Texas Republican primary, 2008
Encyclopedia
The 2008 Texas Republican primary took place on March 4, 2008. John McCain
won the primary election, giving him enough delegate votes to guarantee his nomination at the 2008 Republican National Convention
.
Texas does not require a primary voter to be a registered party member – primaries are open to all voters, but a voter cannot vote in both the Republican and Democrat primaries; s/he must choose one or the other. In addition, voters who vote in a primary election cannot later sign a petition for a third-party or independent candidate to appear on the November general election ballot.
In 2008, Texas had 140 Republican delegates available for the taking, divided into three categories:
The delegate split for the congressional delegates uses a modified proportional methodology:
The delegate split for the at-large delegates uses a similar methodology. If a candidate receives over 50% of the vote, s/he receives all 41 delegates. Otherwise, the split is proportional to the statewide vote; however, a candidate must receive at least 20% of the statewide vote to earn any delegates.
The three "party leader" delegates are officially uncommitted.
The actual delegates are selected at precinct conventions on the date of the primary, which are held after the polls close at the site where voters in a precinct cast ballots (not always the same as early voting sites). Unlike the process in the Texas Democratic Party
, these conventions only select the persons who will go to the state senatorial district, state, and the national conventions. All delegates are bound by the popular vote.
The results of the Texas primary, along with the other three states (Ohio, Rhode Island, and Vermont), gave McCain the number of delegates needed to secure the Republican nomination. After these primaries, Mike Huckabee ended his presidential campaign.
John McCain
John Sidney McCain III is the senior United States Senator from Arizona. He was the Republican nominee for president in the 2008 United States election....
won the primary election, giving him enough delegate votes to guarantee his nomination at the 2008 Republican National Convention
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...
.
Process
The Texas Republican primary process allocates delegates solely through the primary process. In addition to the candidates shown on the ballot, the ballot also shows a spot for "uncommitted".Texas does not require a primary voter to be a registered party member – primaries are open to all voters, but a voter cannot vote in both the Republican and Democrat primaries; s/he must choose one or the other. In addition, voters who vote in a primary election cannot later sign a petition for a third-party or independent candidate to appear on the November general election ballot.
In 2008, Texas had 140 Republican delegates available for the taking, divided into three categories:
- 96 delegates selected by congressional district (as Texas has 32 districts, each district selects three delegates).
- 41 delegates selected at-large based on the statewide vote.
- Three "party leader" delegates.
The delegate split for the congressional delegates uses a modified proportional methodology:
- If a candidate receives a majority (over 50%) of the vote, s/he receives all three district delegates.
- If two candidates receive between 20% and 50% of the vote, the first place candidate receives two delegates and the second place candidate receives one delegate.
- If no candidate receives 20% of the vote, the top three candidates each receive one delegate.
The delegate split for the at-large delegates uses a similar methodology. If a candidate receives over 50% of the vote, s/he receives all 41 delegates. Otherwise, the split is proportional to the statewide vote; however, a candidate must receive at least 20% of the statewide vote to earn any delegates.
The three "party leader" delegates are officially uncommitted.
The actual delegates are selected at precinct conventions on the date of the primary, which are held after the polls close at the site where voters in a precinct cast ballots (not always the same as early voting sites). Unlike the process in the Texas Democratic Party
Texas Democratic primary and caucuses, 2008
The 2008 Texas Democratic primary and caucuses were a series of events to determine the delegates that the Texas Democratic Party sent to the 2008 Democratic National Convention...
, these conventions only select the persons who will go to the state senatorial district, state, and the national conventions. All delegates are bound by the popular vote.
Results
| Candidate | Votes | Percentage | Delegates |
|---|---|---|---|
| John McCain John McCain presidential campaign, 2008 John McCain, the senior United States Senator from Arizona, launched his second candidacy for the presidency of the United States in an unsuccessful bid to win the 2008 presidential election. His candidacy, in the works for a number of years, was informally announced on February 28, 2007 during a... |
697,767 | 51.21% | 80 |
| Mike Huckabee Mike Huckabee presidential campaign, 2008 Mike Huckabee, former Governor of Arkansas, announced his candidacy for the Republican Party nomination for the 2008 presidential election in the United States on January 28, 2007... |
518,002 | 38.02% | 16 |
| Ron Paul Ron Paul presidential campaign, 2008 Ron Paul was a Republican Party primary candidate in the 2008 United States presidential election.Initial opinion polls during the first three quarters of 2007 showed Ron Paul consistently receiving support from 3% or less of those polled... |
66,360 | 4.87% | 0 |
| Mitt Romney Mitt Romney presidential campaign, 2008 Mitt Romney was a Republican Party primary candidate in the 2008 United States presidential election. On January 3, 2007, two days before he stepped down as governor of Massachusetts, Romney filed to form a presidential exploratory committee with the Federal Election Commission... |
27,264 | 2.00% | 0 |
| Fred Thompson Fred Thompson presidential campaign, 2008 Fred Thompson was a Republican Party primary candidate to represent his party in the 2008 United States presidential election. Thompson has worked as a lawyer, lobbyist, and character actor, and he represented Tennessee as a Republican in the U.S... |
11,503 | 0.84% | 0 |
| Alan Keyes Alan Keyes presidential campaign, 2008 Alan Keyes announced his United States Presidential candidacy, running as a Republican Party candidate, on September 14, 2007 in an interview with radio show personality Janet Parshall... |
8,260 | 0.60% | 0 |
| Duncan Hunter Duncan Hunter presidential campaign, 2008 Fourteen-term Congressman and Vietnam War veteran Duncan Hunter of California announced his intentions to run for the 2008 Republican nomination for President of the United States in January 2007. He focused his campaign on the issues of border security, trade, and the war on terrorism... |
8,222 | 0.60% | 0 |
| Rudy Giuliani Rudy Giuliani presidential campaign, 2008 Rudy Giuliani’s 2008 presidential campaign began following the formation of the Draft Giuliani movement in October 2005. The next year, Giuliani opened an exploratory committee and formally announced in February 2007 that he was actively seeking the presidential nomination of the Republican... |
6,038 | 0.44% | 0 |
| Hugh Cort | 728 | 0.05% | 0 |
| Hoa Tran | 604 | 0.04% | 0 |
| Uncommitted | 17,574 | 1.29% | 0 |
| Total | 1,362,322 | 100% | 96 |
The results of the Texas primary, along with the other three states (Ohio, Rhode Island, and Vermont), gave McCain the number of delegates needed to secure the Republican nomination. After these primaries, Mike Huckabee ended his presidential campaign.
See also
- Latest March 4 2008 Voting Results (from TX Secretary of State)
- Republican Party (United States) presidential primaries, 2008Republican Party (United States) presidential primaries, 2008The 2008 Republican presidential primaries were the selection process by which voters of the Republican Party chose its nominee for President of the United States in the 2008 U.S. presidential election...
- Texas Democratic primary and caucuses, 2008Texas Democratic primary and caucuses, 2008The 2008 Texas Democratic primary and caucuses were a series of events to determine the delegates that the Texas Democratic Party sent to the 2008 Democratic National Convention...