John McCain for President 2008 | |
---|---|
Campaign | U.S. presidential election, 2008 |
Candidate |
John McCain U.S. Senator from Arizona (1987–present) Sarah Palin Governor of Alaska (2006–2009) |
Affiliation | Republican Party |
Status | Announced: February 28, 2007 Presumptive nominee: March 4, 2008 Nominated: September 4, 2008 Lost election: November 4, 2008 |
Headquarters | 1235 South Clark Street Arlington, Virginia 22202 |
Key people |
Steve Schmidt (Operations Chief) Richard H. Davis (Campaign Manager) Robert Mosbacher (General Chairman) Tom Loeffler (Co-chair) Tim Pawlenty (Co-chair) Jill Hazelbaker (Spokeswoman) |
Receipts | US$370.1 million (December 31, 2007) |
Slogan | Country First. The Original Maverick. Best Prepared to Lead from Day One. Experienced Leadership, Bold Solutions. A leader we can believe in. Reform • Prosperity • Peace |
Chant | Maverick |
Website | |
www.johnmccain.com (archived - Nov. 4, 2008) |
The 2008 presidential campaign of John McCain, the longtime senior U.S. Senator from Arizona, was launched with an informal announcement on February 28, 2007 during a live taping of the Late Show with David Letterman, and formally launched at an event on April 25, 2007. His second candidacy for the Presidency of the United States, he had previously ran for his party's nomination in the 2000 primaries, losing to Governor George W. Bush of Texas. After winning a majority of delegates in the Republican primaries of 2008, on August 29, leading up to the convention, McCain selected Governor Sarah Palin of Alaska as his running mate for Vice President. Five days later, at the 2008 Republican National Convention, McCain was formally selected as the Republican Party presidential nominee in the 2008 presidential election.
McCain began the campaign as the apparent frontrunner among Republicans, with a strategy of appearing as the establishment, inevitable candidate; his campaign website featured an Associated Press article describing him as "[a] political celebrity". He made substantial overtures towards elements of the Republican base that had resisted his 2000 insurgency campaign. However, he soon fell behind in polls and fundraising; by July 2007 his campaign was forced to restructure its size and operations. The tide of Republican sentiment against immigration reform legislation he sponsored also led to the erosion of his lead.