List of candidates in the 2008 United States presidential election


The following are lists of candidates in the 2008 United States presidential election. Candidates who are not on any state ballots, withdrew from the race, suspended their presidential campaign, or failed to earn their party's nomination are listed separately.

Party nominees

All candidates in the table below were on the ballot in multiple states. Those who were on the ballot in enough states to win a majority in the U.S. Electoral College are marked in bold. Candidates who were on the ballot in no more than one state are listed in the next section.
Ron Paul was on the ballot in Louisiana with Barry Goldwater, Jr. on the Louisiana Taxpayers Party ticket and in Montana with Michael Peroutka on the Constitution Party of Montana ticket, even though the latter is associated with the national Constitution Party. Paul's supporters also qualified him to receive write-in votes in California. Paul was no longer actively running for president when he attained ballot status and asked to be removed. His request was denied by the Montana Secretary of State, because the request was sent to him too late.

Ballot access

The two major parties in the United States, the Democratic Party and the Republican Party, had ballot access in all 50 US states and the District of Columbia.
Each state sets its own requirements for candidates to gain ballot access. In some cases it is easier for party nominees to gain ballot access than for independent candidates, so Ralph Nader's independent campaign is associated with parties in some states: PF is the Peace and Freedom Party, NLP is the Natural Law Party, IEP is the Independent-Ecology Party, and IP is the Independent Party. In Kansas, Chuck Baldwin's campaign is associated with the Kansas Reform Party after a legal challenge had been brought to recognize national Reform Party candidate Ted Weill on the ballot.
George Phillies appeared on the ballot in New Hampshire with the label "Libertarian", with Chris Bennett as his running mate.
;Candidates who had ballot access to enough electoral votes to win the presidency
Electoral VotesNaderLibertarian Constitution Green
States + D.C.5146 45 37 32
Electoral votes 538456 503 318 368
Percent of EV100%84.8% 93.5% 59.1% 68.4%
Alabama9 '
Alaska3 '
Arizona10 '
Arkansas6
California55PF '
Colorado9
Connecticut7IEP''
Delaware3IP
Florida27IEP
Georgia15' ''
Hawaii4IEP
Idaho4 '
Illinois21
Indiana11' ''
Iowa7PF
Kansas6 '
Kentucky8 '
Louisiana9
Maine4 ''
Maryland10IEP
Massachusetts12
Michigan17NLP
Minnesota10
Mississippi6
Missouri11 '
Montana3 ''
Nebraska5
Nevada5
New Hampshire4 ''
New Jersey15
New Mexico5IEP
New York31 '
North Carolina15' '
North Dakota3 '
Ohio20
Oklahoma7
Oregon7
Pennsylvania21 ''
Rhode Island4
South Carolina8
South Dakota3
Tennessee11
Texas34' ''
Utah5
Vermont3 '
Virginia13
Washington11
West Virginia5
Wisconsin10
Wyoming3 '
District of Columbia3 ''

;Other third party candidates
Notes:
Electoral VotesProhibition Socialist Workers Boston Tea America's Independent Socialism and Liberation Socialist Objectivist
States + D.C.51310 3 3 128 2
EV53845125 47 91 137102 36
% of EV100%8.4%23.2% 8.7% 16.9% 25.5%19.7% 6.7%
Alabama9'
Alaska3'
Arizona10'
Arkansas6
California55'
Colorado9 JH
Connecticut7'
Delaware3 '
Florida27 JH
Georgia15
Hawaii4
Idaho4'
Illinois21
Indiana11'
Iowa7JH
Kansas6'
Kentucky8''
Louisiana9 JH
Maine4
Maryland10'''
Massachusetts12
Michigan17'
Minnesota10 '
Mississippi6
Missouri11
Montana3'
Nebraska5'
Nevada5
New Hampshire4'
New Jersey15
New Mexico5
New York31 '
North Carolina15'
North Dakota3
Ohio20'
Oklahoma7
Oregon7'
Pennsylvania21'
Rhode Island4 '
South Carolina8
South Dakota3
Tennessee11
Texas34''
Utah5''
Vermont3
Virginia13'
Washington11JH '
West Virginia5
Wisconsin10
Wyoming3
District of Columbia3

;Other candidates
The tickets below were on the ballot in one state. Those without party labels are independents. Some do not have vice-presidential candidates.
Although Guam has no votes in the Electoral College, it has held a straw poll for its presidential preferences since 1980. In 2008, their ballot included Barr, McCain, and Obama. On July 10, 2008, the Guam legislature passed a law moving that poll forward to gain notoriety for Guam's election. The legislation was eventually vetoed.

Primary and convention candidates

Republican Party primary ballot access

and Republican Party comprehensive summary at