin City Council "in the interests of democracy" not to obstruct Norris's attempts to get onto the ballot at the last moment, adding that the nomination criteria were "outdated".
  
  Higgins was confronted by former Tara mines workers while canvassing in County Meath. The workers were upset about their pensions being cut. Higgins was also pursued by his past links to Fianna Fáil, and admitted on 13 October that he had been elected chairman of the UCG Fianna Fáil university cumann in 1966. He admitted that he had smoked marijuana while at university in the United States. However, media reports said he was "spared the intense grilling Miriam O'Callaghan meted out to some of the others" during the Prime Time debate. Higgins promised he would be a neutral president if elected and not be a "handmaiden" to the government. The Labour Party's budget for the campaign was within €320,000.
  
  On 29 October 2011, two days after the presidential election was held, Higgins was declared the winner with a total of 1,007,104 votes, far more than any Irish politician in the history of the republic. Thousands of people lined the streets of Galway to welcome him home the following day. International media coverage of his win reported his humble background, poetry and intellect, with The Washington Post noting "local satirists sometimes depict him as an elf, hobbit or leprechaun talking in riddles and verse". He is the first president of Ireland to have served in both Houses of the Oireachtas, having previously been a member of Dáil Éireann and Seanad Éireann.
  
  Before his inauguration, Higgins and his family met his predecessor Mary McAleese and her husband Martin for lunch at Áras an Uachtaráin on 3 November. That night, he presented an award to Niall Tóibín, and received his own standing ovation as he entered the Irish Film Institute. On 5 November, he attended an important football game, featuring Galway United versus Monaghan United in the second leg in the League of Ireland promotion/relegation play-off at Terryland Park, wrapped in the scarf of his favourite team, and being greeted by a large banner hanging from a stand declaring "Welcome home to Galway, Mr President".