2008 Republican Party vice presidential candidate selection

This article lists potential candidates for the Republican nomination for Vice President of the United States in the 2008 election. On March 4, 2008, Senator John McCain of Arizona won the 2008 Republican nomination for President of the United States, and became the presumptive nominee.

2008 Republican vice presidential nomination

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Nominee Sarah Palin Home state Alaska

Previous Vice Presidential nominee Dick Cheney Vice Presidential nominee Sarah Palin

McCain held an event with Alaska governor Sarah Palin, revealing her as his vice-presidential running mate on August 29, 2008 (the date coinciding both with McCain's 72nd birthday and the Palins' 20th wedding anniversary^[1][2]), at the Ervin J. Nutter Center in Dayton, Ohio, the day after Barack Obama's acceptance speech.^[3] The McCain–Palin ticket ultimately lost in the general election to the Obama–Biden ticket. John McCain later in life came to regret the pick.^[4]

Selection process

Sarah Palin was the GOP choice for Vice President. At a speech in Norfolk, Virginia, McCain told supporters that regional considerations would have less bearing on his decision than the candidate's perceived ability to take over the office of the presidency–and the candidate's "values, principles, philosophy, and priorities."^[5] One factor that McCain had to consider, more so than did his opponent, was age. Had McCain won in 2008, he would have (on January 20, 2009) been the oldest person to assume the Presidency in U.S. history at initial ascension to office, being 72 years old. Other factors to be considered were shoring up the conservative base, choosing someone with executive experience, expertise in domestic policy (to complement McCain's foreign policy focus), and electoral college calculations.^[6]

McCain initially wished to choose Lieberman, his close friend and the 2000 Democratic vice presidential nominee, as his running mate; however, Lieberman's liberal record (voting with Democrats 86.9% of the time in the 110th Congress)^[7] and pro-choice stance led McCain's aides to veto the choice. Close aide Mark Salter preferred Pawlenty, while the campaign manager Steve Schmidt preferred Palin. By picking Palin, Schmidt argued, McCain could snatch the "change" mantle away from Obama.^[8] McCain, rejecting 'safer' choices such as Pawlenty or Romney, instead chose Palin as his running mate.

Shortlist

•  
  Democratic^[a] Senator
  Joe Lieberman
  from Connecticut
  (1989–2013)
•  
  Governor
  Sarah Palin
  from Alaska
  (2006–2009)
•  
  Governor
  Tim Pawlenty
  from Minnesota
  (2003–2011)
•  
  Former Secretary of Homeland Security
  Tom Ridge
  from Pennsylvania
  (2003–2005)
•  
  Former Governor
  Mitt Romney
  from Massachusetts
  (2003–2007)

Media speculation on John McCain's possible running-mates

After his selection by Republican primary voters as presumptive presidential nominee, news sources and political pundits began to speculate on whom McCain would or should choose, based on the candidates' ability to enhance the Republican ticket, personality (ability to work well with McCain), and preparedness for assuming the office of the presidency. The Associated Press reported that McCain had composed a list of 20 or so potential running mates.^[9] Over two dozen names had been offered as viable potential running mates by the Kansas City Star,^[10] the Salt Lake Tribune,^[11] the New York Sun,^[12] the Indianapolis Star,^[13] the Saint Louis Post Dispatch,^[14] the Times of India,^[15] and The Globe and Mail.^[16] This list includes both names that had been mentioned in several sources and some much less likely candidates:

Members of Congress

•  
  Representative
  Eric Cantor
  from Virginia
  (2001–2014)
•  
  Senator
  Sam Brownback
  from Kansas
  (1996–2011)
•  
  Senator
  Lindsey Graham
  from South Carolina
  (2003–present)
•  
  Democratic^[a] Senator
  Joe Lieberman
  from Connecticut
  (1989–2013)
•  
  Senator
  Lisa Murkowski
  from Alaska
  (2002–present)
•  
  Representative
  Paul Ryan
  from Wisconsin
  (1999–2019)
•  
  Senator
  Olympia Snowe
  from Maine
  (1995–2013)
•  
  Senator
  John E. Sununu
  from New Hampshire
  (2003–2009)
•  
  Senator
  John Thune
  from South Dakota
  (2005–present)

Governors

•  
  Governor
  Haley Barbour
  from Mississippi
  (2004–2012)
•  
  Governor
  Matt Blunt
  from Missouri
  (2005–2009)
•  
  Governor
  Charlie Crist
  from Florida
  (2007–2011)
•  
  Former Governor
  Mike Huckabee
  from Arkansas
  (1996–2007)
•  
  Governor
  Bobby Jindal
  from Louisiana
  (2008–2016)
•  
  Governor
  Sarah Palin
  from Alaska
  (2006–2009)
•  
  Governor
  Rick Perry
  from Texas
  (2000–2015)
•  
  Former Governor
  Mitt Romney
  from Massachusetts
  (2003–2007)
•  
  Governor
  Mark Sanford
  from South Carolina
  (2003–2011)
•  
  Former Governor
  Christine Todd Whitman
  from New Jersey
  (1994–2001)

Federal executive branch officials

•  
  Former Secretary of Homeland Security
  Tom Ridge
  from Pennsylvania
  (2003–2005)

Other individuals

•  
  Mayor of New York City^[b]
  Michael Bloomberg
  from New York
  (2002–2013)
•  
  Former CEO
  Carly Fiorina
  from California
  (1995–2005)
•  
  Retired U.S. Army General
  Tommy Franks
  from Oklahoma
•  
  Commander of United States Central Command
  David Petraeus
•  
  Former Director of the Office of Management and Budget
  Rob Portman
•  
  Former CEO
  Meg Whitman
  from California
  (1998–2008)

Declined interest

•  
  Senator
  Kay Bailey Hutchison
  from Texas
  (1993–2013)
•  
  Governor
  Bobby Jindal
  from Louisiana
  (2008–2016)
•  
  Former Secretary of State
  Colin Powell
  (2001–2005)
•  
  Secretary of State
  Condoleezza Rice
  (2005–2009)

See also

• John McCain 2008 presidential campaign
• 2008 Republican Party presidential candidates
• 2008 Republican Party presidential primaries
• 2008 Republican National Convention
• 2008 United States presidential election
• List of United States major party presidential tickets

Notes

1. Lieberman became an Independent in 2006.
2. Bloomberg became an Independent in 2007.

References

1. "Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin is John McCain's VP choice". New York Daily News. August 29, 2008. Archived from the original on December 19, 2020.
2. "Longview Palin family proudly hears news that relative is McCain's pick for V.P." The Daily News. August 29, 2008. Archived from the original on December 19, 2020.
3. Mooney, Alexander; Bash, Dana; King, John (2008-08-28). "McCain settled on VP pick, sources say". CNN. Retrieved 2008-08-28.
4. "McCain regrets picking Sarah Palin. Now he tells us".
5. Bosman, Juilie; Jeff Zeleny (2008-02-09). "Dems stump hard, McCain talks running mate". San Francisco Chronicle.
6. Hillyer, Quin (2008-02-14). . The American Spectator. Archived from the original on 3 September 2008. Retrieved 2008-02-15.
7. . The Washington Post. Archived from the original on 2008-01-30. Retrieved 2010-05-22.
8. Evan Thomas (2008-11-06). . Newsweek. Archived from the original on 9 November 2008. Retrieved 2010-09-17.
9. McCain Easing Into Role of GOP Leader
10. . Kansas City Star. 2008-02-13. Archived from the original on February 16, 2008. Retrieved 2008-02-14.
11. Burr, Thomas; Matt Canham (2008-03-02). . Salt Lake Tribune. Archived from the original on 2008-03-03. Retrieved 2008-03-02.
12. Geraghty, Jim (2006-12-06). "McCain Hints Minn. Governor May Be His Running Mate". The New York Sun. Retrieved 2008-02-15.
13. "Pence suggested as McCain running mate". Indianapolis Star. Associated Press. 2008-02-11. Archived from the original on 2013-01-26. Retrieved 2008-02-15.
14. Mannies, Jo (2008-02-12). "Blunt in running as McCain's running mate?". STLtoday. Saint Louis Post Dispatch. Archived from the original on 2008-09-01. Retrieved 2008-02-15.
15. . The Times of India. 2008-02-10. Archived from the original on 2012-10-23. Retrieved 2008-02-15.
16. Agrell, Siri (2008-02-14). "Age and identity politics likely to influence choice of running mate". Toronto: CTVGlobeMedia. Retrieved 2008-02-15.