Bill Richardson 2008 presidential campaign Bill Richardson 2008 presidential campaign The 2008 presidential campaign of Bill Richardson, New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson announced his candidacy on January 21, 2007, for President of the United States on ABC's "This Week" with George Stephanopoulos, by virtue of forming a presidential exploratory committee. Richardson, who is of Hispanic descent, joined a diverse field for the Democratic nomination, which already included an African American in Senator Barack Obama of Illinois and a female in Senator Hillary Clinton of New York and became the first individual of Hispanic descent to mount a nationwide campaign for president. He withdrew from the
Pan-African Union for Social Democracy "masquerades", this coalition withdrew from participation in national and local electoral commissions in August 2008. It wanted a new and independent electoral commission, in addition to an "all-inclusive national dialogue" prior to the 2009 presidential election. Former Prime Minister Ange Edouard Poungui was chosen as the UPADS candidate for the 2009 presidential election by the UPADS National Council in a primary election on November 30, 2008. His sole rival for the nomination, Joseph Kignoumbi Kia Mboungou, withdrew from the vote, complaining of "lack of transparency in the process", and Poungui, as the only candidate, received about 85% of the vote.