The U.S. presidential election of 2008 is scheduled to occur on November 4, 2008. The allocation of electoral votes to each state will remain the same for this election as it was for the election in 2004, relying on the 2000 Census.

The shape of presidential battles

Recent elections have revolved around the dominant Democratic and Republican parties, although many candidates seek election to the presidency. In recent presidential elections, however, minor parties such as the Green, Libertarian, and Reform parties, as well as Ross Perot's 1992 independent candidacy, have occasionally had a significant impact on both the tone of the campaigns and sometimes the outcome of the election. Modern third parties allow a broad choice to voters who are not satisified that their views are represented by either of the major parties. They raise the potential of affecting the outcome in close races by pulling votes away from one major party that might have gone to it if the ballot didn't include those alternatives and thereby potentially leading to victory for the other major party less affected by appeal of a particular third party to its voter base. Some political observers believe that in the 2000 race the extremely close vote total balance between Republicans and Democrats in Florida was affected by the votes that went instead to other parties and that the outcome might have been different if they were not on the ballot.

In 2008, President Bush will be prohibited from seeking a third term by Amendment XXII to the US Constitution. In the last three eight-year administrations, the incumbent vice president has gone on to run for president at the end of the eight years: Dwight D. Eisenhower's vice president Richard Nixon in the 1960 election, Ronald Reagan's vice president George H. W. Bush in the 1988 election and Bill Clinton's vice president Al Gore in the 2000 election.

However, current Vice President Dick Cheney announced in 2001 that he would never run for President. In 2004, while appearing on Fox News Sunday, he said "I will say just as hard as I possibly know how to say ... 'If nominated, I will not run,' 'If elected, I will not serve,' or not only no, but 'Hell no,' I've got my plans laid out. I'm going to serve this president for the next four years, and then I'm out of here." Assuming that George W. Bush, who was re-elected in 2004, remains in office through 2008, then the 2008 race will be a non-incumbent election; that is, one in which a sitting president is not a candidate. Furthermore, the 2008 race will apparently be the first time since 1952 and only the second time since 1928 that neither the sitting president nor the sitting vice-president is a candidate for president.

Timeline

Early fundraising and primaries

Candidates of the Constitution, Democratic, Green, Libertarian, Republican, Socialist and other parties may begin making their plans known as early as 2005, and candidates will emerge during 2006 and 2007 because of the long lead time for fund-raising. Federal election laws require the reporting of funds raised for the primary elections, and in the past the media has anointed "front-runners" on the basis of reported fund-raising totals. For example, this occurred with Howard Dean in the 2004 electoral cycle, although he was initially considered a long-shot.

Beginning in January 2008, the first primary contests will be held in Iowa (caucus) and New Hampshire (primary) and perhaps other states to select delegates to the party conventions. The primaries continue through June, but in previous cycles, including 2004, the candidates were effectively chosen by the March primaries.

Later events

• late June – late August, 2008. Party conventions formally select candidates.
• November 4, 2008 - Election Day
• December 15, 2008 - Members of the U.S. Electoral College meet in each state to cast their votes for President.
• January 6, 2009 - Electoral votes officially tallied before both Houses of Congress.
• January 20, 2009 - Inauguration Day

Politicians pursuing a 2008 candidacy

While it is rare for candidates to officially declare their candidacy prior to late in the year preceding the presidential election (in this case, 2007), some potential candidates may have expressed their interest in running, and are listed below. At this early stage, many of the strongest candidates have yet to emerge, and these lists include few of the political figures who excite speculation amongst political activists, insiders, and media commentators.

Democrats

• Evan Bayh, U.S. senator from Indiana. In February 2005, Bayh renamed his PAC the "All America PAC" and hired a new veteran staff with experience on John Kerry, Tom Daschle and Wesley Clark's 2004 presidential campaigns.[1]
• Joe Biden, U.S. senator from Delaware and 1988 Democratic primary candidate. On December 8, 2004, Biden announced to radio host Don Imus: "I'm going to proceed as if I'm going to run." Also, he told Meet the Press host Tim Russert that "he might" run. Grassroots Petition.
• Hillary Clinton, U.S. Senator from New York, is widely presumed to be planning to run, and polling organizations generally include her on polls involving likely candidates. She has delivered several speeches, including one on abortion, which analysts say are intended to reach out to moderates. She has also been holding fundraising meetings, including meeting with women from Massachusetts, a key constituency of potential rival and 2004 nominee John Kerry.[2] On the other hand, while frequently asked by media interviewers about her plans for 2008, she has consistently denied that she has any such plans.

• John Edwards, U.S. senator from North Carolina and 2004 Democratic vice presidential candidate. Edwards has kept his political action committee, One America, to fund his travel and appearances across the nation.[3] On February 5, 2005, Edwards spoke at the New Hampshire Democratic Party's fundraising dinner. Officially, Edwards refuses to say whether he will run in 2008.[4]
• Russ Feingold, U.S. senator from Wisconsin, announced to a meeting of the Tiger Bay Club of Volusia County, Florida, in January 2005 that he was considering a run for the nomination, and would decide after "going around the country" to campaign for fellow Democrats running for other offices [5]. On January 21, 2005, he filed papers with the Federal Election Commission to form the Progressive Patriots PAC, soon to be renamed the Progressive Patriots Fund, a "leadership committee ," which will be financing his travels around the country [6]. In early March 2005, his Senate campaign registered the domain name for the Web site www.russfeingold08.com as well as the .org and .net versions [7]. In early April of 2005, Feingold announced that he would be divorcing his second wife, a move which some analysts believe could diminish his chances of winning the presidential nomination.
• John Kerry, U.S. senator from Massachusetts, and 2004 Democratic presidential candidate. On March 1, 2005, Kerry created a new PAC, Keeping America's Promise, which he plans to use to maintain national visibility and political viability. [8] Dan Payne, a Democratic strategist, told the Washington Post that "This is the kind of thing he has to do" in order to run for president in 2008 [9]. Kerry told CNN, with respect to a run in 2008, "it's crazy to be thinking about it now" but went on to boldly proclaim that "I'll make my judgment when the time comes and I don't care what history says." [10]Unofficial 2008 Website
• Bill Richardson, governor of New Mexico, former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, Secretary of Energy and U.S. representative. In February 2005, the Associated Press reported that he has informed party leaders that he intends to run[11].

• Mark Warner, Governor of Virginia has been mentioned as a potential candidate on Meet the Press, in the Washington Post, Newsweek, the London Times, and other publications. Although many Virginians are encouraging him to run for the 2006 U.S. Senate seat currently held by Republican George Allen, there is a growing draft movement [12] and an online petition calling for him to skip the senate race and run for the White House [13] As Chairman of the National Governors Association, Mark Warner's national profile has been elevated. Warner has already started traveling outside Virginia addressing the State Democratic Party in Mississippi and Georgia.

Republicans

• Sam Brownback, senior U.S. senator from Kansas. 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. [14]
• Newt Gingrich, former Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives and former U.S. Representative from Georgia. According to the Associated Press, The former House speaker who led Republicans to power a decade ago said he soon will visit Iowa and New Hampshire to promote his book, try to influence public policy and keep his political options alive. The AP reported him as saying "Anything seems possible," including a White House race. [15]
• Mitt Romney, governor of Massachusetts. WFXT, a Boston FOX affiliate, reports that Romney supporters have been quietly laying the groundwork for a presidential campaign. On February 21, 2005 he spoke before South Carolina Republicans; the winner of the South Carolina primary has gone on to be the Republican nominee in every election since 1980. [16]

Libertarians

• Michael Badnarik, 2004 presidential nominee. Badnarik announced his intentions to run in 2008 in November 2004.

Independents

• Jesse Ventura, former governor of Minnesota. According to the USA Today, Ventura "speaks like a man preparing to be a candidate" and will make a decision in 2005 in order to have time to obtain ballot access should he run. [17]

Opinion polling

General Election

Democratic Candidate

Republican Candidate

List of Polls

See also

• U.S. presidential election

External links

• 2008 Election Countdown and Resources

• List of Possible Republican Candidates

• List of Possible Democratic Candidates