2008 Rally of Turkey, Event, Day three
Behind the podium finishers, Citroën's Dani Sordo easily picked off Henning Solberg to claim fourth place. Henning's brother Petter Solberg maintained his sixth position, never really being in a position to challenge the Stobart Ford driver. Matthew Wilson shrugged off his cold to finish in seventh with eighth place going to privateer Conrad Rautenbach, scoring his second points finish of the season. Federico Villagra and Barry Clark finished ninth and tenth, thus earning the Munchi's Ford team three valuable manufacturer points.


2008 Rally of WA
The 2008 Australian Rally Championship Rally of WA was held in, around and near the town of Nannup, Western Australia. Once again, 20 stages were featured in the Rally and it was won for the 6th time by Toyota Team Racing driver, Neal Bates.


2008 Rally of WA, Results
The rally commenced at Busselton with 2 special stages. It then moved across through Kinky, Ferndale, Ellis, Healthway before returning to Nannup, Western Australia at the end of the First Leg. The 2nd Leg started once again at Busselton before moving to Brockman(A stage for the Targa Rally) and repeating the Heathlway and Ellis stages before finally finishing the 2 day rally at Hellium.


2008 Rallye Deutschland
The 2008 Rallye Deutschland was the tenth round of the 2008 World Rally Championship season. The event ran from August 15 to August 17 and was won by Sébastien Loeb for the seventh consecutive year.


2008 Rallye Deutschland
The rally marked the first time a driver had won a WRC event seven times in a row, and the second time a driver had won the same event seven times during his career, after Marcus Grönholm's seven wins in the Rally Finland. Loeb's teammate Dani Sordo took second place, eventually starting a series of three double wins for the Citroën Total World Rally Team.


2008 Rallye Deutschland
Stobart M-Sport Ford driver François Duval beat factory Ford driver Mikko Hirvonen to the last podium place. Subaru's Petter Solberg and Chris Atkinson took the following positions, and Henning Solberg edged out Urmo Aava to take two points for seventh place. In the Junior World Rally Championship, Sébastien Ogier closed in on the title with his third win of the season.


2008 Rallye Deutschland
Gigi Galli retired after crashing heavily on the fifth stage and fracturing his left femur. The recovery was expected to take five months, and he missed the five last rallies of the season.


2008 Reading Borough Council election
The 2008 Reading Borough Council election to the Reading Borough Council resulted in gains for the Conservatives and the Liberal Democrats and losses for the Labour Party.


2008 Real Salt Lake season
The 2008 Real Salt Lake Season was the fourth season of the team's existence. It was the first season that the team made it to the MLS Cup Playoffs, thanks to some last minute heroics by Yura Movsisyan. After defeating Chivas USA in the first round of the playoffs, Real Salt Lake lost to New York Red Bulls in the Western Conference finals. The 2008 season was also the last season that Real Salt Lake played at Rice-Eccles Stadium, as they moved to the soccer-specific Rio Tinto Stadium on October 9, 2008.


2008 Real Salt Lake season, Squad, First Team
As of November 15, 2008Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.


2008 Real Salt Lake season, Results, League table
(SS) = Supporters Shield winner; (E1) = Eastern Conference champion; (W1) = Western Conference champion


2008 Recopa Sudamericana
The 2008 Recopa Sudamericana (officially the 2008 Recopa Visa Sudamericana for sponsorship reasons) was the 16th Recopa Sudamericana, an annual football match between the winners of the previous season's Copa Libertadores and Copa Sudamericana competitions.


2008 Recopa Sudamericana
The match was contested by Boca Juniors, winners of the 2007 Copa Libertadores, and Arsenal, winners of the 2007 Copa Sudamericana. Boca Juniors won their 4th Recopa Sudamericana title after accumulating the most points over the two legs (4-1). The title ties them in first place for the most international titles won by a club with 18.


2008 Recopa Sudamericana, Match details, First leg
Assistant referees: Horacio Herrero Ariel BustosFourth official: Juan Pablo Pompei


2008 Recopa Sul-Brasileira
The 2008 Recopa Sul-Brasileira was the 2nd staging of this Brazilian football knockout competition. All matches of the competition were played at Estádio Augusto Bauer, Brusque, Santa Catarina. Four clubs participated of the competition: Pelotas, of Rio Grande do Sul (champion of Copa FGF), Londrina of Paraná (champion of Copa Paraná), Atlético Sorocaba of São Paulo (champion of Copa Paulista de Futebol), and Brusque of Santa Catarina (champion of Copa Santa Catarina).


2008 Recopa Sul-Brasileira, Prize money
The winner of the competition was awarded a prize money amount of R$30,000, and the runner-up was awarded a prize money amount of R$10,000.


2008 Recopa Sul-Brasileira, Competition format
The competition is a one legged knockout tournament played in two stages, semifinals and the final.


2008 Red Bull Air Race World Series
The 2008 Red Bull Air Race World Series season was the sixth Red Bull Air Race World Series season. The 2008 champion was Hannes Arch, who won the series for the first time.


2008 Red Bull Air Race World Series, Aircraft and pilots, New pilots
South African Glen Dell was the only new pilot to join the Red Bull Air Race Series for the 2008 season as Klaus Schrodt and Frank Versteegh left the series.


2008 Red Bull Air Race World Series, Race calendar and results
* Due to strong winds, the first day of racing in Detroit was cancelled.


2008 Red Bull Air Race World Series, Race calendar and results
* Due to course complications, the race in Stockholm was cancelled.


2008 Red Bull Air Race World Series, Race calendar and results
* Due to security reasons, the race in Spain was cancelled.


2008 Red Bull MotoGP Rookies Cup
Starting its second season, the 2008 Red Bull MotoGP Rookies Cup season continued the search for future World Champions. The 2008 season begins with two races during the Spanish Grand Prix weekend at Jerez on March 29 and March 30 and ends with another double header at the Czech Republic Grand Prix in Brno on August 16 and August 17. Another six European GPs see single Rookies races on each Saturday, making it a ten-race championship, which is two more races than the last season.


2008 Red Bull MotoGP Rookies Cup
The end of the season ended with two international team events that matched ten of the best riders from the Red Bull MotoGP Rookies Cup with ten of the best from the first and only year of the Red Bull AMA U.S. Rookies Cup. So twenty of the world's best teenagers will compete to see which side of the Atlantic can claim the Red Bull Riders Cup over two races, the first being held on September 13 at Indianapolis alongside the Grand Prix. The rematch will be on October 25 at the final Grand Prix of the season in Valencia.


2008 Red Bull MotoGP Rookies Cup
The commercial rights of the championship are held by the rights-holders for the MotoGP World Championships, Dorna Sports.


2008 Red Bull MotoGP Rookies Cup
The American dirt tracker J.D. Beach was proclaimed champion in the last race, in only his second season of road racing.


2008 Red Bull MotoGP Rookies Cup, Season standings, Scoring system
Points are awarded to the top fifteen finishers. Rider has to finish the race to earn points.


2008 Red Square demonstration
The 2008 Red Square demonstration was a political demonstration that took place on August 24, 2008, at the Lobnoe Mesto in Moscow, Russia, in reference to the 1968 Red Square demonstration. The demonstration involved seven protesters unfurling a banner with the slogan For Your Freedom And Ours (Russian: За вашу и нашу свободу), before police arrived at the scene several minutes later. The police officers detained several protesters and spectators, and tried to destroy all record of the event.


2008 Red Square demonstration, Historic context
The demonstration was a reference to the 1968 Red Square demonstration, in which seven Russians protested against the Soviet occupation of Czechoslovakia (see Warsaw Pact invasion of Czechoslovakia). The 2008 demonstration was organized to express the sentiment that the Russian Federation had reverted to such Soviet customs, an impression fueled by the inconsistency of official notices published in the media during the Russo-Georgian War.


2008 Red Square demonstration, Events and aftermath
At noon on 24 August 2008, the protesters unfurled a banner reading For Our Freedom And Yours, and began to shout that slogan. After several minutes, they started explaining their views to spectators, distributing notices, and answering questions. The basic views of the protesters included the following:


2008 Red Square demonstration, Events and aftermath
One police officer subsequently approached the protesters and requested that they leave the area. The protesters complied and began walking along the Red square along with the officer; other officers subsequently joined the group. The protesters handed the banner to the police officers and left the Red Square; only three of them, Dmitroshkin, Zboroshenko and Ninenko, were detained, along with several spectators who took pictures and recorded videos of the event. These pictures and videos were destroyed, and one camera was reported to have been broken by the police. Four journalists were amongst the detained spectators, namely


2008 Red Square demonstration, Events and aftermath
The detained individuals  were sent to the Kitai-gorod police department, where the police officer major Selishev (Селищев) dealt with them. At 12:20pm, all the journalists were released except Kostuchenko, who insisted that the police officers state officially that they had broken her camera. The actions of detained persons were classified as "violation of rules of public events"  (article 20.2 of the Offences Code of Russia, "not following the rules of proceedings of a public protest").


2008 Redditch Borough Council election
Elections to Redditch Borough Council were held on 1 May 2008. One third of the council was up for election and the Conservative Party gained overall control of the council from no overall control. Overall turnout was 33.2%.


2008 Redditch Borough Council election
This was the first time in 26 years that the Conservative party had control of Redditch council. This came after the Conservatives gained 4 seats from the Labour party, with local and national issues being said to be behind the results. The results in Redditch were described as being representative of the mood of the electorate nationally.


2008 Reform Party presidential primaries
The Reform Party of the United States of America held primary elections for its presidential candidate in May 2008. Ted Weill ran unopposed.


2008 Regions Morgan Keegan Championships and the Cellular South Cup
The 2008 Regions Morgan Keegan Championships and the Cellular South Cup were tennis tournaments played on indoor hard courts. It was the 33rd edition of the Regions Morgan Keegan Championships, the 23rd edition of the Cellular South Cup, and was part of the International Series Gold of the 2008 ATP Tour, and of the Tier III Series of the 2008 WTA Tour. Both the men's and the women's events took place at the Racquet Club of Memphis in Memphis, Tennessee, United States, from February 24 through March 2, 2008.


2008 Regions Morgan Keegan Championships and the Cellular South Cup
The men's singles featured ATP No. 6, 2007 Davis Cup champion and recent San Jose winner Andy Roddick, other Davis Cup champion, Australian Open quarterfinalist and Delray Beach runner-up James Blake, and three-time Memphis winner, defending champion Tommy Haas. Other seeded players were San Jose finalist Radek Štěpánek, Delray Beach semifinalist Sam Querrey, Thomas Johansson, Jürgen Melzer and Robin Söderling.


2008 Regions Morgan Keegan Championships and the Cellular South Cup
The women's side included WTA No. 8, Australian Open quarterfinalist and Memphis defending champion Venus Williams, Portorož winner Tatiana Golovin, and Australian Open doubles runner-up and 2007 Memphis finalist Shahar Pe'er. Also competing were 1997 Cellular South Cup titlist and recent Auckland champion Lindsay Davenport, Quebec City quarterfinalist Olga Govortsova, Caroline Wozniacki, Sofia Arvidsson and Laura Granville.


2008 Regions Morgan Keegan Championships and the Cellular South Cup, Champions, Men's Doubles
Mahesh Bhupathi /  Mark Knowles defeated  Sanchai Ratiwatana /  Sonchat Ratiwatana, 7–6(7–5), 6–2


2008 Regions Morgan Keegan Championships and the Cellular South Cup, Champions, Women's Doubles
Lindsay Davenport /  Lisa Raymond defeated  Angela Haynes /  Mashona Washington, 6–3, 6–1


2008 Regions Morgan Keegan Championships – Doubles
Eric Butorac and Jamie Murray were the defending champions. They were both present but did not compete together. Butorac partnered with Todd Perry, but lost in the first round to Scott Lipsky and David Martin. Murray partnered with Max Mirnyi, but lost in the first round to Thomas Johansson and Robert Lindstedt.


2008 Regions Morgan Keegan Championships – Doubles
Mahesh Bhupathi and Mark Knowles won in the final 7–6(7–5), 6–2, against Sanchai Ratiwatana and Sonchat Ratiwatana.


2008 Regions Morgan Keegan Championships – Singles
Tommy Haas was the defending champion, but lost in the second round to Benjamin Becker.


2008 Regions Morgan Keegan Championships – Singles
Steve Darcis won in the final 6–3, 7–6(7–5), against Robin Söderling.


2008 Renault Clio Cup United Kingdom
The 2008 Elf Renault Clio Cup United Kingdom season began at Brands Hatch on 29 March and finished after 20 races over 10 events at the same circuit on 21 September. The Championship was won by Ben Winrow driving for Team Pyro.


2008 Renault Clio Cup United Kingdom, Calendar & Winners
The series supported the British Touring Car Championship at nine of the ten rounds. The series skipped the round at Knockhill and instead raced at the World Series by Renault meeting at Silverstone on 7–8 June.


2008 Renault Clio Cup United Kingdom, Standings
Points were awarded on a 32, 28, 25, 22, 20, 18, 16, 14, 12, 11, 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1 basis to the top 20 finishers in each race, with 2 bonus points for the fastest lap in each race. A driver's best 18 scores counted towards the championship.


2008 Renault Clio Cup United Kingdom, Winter Cup
The Winter Cup was contested over two rounds at Croft on 1 November and Rockingham on 8 November. It was won by Árón Smith driving for Team Pyro.


2008 Renault Clio Cup United Kingdom, Winter Cup, Drivers' Championship
Points were awarded on the same scale as the main championship. All scores counted.


2008 Reno earthquakes
The Reno earthquakes of 2008, also known as the "Mogul-Somersett earthquake sequence",  occurred in or near the western Reno, Nevada, suburbs of Mogul and Somersett. The earthquake swarm began in February 2008, but the first significant quake of the series occurred on April 15, 2008, registering a 3.6 magnitude. On April 24, 2008, two quakes in the same area registered 4.1 and 4.2.


2008 Reno earthquakes
On April 25, 2008, the quake of largest magnitude occurred, registering 4.7 on the Richter scale and causing damage in the immediate area around the epicenter, including destroying 200 feet of a wooden flume supplying water from the Highland Ditch, also known as the Highland Ditch flume. The flume carried up to 50 million US gallons (190,000 m3) a day from the Highland Ditch to  Reno's Chalk Bluff Water Treatment Facility and another 5 million US gallons (19,000 m3) to area irrigation users.


2008 Reno earthquakes
In addition to these significant quakes, hundreds of smaller events have also occurred in the same area. This swarm is significant because no known dominant fault line has been responsible for the earthquake swarm occurring in the region. It is also highly unusual because the quakes have, for the most part, been limited to a three-mile area. The United States Geological Survey (USGS) estimates that over 620 earthquakes have occurred in the general three mile vicinity since the swarm has been monitored.


2008 Reno earthquakes
Seismologists with the USGS as well as the Nevada Seismological Laboratory expressed concern that the increasing magnitude of the felt quakes may indicate that a larger earthquake was imminent. As yet, they have not identified the particular tectonics involved with these earthquakes. However, they have stated categorically that volcanic activity is not involved. The last strong earthquake (M6.1) in the Reno area in occurred on April 24, 1914, and the state's most powerful quake to date was the M7.4 1915 Pleasant Valley earthquake south of Winnemucca.


2008 Republic of the Congo Senate election
An indirect Senate election was held in the Republic of the Congo on 5 August 2008. 42 of the 72 seats in the Senate were at stake in this election, with six elected from each of seven departments. The Senate was expanded by six members at the time of this election to account for the creation of Pointe-Noire Department. The senators were elected by councillors who were in turn elected in local elections on June 29, 2008.


2008 Republic of the Congo Senate election
A presidential decree on July 24, 2008 stated that an electoral college to elect senators from seven departments—Pointe-Noire, Niari, Lekoumou, Pool, Plateaux, Cuvette West, and Likouala—would meet on August 5. In the election, there were a total of 133 candidates across the six departments where the election was being held. 33 candidates of the Rally of the Presidential Majority (RMP), which supports President Denis Sassou Nguesso, were elected to the Senate, in addition to seven independent candidates and two candidates of the opposition Pan-African Union for Social Democracy (UPADS).


2008 Republic of the Congo Senate election
Following the election, the Senate met on August 12, 2008, and elected its bureau. In the vote, conducted by secret ballot, a single list of candidates was presented and approved. André Obami Itou was re-elected as President of the Senate, Benjamin Bounkoulou was re-elected as First Vice-President, and Vincent Ganga was elected to the previously vacant post of Second Vice-President. Philomène Fouti Soungou was elected as First Secretary and Dominique Lekoyi was elected as Second Secretary.


2008 Republican National Convention
The United States 2008 Republican National Convention took place at the Xcel Energy Center in Saint Paul, Minnesota, from September 1, through September 4, 2008. The first day of the Republican Party's convention fell on Labor Day, the last day of the popular Minnesota State Fair, though because of Hurricane Gustav, this day was mostly a call for action to help victims and formal, required activities; most of the politicking and partying did not start until Tuesday, the second scheduled day.


2008 Republican National Convention
This was the latest any major party convention has ever been convened, and the first one to take place entirely in September. Traditionally, the party who holds the White House has the opportunity to select the date of its convention second, and normally the challenging party holds their convention in July while the incumbent party holds its convention in August. This year, later dates were chosen for both conventions because the parties wanted to schedule their conventions after the 2008 Summer Olympics ended.


2008 Republican National Convention
President George W. Bush did not attend the convention (although he did appear by satellite), in order to oversee relief efforts to help citizens recover from Hurricane Gustav. The attending delegates at the convention nominated Senator John McCain from Arizona for president and Governor Sarah Palin of Alaska for vice president. 1,191 pledged delegates were necessary for candidates to win the respective nominations.


2008 Republican National Convention, Hosting city selection
Four cities made bids to the Republican National Committee (RNC) for proposals to host the 2008 Convention. Those cities were Cleveland, Ohio;  Minneapolis-Saint Paul, Minnesota; New York City, New York; and Tampa-St. Petersburg, Florida. The RNC Selection Committee made its recommendation for Minneapolis-Saint Paul and on September 27, 2006, the RNC made its decision public that the 2008 Republican National Convention would be held in Minneapolis-Saint Paul. The RNC made their decision earlier than originally scheduled because the Democratic National Committee (DNC) also had Minneapolis-Saint Paul as a finalist among bidding cities. (After the RNC's selection, the DNC removed Minneapolis-Saint Paul from consideration which left the DNC with only two cities to choose from: New York City and Denver, Colorado.) This is the second time the Minneapolis-Saint Paul area held the Republican National Convention—the first was held in 1892.


2008 Republican National Convention, Political significance
The 27 electoral college votes from Minnesota, Wisconsin and Iowa as a block—equal in value to Florida's—was judged by the University of Minnesota Elections project to be subject to swing toward either major party. Even so, Minnesota has not gone to the Republicans since the 1972 election when during his reelection President Richard Nixon won every state except Massachusetts and the District of Columbia. In 1984, during his reelection, President Ronald Reagan was victorious over Minnesota's "favorite son," Walter Mondale, in all states except Minnesota, and the District of Columbia.


2008 Republican National Convention, Political significance
Since the U.S. Constitution limits the president to two terms and vice president Dick Cheney did not seek the presidency, the 2008 election was the first election in which neither the sitting president nor the sitting vice president sought his party's nomination since 1928 (when neither the sitting president, Calvin Coolidge, nor the sitting vice president, Charles G. Dawes, chose to seek the presidency) and the first since 1952 where neither the sitting president nor sitting vice president received his party's nomination (when the sitting president, Harry S. Truman, chose not to seek reelection and the sitting vice president, Alben Barkley, lost the Democratic Nomination to Adlai Stevenson). With the exception of the 1964 convention, which nominated Barry Goldwater for president and William E. Miller for vice-president, this was the first convention since 1948 not to feature a man named either Nixon, Dole or Bush on the ticket.


2008 Republican National Convention, Political significance
Sarah Palin, nominated for vice president, became the first female on the Republican presidential ticket.


2008 Republican National Convention, Political significance
Considering the signs that were waved by the delegates, the dominant message of the convention was "Country First." The "U.S.A.!" chant was also a part of the message of the convention with the delegates chanting it during Lieberman's and Thompson's speeches on the first evening.


2008 Republican National Convention, Scheduling
With the landfall of Hurricane Gustav on the U.S. Gulf Coast, the White House canceled the planned appearances of President Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney. Governors Bobby Jindal of Louisiana and Rick Perry of Texas skipped the convention to remain in their states during the hurricane's landfall. The Monday, September 1, 2008, schedule was compressed to two hours from seven. McCain called on the party to reduce partisan activities ahead of the hurricane's arrival. The Republican Party chartered a DC-9 to fly convention delegates representing the affected areas back home to their families. The last time a major hurricane struck in a Presidential-election year was Hurricane Andrew in 1992, which hit South Florida four days after the Republican Convention in Houston, Texas.


2008 Republican National Convention, Scheduling
On March 26, 2008, the NFL and NBC agreed to move the kickoff time of a September 4 season-opening football game to 7:00 p.m. EDT instead of 8:30 p.m. EDT to accommodate the convention. The game ended relatively on time, at 10:01 p.m. EDT, with NBC Sports handing off to NBC News within moments of the end of the game. According to Nielsen Media Research, 38.9 million Americans watched McCain deliver his acceptance speech—a half million more than tuned in to see Obama the previous week.


2008 Republican National Convention, Delegate count
To be selected as the 2008 Republican Party Nominee, a candidate must have received the vote of 1,191 delegates. As of March 4, 2008, McCain had received the pledges of more than 1,191 delegates. Although most of those delegates were not required to vote for him, on September 3, 2008, McCain won the nomination almost unanimously.


2008 Republican National Convention, Delegate count
Palin was nominated for vice president by voice vote on September 4, 2008.


2008 Republican National Convention, Hurricane Gustav
Several early predictions made by the National Hurricane Center showed Minneapolis-St. Paul on the predicted ground track of Hurricane Gustav. Gustav would have long been extra-tropical by the time it reached the area, it could have caused a significant impact to the convention due to rain. Most of the convention's activities were curtailed as Gustav neared, and President Bush canceled his plans to attend the convention. As the hurricane moved inland, its track shifted well to the east missing the area by several hundred miles.


2008 Republican National Convention, Protests
Approximately 10,000 largely peaceful protesters marched against the war in Iraq and 2,000 more to end homelessness and poverty. They represented a number of organizations opposed to the Republican Administration including the Poor People's Economic Human Rights Campaign, Veterans for Peace, Iraq Veterans Against the War, Military Families Speak Out, the Teamsters, Code Pink, the American Indian Movement and the RNC Welcoming Committee.


2008 Republican National Convention, Protests
About 1,000 people in place for the third major march, and the last to be sanctioned, were stopped on Thursday, September 4, 2008, by police because they attempted to begin their march after the time their march permit expired. The Anti-War Committee, which supports nonviolent action and civil disobedience and had cooperated with anarchist groups, had organized and publicized the march to protest at the time of McCain's acceptance speech, which was in violation of the court-approved protest permit time.


2008 Republican National Convention, Protests
Ron Paul's Campaign for Liberty and 10,000 Ron Paul supporters attended the Rally for the Republic, a protest convention on September 2, 2008, held a few miles from the Xcel Energy Center at the Minneapolis Target Center in direct contrast to the Republican National Convention.


2008 Republican National Convention, Protests
Several groups had been preparing to protest near the convention. In early January 2008, protesters marched from the Minnesota State Capitol to the Xcel Energy Center in hopes of securing a protest permit. The Saint Paul Police Department authorized the event, but only approved the permit through July 2008. On February 8 and February 9, 2008, antiwar protesters attended a weekend conference at the University of Minnesota to discuss the protests and antiwar rally. On February 28, 2008, the Associated Press (AP) reported that the police department adopted new guidelines for the investigation of protest groups. The police department said that this did not have anything to do with the convention.


2008 Republican National Convention, Protests
In early March 2008, the city of Saint Paul gave the first permits to protest organizers. The city had said that it was not going to follow the "New York model" for protest security, referring to the tactics the New York City Police Department used for the 2004 Republican National Convention protest activity.


2008 Republican National Convention, Protests
Later, on March 24, 2008, the antiwar group the Coalition to March on the RNC and Stop the War, sued the city, claiming their free speech and due process rights were denied by the vagueness of the permits which did not specify a permitted route for their march. On July 16, 2008, a Federal judge upheld the terms of the permit. And when the time came on September 2, 2008, police led the Poor People's Economic Human Rights Campaign for two hours on a 2.5 miles (4.0 km) trek away from the convention which had been less than 1 mile (1.6 km) from their starting point.


2008 Republican National Convention, Protests, Search warrants and arrests
Before the convention began, search warrants were executed by Ramsey County Sheriff Bob Fletcher in coordination with the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Six persons who were a part of the organizing group, the RNC Welcoming Committee, were arrested when police executed search warrants on a handful of homes in Minneapolis and Saint Paul during the weekend preceding the convention.


2008 Republican National Convention, Protests, Search warrants and arrests
Media outlets reported on several of the searches. Given the nature of the probable cause for the warrant applications, a district court judge authorized no-knock warrants. Police entered the homes wearing body armor with weapons drawn, which is standard for no-knock warrants. RNC Welcoming Committee members detained at the group's headquarters, located in an old theater on Saint Paul's West Side, were ultimately arrested by Ramsey County Sheriff Bob Fletcher of misdemeanor fire code violations.


2008 Republican National Convention, Protests, Search warrants and arrests
On the first day of the convention, a group of protesters stood in front of approximately 30 to 40 delegates from Connecticut in an attempt to prevent them from entering the convention. Paramedics had to treat an 83-year-old member of the delegation for breathing problems when his credentials were ripped from his neck by a protester. Additionally, a black bloc smashed windows of downtown businesses and slashed the tires several police cars, lit one police car on fire, and used a garbage dumpster as a battering ram against another. About 12 protesters were arrested.


2008 Republican National Convention, Protests, Search warrants and arrests
During the convention's first three days, more than 300 individuals were detained by police, including journalists, healthcare workers, and legal observers. Some were released, but nearly half received felony charges. Of these felony arrests, many cases were dropped or reviewed, sometimes for lesser charges, and about 21 were found to be prosecutable. About 102 persons were arrested for unlawful assembly at a Rage Against the Machine concert in downtown Minneapolis.


2008 Republican National Convention, Protests, Search warrants and arrests
Over the four days of the convention, more than 30 journalists were arrested while reporting on the protests. The arrests included journalists from national organizations such as AP and Democracy Now!, journalists from local radio and TV stations, as well as university journalism students and advisors.


2008 Republican National Convention, Protests, Search warrants and arrests
Three journalists from Democracy Now!—including principal host Amy Goodman—were detained by police during their reporting on the protests. According to a press release by Democracy Now!, Goodman was arrested after confronting officers regarding the arrest of her colleagues. The officers were in the midst of crowd control, and ordered Goodman to move back. She was arrested after refusing the officer's orders. All were held on charges of "probable cause for riot". Several news sources have criticized the arrest as unlawful and a violation of the freedom of the press, and warned of the "chilling effects" of such measures.


2008 Republican National Convention, Protests, Search warrants and arrests
Democracy Now! journalist Amy Goodman and producers Sharif Abdel Kouddous and Nicole Salazarprevailed in a lawsuit against the cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul and the U.S. Secret Servicebrought by the Center for Constitutional Rights, attorney Steven Reiss from Weil, Gotshal & Manges LLP in New York, and Albert Goins of Minneapolis. The federal lawsuit asserted that the government cannot, in the name of security, limit the flow of information by intimidating and arresting journalists who engage in constitutionally protected reporting on speech protected by the First Amendment, such as dissent or law enforcement activities.


2008 Republican National Convention, Protests, Search warrants and arrests
The settlement included compensation of $100,000 for the three journalists and an agreement by the St. Paul Police Department to implement a training program aimed at educating officers regarding the First Amendment rights of the press and public with respect to police operations — including police handling of media coverage of mass demonstrations — and to pursue implementation of the training program in Minneapolis and statewide.


2008 Republican National Convention, Protests, Search warrants and arrests
The final protest march was permitted for 2:00 to 5:00 p.m. on the final day of the convention. This meant that the last of the marchers needed to be back on capitol grounds by 5 p.m. By 4 p.m., the march had still not left the capitol grounds. Understanding that the protesters were interested in being near the Xcel Energy Center when delegates were, police offered a compromise: march leaders were told that if they started their march before 5 p.m., police would allow it to continue past the permit time. March organizers refused.


2008 Republican National Convention, Protests, Search warrants and arrests
When the final protest march permit expired at 5 p.m., overpasses over Interstate 94 leading into downtown from the state capitol were closed. Two hours later, when the final assembly permit on capitol grounds expired and protesters refused several commands to disperse, police used tear gas, smoke bombs, pepper spray, flash bangs, mounted police, paint marker rounds, and rubber bullets to prevent an antiwar march organized by the Anti-War Committee to march on the Xcel Energy center. This march would have been in violation of the court-approved march permits.


2008 Republican National Convention, Protests, Search warrants and arrests
Between 300 and 400 people were arrested or held including 19 journalists, among them AP reporters Amy Forliti and Jon Krawczynski, reporters from Twin Cities Daily Planet and The Uptake, and Paul Demko of The Minnesota Independent. Total arrests of convention protesters numbered approximately 800, although only 15 cases resulted in criminal charges. Several suits were started in U.S. District Court, claiming civil rights abuses by the St. Paul Police Department and other agencies involved in the RNC, particularly the Minneapolis Police Department and Ramsey County Sheriff's Office. Search warrants were still being granted into 2009 in relation to the events that transpired during the 2008 RNC.


2008 Republican National Convention, Protests, Post-RNC convictions of protesters
Both McKay and Crowder were arrested based on FBI surveillance and testimony by former-activist turned informant, Brandon Michael Darby and Andrew C. Darst, also known as "Panda," "warchyld" or Killswitch. Darst is currently being charged in Ramsey County, MN, with two felony counts of first- and second-degree burglary as well as fifth-degree assault relating to a January 11, 2009, domestic disturbance.


2008 Republican Party presidential candidates
This article contains lists of official candidates associated with the 2008 Republican Party presidential primaries for the 2008 United States presidential election.


2008 Republican Party presidential candidates
In accordance with the 22nd Amendment, incumbent President George W. Bush was prohibited from running for president in 2008, having served two full terms in the office. Vice President Dick Cheney chose not to run for president.


2008 Republican Party presidential candidates
On March 4, 2008, John McCain became the Republican presumptive presidential nominee when he obtained the 1,191 delegates necessary to receive the party's nomination. Mike Huckabee announced his withdrawal from the race later in the evening. McCain's last remaining competitor in the race, Ron Paul, withdrew on June 12, 2008.


2008 Republican Party presidential candidates, Delegate race count
This chart shows the total number of delegates committed to each candidate from the Primaries/caucuses/state conventions (different state parties use varied methods for electing delegates).


2008 Republican Party presidential candidates, Nominee
John McCain, born August 29, 1936, in the U.S.-controlled Panama Canal Zone, Senator from Arizona. Born into a military family, he became a naval aviator and POW during the Vietnam War. Often characterized as a Republican maverick in the Senate, he is well known. In 2000, he failed in his attempt against George W. Bush for the Republican nomination: McCain continued his ultimately unsuccessful campaign long after the other Republican candidates had united behind Bush.


2008 Republican Party presidential candidates, Nominee
McCain's bipartisan compromise on judicial nominations and his strong support of campaign finance reform have drawn the ire of many groups, However, his party stands with him on issues concerning foreign policy and government spending. On November 15, 2006, McCain announced he would form an exploratory committee. On the Late Show with David Letterman on February 28, 2007, he announced he would seek the GOP presidential nomination. He made a formal announcement on April 25, 2007.


2008 Republican Party presidential candidates, Nominee
On November 4, McCain was defeated for the presidency by Barack Obama, the Democratic nominee.


2008 Republican Party presidential candidates, Withdrew during the primary elections
Rudy Giuliani, born May 28, 1944, in New York, former mayor of New York City. Giuliani said on October 2, 2005, that he would look at the possibility of running for president. On November 13, 2006, he announced that he was forming an exploratory committee. He led several state and nationwide polls for the Republican nomination and the general election, and had been mentioned by many media sources as a possible candidate since the 9/11 attacks and a speech to the 2004 Republican Convention. (See polls below)


2008 Republican Party presidential candidates, Withdrew during the primary elections
On February 5, 2007, Giuliani unofficially entered the race for the 2008 U.S. presidential election by filing a "statement of candidacy" with the Federal Election Commission, but legally keeping him at the same level as he was while running an exploratory committee. On February 15, Giuliani officially announced that he was running on CNN's Larry King Live show. Giuliani finished third in the Florida primary on January 29, 2008. The next day he withdrew from the race and endorsed John McCain.


2008 Republican Party presidential candidates, Withdrew during the primary elections
Duncan Hunter, born May 31, 1948, in Riverside, California, U.S. Representative from that state and former Chairman of the House Armed Services Committee. Hunter formally announced his presidential candidacy in Spartanburg, South Carolina, on January 25, 2007. He withdrew from the race on January 19, 2008 after a poor showing in the Nevada Republican caucuses, and endorsed Mike Huckabee.


2008 Republican Party presidential candidates, Withdrew during the primary elections
Mike Huckabee, born August 24, 1955, was the governor of the U.S. state of Arkansas from 1996 to 2007. He announced his candidacy on January 28, 2007. After Mitt Romney withdrew from the race, Huckabee chose to continue with his campaign, despite the fact McCain was already the presumptive nominee. Following losses to McCain in the Texas, Ohio, Vermont, and Rhode Island primaries, he ended his presidential campaign on the evening of March 4, 2008, and endorsed McCain the following day.


2008 Republican Party presidential candidates, Withdrew during the primary elections
Ron Paul, born August 20, 1935, in Green Tree, Pennsylvania, is a long time U.S. Representative from Texas with a strong constitutionalist and libertarian voting record. He first ran for president as a Libertarian nearly two decades before the 2008 campaign. On January 11, 2007, Paul filed papers to form an exploratory committee for the 2008 presidential race. He formally declared his candidacy 12 March 2007 as a guest on Washington Journal on C-SPAN. On February 20, 2007, Paul's exploratory committee posted on YouTube a formal video of him explaining his reason for running. Paul did well in Republican straw polls and broke several fundraising records including raising the most money ever raised in 24 hours, when Paul raised over $6.3 million on December 16, 2007 as a part of a moneybomb celebrating the Boston Tea Party.


2008 Republican Party presidential candidates, Withdrew during the primary elections
On June 12, Paul withdrew from the race. He did not endorse John McCain as the presumptive nominee for president - Paul eventually went on to endorse Chuck Baldwin of the Constitution Party.


2008 Republican Party presidential candidates, Withdrew during the primary elections
Mitt Romney, born March 12, 1947, in Michigan, is former Governor of Massachusetts. He formed a presidential exploratory committee on January 3, 2007, the day before he left the governor's office.


2008 Republican Party presidential candidates, Withdrew during the primary elections
Romney officially announced his candidacy on February 13, 2007 at the Henry Ford Museum in Dearborn, Michigan. On February 7, 2008, Romney announced that he was withdrawing from the race, and endorsed John McCain.


2008 Republican Party presidential candidates, Withdrew during the primary elections
Alan Keyes, born August 7, 1950, is an American conservative political activist, author, former diplomat, and perennial candidate for public office.


2008 Republican Party presidential candidates, Withdrew during the primary elections
Keyes announced his candidacy for president in a radio interview on September 14, 2007. He participated in one nationally televised debate before the primaries. His best showing was a 4th-place finish in North Carolina. Keyes withdrew from consideration on April 15, 2008, when he announced he was leaving the Republican party and advocating to be the Constitution Party nominee for president.


2008 Republican Party presidential candidates, Withdrew during the primary elections
Fred Dalton Thompson, born August 19, 1942, was a former Senator from Tennessee and a former actor, best known for playing D.A. Arthur Branch on Law & Order. On March 11, 2007 Thompson said "I'm giving some thought to it. Going to leave the door open. A lot of people think it's late already. I don't really think it is, although the rules of the game have changed somewhat. ... I think people are somewhat disillusioned. I think a lot of people are cynical out there. I think they're looking for something different." On June 1, Thompson announced he had established a preliminary campaign committee, thus taking his first formal step toward an official presidential bid. On September 5, he officially entered the presidential race. On January 22, 2008 he ended his campaign and endorsed John McCain.


2008 Republican Party presidential candidates, Withdrew before primary elections
Sam Brownback, born September 12, 1956, in Kansas, senior Senator from that state. In April 2005, the Associated Press reported that Brownback, who is little known outside his home state, "is using a network of social conservatives and Christian activists to raise his profile" in such battleground states as Iowa and New Hampshire. He is well known for his social and fiscal conservative record, such as opposing abortion and instituting a flat tax alternative to the current IRS Code. He was also instrumental in Congress' bestowing the Congressional Medal upon Mother Teresa.


2008 Republican Party presidential candidates, Withdrew before primary elections
In his own words, "The core of my being is to rebuild the family and renew the culture." On December 4, 2006, Brownback announced that he would form an exploratory committee. On January 20, 2007, Brownback officially announced his candidacy. Of his campaign, Brownback has said, "I'm a son of a farmer from Kansas ... I still think anybody can be president. I don't think you have to show up with $100 million to do it. ... I'm the tortoise in the race. And I don't like how the race starts; I like how it ends up."


2008 Republican Party presidential candidates, Withdrew before primary elections
Brownback was one of three who raised his hand in the May 3, 2007, Republican candidates debate when asked "Is there anybody on the stage who does not believe in evolution?". Despite his high-profile among Evangelicals, most of them threw their support behind Mike Huckabee. Brownback officially withdrew from the presidential race on October 19, 2007, and endorsed John McCain.


2008 Republican Party presidential candidates, Withdrew before primary elections
Jim Gilmore, a  group was formed in August 2006, encouraging former Virginia Governor Jim Gilmore to run for president after he was seen traveling to the presidential primary states. In November 2006, Gilmore told ABC News that a 2008 presidential run was one of several possibilities he is considering. On December 19, 2006, Gilmore announced he was forming an exploratory committee for a presidential candidacy. Gilmore announced on December 20, 2006, that he would launch his exploratory committee on January 2, 2007.


2008 Republican Party presidential candidates, Withdrew before primary elections
Perhaps hoping to mirror the surprising 2004 campaign of Democrat Howard Dean, another former governor with little national recognition when he entered the race, Gilmore declared that he represents "the Republican wing of the Republican Party" echoing the popular Dean quotation. Gilmore declared his candidacy from the Des Moines, Iowa GOP headquarters on April 26, 2007. Gilmore, however, raised a mere $380,000 in the first half of 2007, which he cited as a reason why he withdrew from the presidential race on July 14, 2007, and endorsed John McCain.


2008 Republican Party presidential candidates, Withdrew before primary elections
Tom Tancredo, born December 20, 1945, in Colorado, U.S. Representative from that state and leading advocate for more restrictive immigration policies. On April 2, 2007, Rep. Tancredo announced his official candidacy on Iowa talk radio station 1040 WHO. Tancredo has a dedicated grassroots following among paleoconservatives. He has visited early Presidential primary states such as New Hampshire, Michigan and Iowa to begin building popular support and has polled favorably amongst grassroots Republicans. Tancredo announced on January 16, 2007, that he was forming an exploratory committee.


2008 Republican Party presidential candidates, Withdrew before primary elections
Tancredo was one of three who raised his hand in the May 3, 2007, Republican candidates debate when asked "Is there anybody on the stage who does not believe in evolution?" On December 20, 2007, Tancredo withdrew from the race and endorsed Mitt Romney. After Romney withdrew from the race, Tancredo threw his support behind John McCain.


2008 Republican Party presidential candidates, Withdrew before primary elections
Tommy Thompson, born November 19, 1941, in Elroy, Wisconsin, is the former four-term Governor of Wisconsin and was Secretary of Health and Human Services under President George W. Bush from 2001 to 2005. He announced interest in the 2008 nomination and, on December 15, 2006, announced that he had formed an exploratory committee. He officially announced his candidacy on April 1, 2007. After a poor showing in the August 11 Iowa Straw Poll, Tommy Thompson announced on the following day that he is withdrawing from the race, and endorsed Rudy Giuliani. After Giuliani withdrew from the race, Thompson threw his support behind John McCain.


2008 Republican Party presidential debates and forums
The first political debate before the 2008 Republican primaries was held on May 3, 2007, at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in California. Other debates have taken place in New Hampshire, South Carolina, and Florida. They were generally broadcast by television networks.


2008 Republican Party presidential debates and forums
The debates can have a substantial effect on the primaries and are important chances for the public to compare the candidates side-by-side.


2008 Republican Party presidential debates and forums, Attendance
Key:  P  denotes candidate participated in debate;  N  denotes candidate was not invited;  A  denotes candidate absent but was invited;  O  denotes candidate was out of the race.


2008 Republican Party presidential debates and forums, The candidate debates, May 3, 2007 - Simi Valley, California
The first Republican debate was at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley, California. It was simulcast live for 90 minutes on MSNBC and Politico.com. Questions were gathered from The Politico readers for the candidates. All declared candidates were present, as Fred Thompson had not yet declared. Former First Lady Nancy Reagan was present, along with California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger.


2008 Republican Party presidential debates and forums, The candidate debates, May 3, 2007 - Simi Valley, California
The debate was moderated by MSNBC anchor Chris Matthews of Hardball and The Politico's John Harris. Questions were gathered from The Politico readers for the candidates.


2008 Republican Party presidential debates and forums, The candidate debates, May 3, 2007 - Simi Valley, California
The candidates presented differing opinions of President George W. Bush, with McCain and Huckabee criticizing Bush's mismanagement of the Iraq War while Giuliani and Romney praised Bush, Ron Paul said Bush was a poor conservative. The candidates also presented different opinions on contentious issues such as abortion and stem-cell research but were united in calling for further tax cuts. All candidates opposed a pullout from Iraq except for Ron Paul, who spoke and voted against the resolution to authorize war on Iraq in 2002 and has been a vocal critic of the war.


2008 Republican Party presidential debates and forums, The candidate debates, May 3, 2007 - Simi Valley, California
John McCain answered "yes" when asked whether he believed in evolution. Immediately following, the questioner inquired whether any of the candidates did not believe in evolution, three candidates (Tancredo, Brownback, and Huckabee) raised their hands. McCain then added "I believe in evolution, but I also believe, when I hike the Grand Canyon and see a sunset, that the hand of God is there also." Later in the June 5 debate, Brownback and Huckabee elaborated on their position, taking a far more moderate approach.


2008 Republican Party presidential debates and forums, The candidate debates, May 3, 2007 - Simi Valley, California
Pundits Howard Fineman and Joe Scarborough concluded that Romney did the best and maintained his posture by seeming the most energetic in the debate. Eugene Robinson deduced that Romney showed that he has the potential to be a formidable candidate and also answered the most questions in a consistent manner.


2008 Republican Party presidential debates and forums, The candidate debates, May 3, 2007 - Simi Valley, California
At the end of the debate, MSNBC's online votes showed Ron Paul standing out from the other candidates. Ron Paul won "Best one liner," "Who stood out from the pack" "Most convincing debater", and "Who showed the most leadership qualities?" In all four, he had at least 45% of the total vote.


2008 Republican Party presidential debates and forums, The candidate debates, May 3, 2007 - Simi Valley, California
Mitt Romney won an online vote taken at The Drudge Report, with Giuliani and Paul close behind.


2008 Republican Party presidential debates and forums, The candidate debates, May 15, 2007 - Columbia, South Carolina
The second Republican debate was May 15 in Columbia, South Carolina at the Koger Center for the Arts at the University of South Carolina. All candidates then declared participated. It was broadcast live for 90 minutes on Fox News Channel, and simulcast on Fox News Radio affiliates, including the station of the debate, WVOC. The event was moderated by Brit Hume, with Chris Wallace and Wendell Goler asking most of the questions. The debate was in three rounds, the first on the War in Iraq, the second on domestic issues, such as abortion, gay rights, spending and tax cuts. For the last, Brit Hume proposed a fictional scenario involving terrorism. The candidates had to predict their actions in that situation. Fox News held text message voting by the audience. Ron Paul received the most (33%) with Mike Huckabee second (18%).


2008 Republican Party presidential debates and forums, The candidate debates, May 15, 2007 - Columbia, South Carolina
During the debate, Ron Paul asserted that American interventionism in the Middle East, from CIA installation of Iranian leaders to the bombing of Iraq in the 1990s, culminating in the ongoing Iraq war, led to anti-American sentiment in the Middle East and to terrorists plotting attacks against America. Rudy Giuliani portrayed Paul as implying that America had justified the 9/11 attacks through its actions and interrupted the proceedings to demand a retraction, which Paul refused. Former head of the CIA's bin Laden unit, Michael Scheuer, congratulated Ron Paul for his comments, calling them "the truth." Others portrayed the exchange as a victory for Giuliani.


2008 Republican Party presidential debates and forums, The candidate debates, May 15, 2007 - Columbia, South Carolina
The fictional ticking time bomb scenario suggested by the moderator was: "Three shopping centers near major U.S. cities have been hit by suicide bombers. Hundreds are dead, thousands injured. A fourth attack has been averted when the attackers were captured off the Florida coast and taken to Guantanamo Bay, where they are being questioned. U.S. intelligence believes that another larger attack is planned and could come at any time." John McCain and Ron Paul were the only candidates who said they were opposed to the concept of "enhanced interrogation techniques", a phrase Paul labeled Orwellian newspeak for torture.


2008 Republican Party presidential debates and forums, The candidate debates, May 15, 2007 - Columbia, South Carolina
Mitt Romney suggested that the U.S. double the size of facilities holding non-citizen enemy combatants held in places like Guantanamo and deny them access to the protections afforded to American citizens, such as the right of having an attorney. Giuliani said interrogators should use "any method they can think of" and did not exclude water-boarding. Expressing disbelief at the idea of debating "whether or not waterboarding would be a bad thing to do" Tom Tancredo said "I'm looking for Jack Bauer."


2008 Republican Party presidential debates and forums, The candidate debates, May 15, 2007 - Columbia, South Carolina
Mike Huckabee drew the biggest laughter of the night when he accused Congress of spending money "like John Edwards at a beauty shop," a reference to Edwards, who at that time was a 2008 Democratic Presidential candidate, spending $800 of campaign money on two haircuts.


2008 Republican Party presidential debates and forums, The candidate debates, June 5, 2007 - Goffstown, New Hampshire
WMUR-TV, CNN, and the New Hampshire Union Leader hosted Democratic and Republican debates at Saint Anselm College in Goffstown, New Hampshire, part of the Manchester urban area. The debate was two hours, without commercials, making it and the CNN Democratic debate the longest debates in the 2008 season so far. All declared candidates participated, which excluded Fred Thompson. Wolf Blitzer of The Situation Room and Late Edition on CNN moderated the debate.


2008 Republican Party presidential debates and forums, The candidate debates, June 5, 2007 - Goffstown, New Hampshire
According to the online CNN.com poll, Ron Paul received the most votes in all but two categories: "snappiest dresser," who was Mitt Romney, and "most disappointing performance" who was Rudy Giuliani. The "big three" candidates (Giuliani, McCain, Romney) also received larger shares of air time compared to the "minor candidates."


2008 Republican Party presidential debates and forums, The candidate debates, June 5, 2007 - Goffstown, New Hampshire
A WBZ-Franklin Pierce College poll showed Romney as the winner of the debate at 22%, followed by Rudy Giuliani at 18% and John McCain at 11%. In that poll, none of the other candidates earnered over 3%. Participants in the debate:Sam Brownback,James S. Gilmore,Rudy Giuliani,Duncan Hunter,Mike Huckabee,John McCain,Ron Paul,Mitt Romney,Tom Tancredo andTommy Thompson


2008 Republican Party presidential debates and forums, The candidate debates, July 12, 2007 - Detroit, Michigan
Attended only by Tom Tancredo. All 10 Republican candidates were invited, only Tancredo attended.


2008 Republican Party presidential debates and forums, The candidate debates, July 12, 2007 - Detroit, Michigan
This was held during the NAACP 98th annual convention. It was hosted by Russ Mitchell.


2008 Republican Party presidential debates and forums, The candidate debates, August 5, 2007 - Des Moines, Iowa
ABC News conducted a live, 90-minute debate that aired Sunday morning on a special edition of This Week, moderated by George Stephanopoulos at Drake University. All Republican candidates were present. Mitt Romney defended his change from a pro-choice to pro-life position on abortion. Ron Paul spoke of pulling U.S. troops out of Iraq. The debate concluded with the candidates' revealing their biggest mistakes. Frontrunners Mitt Romney, Rudy Giuliani, and John McCain were given more time to speak than were lesser-known candidates, as in previous debates.


2008 Republican Party presidential debates and forums, The candidate debates, August 5, 2007 - Des Moines, Iowa
According to an on-line poll at ABCNews.com, Paul won the debate with 63% of votes. Paul's vote total was nearly eight times as many as runner-up Romney. Frank Luntz, a political commentator for Fox News, asserted that Mike Huckabee had won the debate.


2008 Republican Party presidential debates and forums, The candidate debates, September 5, 2007 - Durham, New Hampshire
Fox News Channel hosted a Republican debate at The Whittemore Center at the University of New Hampshire in Durham, New Hampshire, for 90 minutes on Fox News. The event was moderated by Brit Hume, with Chris Wallace and Wendell Goler asking most of the questions. According to a public text messaging poll, Ron Paul won with 33%, Mike Huckabee came in second with 18%, followed by Rudy Giuliani and John McCain who received 15% and 14% respectively. All candidates who were declared participated.


2008 Republican Party presidential debates and forums, The candidate debates, September 5, 2007 - Durham, New Hampshire
The Fox News Luntz focus groups watching the debate declared disappointment with the performance by Mitt Romney and Rudy Giuliani, though John McCain was viewed favorably. However, some noted the lack of McCain supporters in the audience. The status of Larry Craig was discussed in the debate, with Sam Brownback stating that Craig should go through with his decision to resign.


2008 Republican Party presidential debates and forums, The candidate debates, September 5, 2007 - Durham, New Hampshire
An exchange between Ron Paul and Mike Huckabee over the war in Iraq was covered extensively by many news agencies.


2008 Republican Party presidential debates and forums, The candidate debates, September 17, 2007 - Fort Lauderdale, Florida
The first-ever "Values Voter" Presidential Debate was held for the GOP candidates at the Broward Center for the Performing Arts in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. It was broadcast live on television on Sky Angel, and live on many Christian radio stations, including the Voice of Christian Youth America (VCY America) network and WKBF-AM, and online on the American Family Association (AFA) Web site. Seven candidates attended-- Brownback, Huckabee, Hunter, Paul, Tancredo, and newly announced candidate Alan Keyes and John H. Cox, a candidate who had then not appeared in any of the other debates.


2008 Republican Party presidential debates and forums, The candidate debates, September 17, 2007 - Fort Lauderdale, Florida
The official Web site reports the immediate straw poll of 340 delegates was won by Huckabee with 219 votes (63%) to Paul 44 (13%), Keyes 22 (7%), Brownback 18 (5%), Fred Thompson 15 (4%), Hunter 4%, Tancredo 2%, Giuliani 1%, McCain 1%, Cox 1%, and Romney 0%. A similar event was planned for the Democratic candidates, but none would confirm their participation.


2008 Republican Party presidential debates and forums, The candidate debates, September 27, 2007 - Baltimore, Maryland
PBS television hosted a Republican debate in Baltimore, Maryland, at Morgan State University that aired live on PBS and on www.pbs.org. Dubbed the "All-American Presidential Forums," it was the first prime time debate with a panel exclusively of journalists of color. Questions were asked by host Tavis Smiley and panelists Ray Suarez of The NewsHour, Cynthia Tucker of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, and NPR's Juan Williams.


2008 Republican Party presidential debates and forums, The candidate debates, September 27, 2007 - Baltimore, Maryland
The six debaters were Sam Brownback, Mike Huckabee, Alan Keyes, Ron Paul, Duncan Hunter, and Tom Tancredo. Absent were Rudy Giuliani, John McCain, Mitt Romney, and Fred Thompson, who, according to public opinion surveys, were the leading Republican candidates. The organizers put empty podiums on the stage in place of the candidates who refused to attend.


2008 Republican Party presidential debates and forums, The candidate debates, September 27, 2007 - Baltimore, Maryland
For the most part, the candidates agreed with one another about most of the issues discussed. One exception came near the end when Cynthia Tucker asked, "Does the U.S. have a role to play in ending the genocide in Darfur?" All the candidates except Paul answered in the affirmative, though most ruled out using U.S. troops. Huckabee added that we also need to address "the infanticide in our own country, with the slaughter of millions of unborn children."


2008 Republican Party presidential debates and forums, The candidate debates, September 27, 2007 - Baltimore, Maryland
Paul opposed even sending food, and added, "we should direct our attention only to national security, and not get involved for these feel-good reasons of going overseas for the various reasons, and this is the main reason why I think we ought to just come home from every place in the coun-, from every place in the world." Keyes replied, "I have to say I'm appalled by the suggestion that we retreat into some kind of Fortress America, and forget who we are. We are a nation of nations, a people of many peoples.


2008 Republican Party presidential debates and forums, The candidate debates, September 27, 2007 - Baltimore, Maryland
We are in touch with every people on the face of the earth. If somebody's is being hurt somewhere in the world, somebody in America grieves for them. And I don't believe we can turn our backs on that universal significance, that universal mission...  We don't have to send troops, but we need to support and reinforce the sense of local regional responsibility for both humanitarian and military order in that region."


2008 Republican Party presidential debates and forums, The candidate debates, October 9, 2007 - Dearborn, Michigan
CNBC, The Wall Street Journal, and the University of Michigan–Dearborn hosted a Republican debate in Dearborn, Michigan at the Ford Community and Performing Arts Center. It was co-moderated by MSNBC's Chris Matthews and CNBC's Maria Bartiromo. The focus of the debate was on the American economy.


2008 Republican Party presidential debates and forums, The candidate debates, October 9, 2007 - Dearborn, Michigan
Sam Brownback, Rudy Giuliani, Mike Huckabee, Duncan Hunter, John McCain, Ron Paul, Mitt Romney, Tom Tancredo, participated, along with Fred Thompson in his debate debut. Alan Keyes was not invited.


2008 Republican Party presidential debates and forums, The candidate debates, October 9, 2007 - Dearborn, Michigan
After the debate, Ron Paul won with over 7000 votes, because of which CNBC took take down the page.


2008 Republican Party presidential debates and forums, The candidate debates, October 9, 2007 - Dearborn, Michigan
One highlight of the debate occurred when Mitt Romney and Rudy Giuliani debated whether the line-item veto was constitutional or not. Giuliani claimed that it was unconstitutional and challenged former President Bill Clinton on its use, while Romney praised the practice citing that he used it 844 times as Governor of Massachusetts.


2008 Republican Party presidential debates and forums, The candidate debates, October 9, 2007 - Dearborn, Michigan
Another highlight in the debate happened when candidates were asked by Chris Matthews if they need to go to Congress to get authorization to take military action against Iran's nuclear facilities, if they were president of the United States. While Hunter, Huckabee, McCain, Thompson and Giuliani replied they would not obtain Congressional authorization if there was an imminent threat from Iran. Romney replied, "You sit down with your attorneys and (they) tell you what you have to do..." Paul advocated obtaining Congressional authorization, which he claimed is mandated by the US Constitution.


2008 Republican Party presidential debates and forums, The candidate debates, October 9, 2007 - Dearborn, Michigan
In the end of the debate, Mitt Romney remarked, "This is a lot like 'Law & Order,' senator. It has a huge cast, the series seems to go on forever and Fred Thompson shows up at the end." Romney was making a reference to Fred Thompson's role on Law & Order. Thompson replied, "And to think I thought I was going to be the best actor on the stage."


2008 Republican Party presidential debates and forums, The candidate debates, October 9, 2007 - Dearborn, Michigan
Critics of the debate have commented on the uneven amount of time given to "second tier" candidates.


2008 Republican Party presidential debates and forums, The candidate debates, October 16, 2007 - Washington, D.C.
The Republican Jewish Coalition debate at the Grand Hyatt Hotel Independence Ballroom featured five candidates:  Sam Brownback, Rudy Giuliani, John McCain, Mitt Romney, and Fred Thompson. Although Mike Huckabee was invited, he did not attend, due to being in California at an event with Newt Gingrich. RJC Communications Director Shari Hillman wrote that "due to the limited time available for the event, the RJC could only include the top six candidates currently in the field." The Jewish Telegraphic Agency reported that sources close to the RJC leadership said that Paul was excluded due to his "record of consistently voting against assistance to Israel and his criticisms of the pro-Israel lobby".


2008 Republican Party presidential debates and forums, The candidate debates, October 21, 2007 - Orlando, Florida
The Republican Party of Florida hosted a two-day event on October 20 and  21 featuring Republican candidates in a debate. Produced with the Fox News Channel, it was moderated by Chris Wallace, Brit Hume, Wendell Goler, and Carl Cameron. Eight candidates participated. Alan Keyes was not invited.


2008 Republican Party presidential debates and forums, The candidate debates, October 21, 2007 - Orlando, Florida
The event was at the Rosen Shingle Creek Hotel and Resort in Orlando, Florida. The weekend culminated in the nationally televised, prime-time debate.


2008 Republican Party presidential debates and forums, The candidate debates, October 21, 2007 - Orlando, Florida
According to Fox News Viewers "text voting" after the debate, Ron Paul won with 34%, Huckabee came in second with 27%, Giuliani third with 11%, Romney 10%, Thompson 9%, McCain 5%, Hunter 1% and Tancredo less than 1%.


2008 Republican Party presidential debates and forums, The candidate debates, October 21, 2007 - Orlando, Florida
At one point, with the poll showing Ron Paul winning the informal "cell phone" poll, Fox News talk show host Sean Hannity declared, "Ron Paul did not win the debate tonight." Hannity described the results as "stacking."


2008 Republican Party presidential debates and forums, The candidate debates, October 21, 2007 - Orlando, Florida
Paul was the only candidate to be jeered during the debate—both times Paul advocated a non-interventionist foreign policy. Alan Colmes, in the post-debate analysis, stated that Paul drew the most spirited reaction of any candidate, both positive and negative.


2008 Republican Party presidential debates and forums, The candidate debates, October 21, 2007 - Orlando, Florida
This Republican debate also revealed that the Republican contenders think America will go bankrupt if spending policies are not changed.


2008 Republican Party presidential debates and forums, The candidate debates, October 21, 2007 - Orlando, Florida
Thompson hit on a theme on which all of the debaters seemed to agree, that out-of-control spending is bankrupting America: "We're spending the money of our grand kids and kids yet to be born", Thompson said.


2008 Republican Party presidential debates and forums, The candidate debates, October 21, 2007 - Orlando, Florida
Giuliani accused Fred Thompson of being the "biggest obstacle to tort reform". Giuliani, touting his record as New York City mayor, said, "I brought down crime 60%", and called for school choice.


2008 Republican Party presidential debates and forums, The candidate debates, October 21, 2007 - Orlando, Florida
Regarding health care, Ron Paul said that "managed care isn't working" and that "drug companies lobby for managed care". Paul said, "We could take care of these poor people if we weren't trying to maintain an empire overseas". Ron Paul hit continued to discuss the issue of military non-interventionism, "70% of Americans want war over with and are sick and tired of big government at home and overseas". They want their "civil liberties and not allow government to spend endlessly and bankrupt us". Paul also answered questions related to his experience with Medicaid and endorsed allowing civil unions for same-sex couples country-wide, with marriage itself handled solely by religious institutions.


2008 Republican Party presidential debates and forums, The candidate debates, October 21, 2007 - Orlando, Florida
Mike Huckabee defended the "sanctity of human life, it is one of the defining issues of our culture" and on health care promoted "personalization not privatization. We do not have health care system, we have a maze. It's a health care crisis".


2008 Republican Party presidential debates and forums, The candidate debates, October 21, 2007 - Orlando, Florida
FOX News Channel and its affiliates moderated and televised the debate.


2008 Republican Party presidential debates and forums, The candidate debates, October 25, 2007 - Sioux City, Iowa
AARP and IPTV held their second presidential candidate forum at the Orpheum Theater in Sioux City. Of the candidates invited, only former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee and U.S. Senator John McCain attended. The forum was webcast live but was not aired on PBS stations across the country as originally planned.


2008 Republican Party presidential debates and forums, The candidate debates, October 25, 2007 - Sioux City, Iowa
Due to the absence of most candidates, the format was changed to "allow Sen. John McCain and Gov. Mike Huckabee to discuss the issues of health and financial security with Iowa caucus-goers. The format included opening remarks, questions from moderator Dean Borg of IPTV, Sioux City Journal readers and those selected in the audience."


2008 Republican Party presidential debates and forums, The candidate debates, November 28, 2007 - St. Petersburg, Florida
This debate is known as the "YouTube" debate. CNN planned it with a simulcast on CNN en Español (in the Spanish language). Internet services YouTube and Google also participated, allowing them to stream the event live and have clips for future use. Video questions had to be submitted by November 25 to YouTube . According to Nielsen Media Research, the debate drew a record Cable TV audience for a presidential primary debate, an estimated 4.4 million viewers.


2008 Republican Party presidential debates and forums, The candidate debates, November 28, 2007 - St. Petersburg, Florida
The debate format permitted audience applause and boos—something that had been uncommon in the debates.


2008 Republican Party presidential debates and forums, The candidate debates, November 28, 2007 - St. Petersburg, Florida
Several candidates cited scheduling conflicts with the original date, September 17, 2007, so it was rescheduled. The invited candidates are Rudy Giuliani, Mike Huckabee, Duncan Hunter, John McCain, Ron Paul, Mitt Romney, Tom Tancredo, and Fred Thompson. Alan Keyes was not invited. All invited candidates accepted, and all appeared.


2008 Republican Party presidential debates and forums, The candidate debates, November 28, 2007 - St. Petersburg, Florida
Thirty-three questions were chosen for the debate, with Anderson Cooper - the moderator - determining which candidates would respond to each question. Giuliani spoke 20 times, for a total of 16:38. Mitt Romney spoke 19 times, for a total of 13 minutes and 18 seconds. Fred Thompson and John McCain each spoke 12 times, for 12:16 & 11:00, respectively. Mike Huckabee spoke 11 times, for a total of 10:00. Paul spoke 9 times, for a total of 7:43. Hunter spoke 7 times, for a total of 5:06, and Tancredo spoke 7 times, for a total of 3:49. Mike Huckabee was not given a question to answer until minute 26, while Ron Paul's first question was given after the first half-hour.


2008 Republican Party presidential debates and forums, The candidate debates, November 28, 2007 - St. Petersburg, Florida
CNN's on-line viewer poll shows Ron Paul the winner of the debate with 49% of the vote. Viewers found Rudy Giuliani to have the most disappointing performance, with 27% of the vote.


2008 Republican Party presidential debates and forums, The candidate debates, November 28, 2007 - St. Petersburg, Florida
Forty-four percent of Florida Republicans who said they were undecided surveyed by InsiderAdvantage/Majority Opinion Research judged that Mike Huckabee won this debate, whereas 18% thought Rudy Giuliani won, 13% felt that Mitt Romney won, and 10% picked John McCain. No other participant was selected as the debate's winner by more than 5% of those surveyed. The poll's margin of error was +/- 6%.


2008 Republican Party presidential debates and forums, The candidate debates, November 28, 2007 - St. Petersburg, Florida
An InsiderAdvantage/Majority Opinion Research survey of over 1,035 decided & undecided Iowa Republicans taken during the last 20 minutes of the debate found that 32% thought Huckabee won the debate, while 16% judged that Romney won, 12% felt that Giuliani won, and 10% picked John McCain. In this poll, Fred Thompson was chosen by 7% and Ron Paul was chosen by 6% as the debate's winner. No other participant was selected as the debate's winner by more than 2% of those surveyed.


2008 Republican Party presidential debates and forums, The candidate debates, November 28, 2007 - St. Petersburg, Florida
John McCain and Ron Paul had a notable exchange over the Iraq War and the Vietnam War. McCain stated that troops wanted the US government to "let them win." Ron Paul replied "The real question you have to ask is why do I get the most money from active duty officers and military personnel?" McCain also called Paul an isolationist, saying "We allowed Hitler to come to power with that kind of isolationism." Paul replied that McCain was confusing isolationism with non-intervention, "I want to trade with people, talk with people, travel, but I don't want to send troops overseas using force to tell them how to live."


2008 Republican Party presidential debates and forums, The candidate debates, November 28, 2007 - St. Petersburg, Florida
During breaks, ads created by each campaign were aired. Fred Thompson's ad attacked Mitt Romney and Mike Huckabee, to which they were allowed to respond.


2008 Republican Party presidential debates and forums, The candidate debates, November 28, 2007 - St. Petersburg, Florida
CNN was criticized for not revealing during the debate that Keith Kerr, an openly gay military general who had submitted a question and spoke during the debate, was on a campaign advisory organization supporting Hillary Clinton. CNN cut the question and candidate response in the subsequent airing of the debate. Los Angeles Times editorial writer Tim Rutten criticized CNN's handling of the debate, calling the network "corrupt" and accusing it of focusing the debate on immigration to benefit Lou Dobbs' ratings.


2008 Republican Party presidential debates and forums, The candidate debates, December 9, 2007 - Miami, Florida
Univision, the nation's largest Spanish-speaking television network, sponsored a Republican debate hosted by the University of Miami on December 9, 2007.


2008 Republican Party presidential debates and forums, The candidate debates, December 9, 2007 - Miami, Florida
The candidates in attendance were Rudy Giuliani, Mike Huckabee, Duncan Hunter, John McCain, Ron Paul, Mitt Romney, and Fred Thompson. Alan Keyes was not invited. Tom Tancredo was invited, but has vowed never to participate in a Spanish-language forum. As expected a prominent portion of the debate focused on immigration.


2008 Republican Party presidential debates and forums, The candidate debates, December 12, 2007 - Johnston, Iowa
The Des Moines Register and Iowa Public Television were originally to host a Republican debate in Johnston, Iowa, on January 5, 2008. The Iowa Republican Party, undecided on a date for the caucus, finally settled on January 3, two days before the planned debate. The debate was then moved to December 12, the day before the Des Moines Register  hosted a Democratic debate. It aired live on Iowa Public Television, CNN, MSNBC, C-SPAN3, Fox News Channel, C-SPAN Radio, and Fox News Radio, with a prime time replay on C-SPAN2.


2008 Republican Party presidential debates and forums, The candidate debates, December 12, 2007 - Johnston, Iowa
Rudy Giuliani, Mike Huckabee, Duncan Hunter, Alan Keyes, John McCain, Ron Paul, Mitt Romney, Tom Tancredo, and Fred Thompson participated in the 90-minute debate; thus, with 9 candidates in attendance, this became the single largest Republican debate of the 2008 cycle.


2008 Republican Party presidential debates and forums, The candidate debates, December 12, 2007 - Johnston, Iowa
The moderator, Carolyn Washburn, editor of the Des Moines Register, was criticized by the media for being overly "strict" in dictating answer time and for barring questions on both Iraq and immigration.


2008 Republican Party presidential debates and forums, The candidate debates, January 5, 2008 – Goffstown, New Hampshire
ABC, WMUR-TV and Facebook jointly hosted back-to-back Republican and Democratic debates from Saint Anselm College three days before the first-in-the-nation primary on Tuesday. According to Nielsen Media Research, this debate drew the largest televised audience of the Republican primaries with an estimated 7.35 million viewers.


2008 Republican Party presidential debates and forums, The candidate debates, January 5, 2008 – Goffstown, New Hampshire
The Republican debate included Rudy Giuliani, Mike Huckabee, John McCain, Ron Paul, Mitt Romney, and Fred Thompson. Charles Gibson moderated. Candidates were allowed to participate if they meet one of three criteria, "place first through fourth in Iowa, poll 5 percent or higher in one of the last four major New Hampshire surveys, or poll 5 percent or higher in one of the last four major national surveys." Thus, ABC News eliminated Republican Duncan Hunter.


2008 Republican Party presidential debates and forums, The candidate debates, January 5, 2008 – Goffstown, New Hampshire
ABC said the rules were quite inclusive, and that none of the candidates objected ahead of time. "In previous debates where the stage was more crowded you had to make sure all of the candidates got equal time," said David Chalian, ABC News political director. "Here you will have more time to go in depth on the issues."


2008 Republican Party presidential debates and forums, The candidate debates, January 6, 2008 – Milford, New Hampshire
A brunch forum housed by Chris Wallace with presidential candidates, originally to be sponsored by the New Hampshire Republican Party, was planned for broadcast on Fox News.


2008 Republican Party presidential debates and forums, The candidate debates, January 6, 2008 – Milford, New Hampshire
Candidates Ron Paul and Duncan Hunter were excluded by Fox News, though Paul got 10 percent of the Iowa vote while Giuliani, who was invited, got just 3 percent. Fox News said they had only enough room for "so many candidates."


2008 Republican Party presidential debates and forums, The candidate debates, January 6, 2008 – Milford, New Hampshire
New Hampshire Republican Party chair Fergus Cullen said on December 31, "Limiting the number of candidates who are invited to participate in debates is not consistent with the tradition of the first in the nation primary. The level playing field requires that all candidates be given an equal opportunity to participate–-not just a select few determined by the media prior to any votes being cast."


2008 Republican Party presidential debates and forums, The candidate debates, January 6, 2008 – Milford, New Hampshire
On January 5, following Fox News' continued refusal to allow a fair debate format, the New Hampshire Republican Party withdrew their sponsorship. Jay Leno invited Ron Paul to be a guest on the January 7 Tonight Show specifically because he felt Paul's exclusion was "unfair."


2008 Republican Party presidential debates and forums, The candidate debates, January 6, 2008 – Milford, New Hampshire
In a post-debate analysis by Fox News, Mitt Romney was declared the winner of the debate by several analysts. On top of this, Frank Luntz, a pollster with Fox News, indicated that Mitt Romney's performance was well received by his focus group of both conservatives and moderate conservatives.


2008 Republican Party presidential debates and forums, The candidate debates, January 10, 2008 - Myrtle Beach, South Carolina
Fox News hosted a debate at the Myrtle Beach Convention Center. All candidates except Duncan Hunter and Alan Keyes participated.


2008 Republican Party presidential debates and forums, The candidate debates, January 24, 2008 - Boca Raton, Florida
MSNBC hosted a two-hour debate at Florida Atlantic University. The organizers include the university, NBC, Leadership Florida, the Florida Press Association and the Florida Public Broadcasting Service Inc. It took place on Thursday, January 24, from 9 to 11 pm EST. A text message poll was taken after the debate asking viewers who they believed had won. The results showed Romney won with 41%, Paul with 40%, Huckabee with 8%, McCain with 7%, and Giuliani with 4%.


2008 Republican Party presidential debates and forums, The candidate debates, January 30, 2008 - Simi Valley, California
The Los Angeles Times, The Politico, CNN, and former First Lady Nancy Reagan, hosted a Republican debate in Simi Valley, California, at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library. This was the first debate after Rudy Giuliani withdrew and the last before Super Tuesday. Ron Paul, Mitt Romney, Mike Huckabee, and John McCain participated.


2008 Republican Party presidential debates and forums, The candidate debates, February 2, 2008 - New York, New York
MTV and MySpace hosted a two-party debate on February 2, 2008, "Closing Arguments: A Presidential Super Dialogue", broadcast live from the MTV studios. The candidates were two Democrats, Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton, and two Republicans, Ron Paul and Mike Huckabee. Invited but not attending were John McCain and Mitt Romney.


2008 Republican Party presidential primaries
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.


2008 Republican Party presidential primaries
In a crowded primary of several prominent Republicans eyeing the nomination, former New York City mayor Rudy Giuliani was the early frontrunner. 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.


2008 Republican Party presidential primaries
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.


2008 Republican Party presidential primaries, Candidates
Notes for the following table: Delegate counts is the final estimated delegate count.


2008 Republican Party presidential primaries, Candidates, Nominee
The vast majority of primaries were of the "winner-take-all" variety, and convention rules meant that no one with less than five states in their "pockets" would be allowed to have their names placed in nomination. This guaranteed that the primary season would be very short. McCain won New Hampshire, South Carolina and Florida and thus became nearly unstoppable. After decisive victories on super tuesday and the potomac primary McCain became the presumptive nominee. Candidates are listed by delegate counts.


2008 Republican Party presidential primaries, Calendar
Republican candidates in the 2008 U.S. presidential election campaigned for the nomination of their party in a series of primary elections and caucus events.


2008 Republican Party presidential primaries, Calendar
Unlike the Democratic Party, which mandates a proportional representation for delegate selection, the Republican Party has no such limitation. For states with primaries, some states choose to use the "winner-take-all" method to allocate delegates within a state, while others do winner-take-all within a specific congressional district, and still others use the proportional process. Unlike the Democratic Party, state party by-laws determine whether each delegate is pledged and for how long the delegate is pledged.


2008 Republican Party presidential primaries, Calendar
In caucus states, most state parties use a two pronged process. A straw poll, often called a presidential preference poll, is conducted of the attendees at the caucus. The results are released to the media and published on the state party website. Delegates are then elected to the county conventions. It is at the county conventions that delegates are elected to state conventions, and from the state convention to the national convention. At each level, delegates may be bound or unbound to a candidate. If unbound, delegates are not obligated to follow the results of the presidential preference poll. Thus, all estimates of delegates from caucus states are dependent on state party by-laws.


2008 Republican Party presidential primaries, Campaign, 2007
With Vice President Dick Cheney choosing not to seek the nomination and Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice ruling herself out, the race for the 2008 presidential nomination was wide open. It officially began in March 2006 when John H. Cox became the first candidate to enter the 2008 race. The Democratic takeover of both houses of Congress and President Bush's unpopularity were strong issues for the GOP field. At the beginning of 2007, the announced Republican field was former Governor of Wisconsin and Cabinet member Tommy Thompson, former Governor of Virginia Jim Gilmore, and Senator of Kansas Sam Brownback.


2008 Republican Party presidential primaries, Campaign, 2007
Former senator of Virginia George Allen was considered a top contender until his loss in the midterm elections. He announced on December 10, 2006 that he would not seek the 2008 nomination. In early January former Governor of Massachusetts Mitt Romney announced he was forming an exploratory committee. Afterwards several others announced they were running, including U.S. Congressman Ron Paul, Mike Huckabee of Arkansas, Rudy Giuliani of New York City, U.S. Senator John McCain, U.S. Congressman Duncan Hunter, and U.S. Congressman Tom Tancredo. A poll released in early February had Giuliani leading with 32% and John McCain second with 18%. By early March, Giuliani had become the frontrunner. Alan Keyes and former Senator and actor Fred Thompson entered the race later in September.


2008 Republican Party presidential primaries, Campaign, 2007
The first to drop out of the race was former Virginia Governor Jim Gilmore in July. After that Tommy Thompson also dropped out in August after finishing sixth in the Ames Iowa straw poll. Then pro-life advocate Sam Brownback dropped out of the race in October. In December, staunch illegal-immigration opponent Tom Tancredo and businessman John H. Cox also left the race.


2008 Republican Party presidential primaries, Campaign, Iowa and New Hampshire
On January 3, 2008, the Iowa caucuses began. The final averaged polling results from Real Clear Politics showed Mike Huckabee at 30%, Romney at 27%, McCain and Thompson tied at 12%, Paul at 7%, and Giuliani at 6%. Among those surveyed in Exit Polling data, 45% cited themselves as very conservative and voted for Huckabee 35% to Romney's 23% and Thompson's 22%. Among those who called themselves "somewhat conservative" (43%), Huckabee won 34% to Romney's 27% and McCain's 18%.


2008 Republican Party presidential primaries, Campaign, Iowa and New Hampshire
Final Results showed Huckabee swept much of the state with the exception of the western and eastern portions of the state which included Davenport, Cedar Rapids, as well as Sioux City. Romney swept the eastern and western portions of the state and Paul took one southern county. The final results in Iowa were Huckabee with 34%, Romney with 25%, Thompson and McCain each with 13%, Paul with 10% and Giuliani with 4%.


2008 Republican Party presidential primaries, Campaign, Iowa and New Hampshire
In the New Hampshire Primary, both McCain and Romney had gambled much on the state. McCain had staked much on his grassroots efforts in the state he won in 2000, as well as the state with one of the most independent voting blocks which was McCain's strong suit. Romney, coming from neighboring Massachusetts was known by many in New Hampshire and even owned a home in the state of New Hampshire. Pre -Primary polling showed McCain with a slight edge (32–28%) with Huckabee leading Giuliani for third (12–9%).


2008 Republican Party presidential primaries, Campaign, Iowa and New Hampshire
On Primary night, McCain won 37–32% and Huckabee beat Giuliani for third 11–9%. After the results, Huckabee decided to focus on the South Carolina primary, while both McCain and Romney went to Michigan where polls showed a competitive race between the two.


2008 Republican Party presidential primaries, Campaign, Michigan
With different winners in Iowa and New Hampshire – and Mitt Romney taking the lower-profile Wyoming caucus – the January 15 Michigan primary loomed as an important battle. Polls after New Hampshire showed a tight race between McCain and Romney, with Huckabee a close third. Many saw Michigan as Romney's last chance for a campaign-saving win after disappointments in the first two races. Others said that a win in Michigan could cement McCain's status as the "front-runner" for the nomination. McCain's campaign garnered about $1 million in newly contributed funds immediately after the New Hampshire win, but still had $3.5 million in bank debt.


2008 Republican Party presidential primaries, Campaign, Michigan
Nevertheless, some polls showed McCain getting a significant national bounce from his New Hampshire win; the January 11 CNN nationwide poll had him at 34 percent support, a 21-point increase from where he had been just a month before, and a significant lead over Huckabee (21 percent) and Giuliani (18 percent). As the Michigan race entered its final days, McCain gained some notoriety by sending out mailers there and in South Carolina attacking Romney's tax record and touting his own. A Romney campaign spokesman called the ad "as sloppy as it is factually incorrect", and FactCheck.org called the piece "misleading." McCain responded by saying, "It's not negative campaigning. I think it's what his record is." "It's a tough business," he added.


2008 Republican Party presidential primaries, Campaign, Michigan
The dominant issue in Michigan was the state of the economy. Michigan had by far the nation's largest unemployment rate, at 7.4 percent, and was continuing to lose jobs from its historical manufacturing base. McCain offered a bit of his "straight talk", saying that "There are some jobs that aren't coming back to Michigan," and proposing federal job training plans and other remedies to compensate. Romney seized on McCain's statement as overly pessimistic and promoted instead his family heritage – "[I've] got the automobile industry in my blood veins" – as well as his being a Washington outsider who would go there and "turn Washington inside out."


2008 Republican Party presidential primaries, Campaign, Michigan
In the end, McCain finished second in the primary behind Romney, gaining 30 percent of the vote to Romney's 39 percent.


2008 Republican Party presidential primaries, Campaign, Nevada and South Carolina
Mitt Romney was heavily favored to win Nevada, leading 34% to 19% in polls. He exceeded expectations, earning 51% of the vote with Ron Paul beating out John McCain for second. Romney campaigned hard in Nevada and did not campaign in South Carolina, while the other leading Republican candidates, John McCain and Mike Huckabee, kept their focus on South Carolina. Nevada was not subject to the Republican party cutting in half the number of delegates the state can send to the national convention, and neither was South Carolina. However, Nevada had more delegates at stake than South Carolina. A win in Nevada extended Romney's lead in total delegates. Nevada's large Mormon population helped Romney win the state.


2008 Republican Party presidential primaries, Campaign, Nevada and South Carolina
After coming last in this caucus, Duncan Hunter withdrew his bid for the nomination.


2008 Republican Party presidential primaries, Campaign, Nevada and South Carolina
Mike Huckabee needed to win South Carolina for his campaign to remain viable. RealClearPolitics reported that the average support from polls placed McCain in the lead with 27%, followed by Huckabee with 25%, Romney with 15%, Thompson with 15%, Paul with 4%, and Giuliani with 3%. Thompson started attacking Mike Huckabee heavily, questioning his conservative credentials. But in the end McCain narrowly won by 14,743 or 3%, putting McCain as the frontrunner in Florida.


2008 Republican Party presidential primaries, Campaign, Nevada and South Carolina
Fred Thompson only placed third, even though he had started to campaign in South Carolina immediately after Iowa and before the other candidates had started campaigning there. He withdrew the next day.


2008 Republican Party presidential primaries, Campaign, Florida
Rudy Giuliani campaigned heavily in Florida, which he expected to use as his "launch pad" for a "strong showing" on Super Tuesday. He campaigned almost entirely in Florida, and largely ignored South Carolina and other states voting before February 5. Polls taken before the primary showed that John McCain was the slight front runner over Mitt Romney. Giuliani had been campaigning with virtually no opposition; however, following the South Carolina Republican primary, 2008, several candidates flew down to Florida to begin campaigning up to January 29 when the primary occurred.


2008 Republican Party presidential primaries, Campaign, Florida
RealClearPolitics reported that the average support from polls taken in the days immediately prior to primary day placed McCain slightly in the lead with 31%, followed by Romney with 30%, Giuliani with 15%, Huckabee with 13%, and Paul with 4%. Former Senator Fred Thompson and Rep. Duncan Hunter, though already out of the race, still remained on the ballot in the Florida primary.


2008 Republican Party presidential primaries, Campaign, Florida
McCain was able to ride a last-minute endorsement by then-Republican Governor Charlie Crist to a five-point victory on January 29. He took all 57 delegates in Florida's winner-take-all contest. (The state's delegate total had been reduced by half due to RNC rules about primaries held before February 5.) Giuliani, having banked heavily on Florida, ended his campaign the following day.


2008 Republican Party presidential primaries, Campaign, Super Tuesday
On January 31 McCain received the endorsement of California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger and began campaigning with him. This was a key endorsement, as California was one of the Super Tuesday states and had more delegates than any other state. The same day, Governor Rick Perry of Texas threw his support behind McCain. Perry had previously been a Giuliani supporter, while Schwarzenegger had refrained from endorsing either McCain or Giuliani because he counted both men as friends. Meanwhile, Romney, still burning about McCain's Iraq withdrawal timetable charge, compared McCain to disgraced former President Richard Nixon, saying that McCain's claim was "reminiscent of the Nixon era" and that "I don't think I want to see our party go back to that kind of campaigning."