2008 Texas Republican presidential primary explained

Election Name:2008 Texas Republican presidential primary
Country:Texas
Type:presidential
Ongoing:no
Previous Election:2004 Texas Republican presidential primary
Previous Year:2004
Next Election:2012 Texas Republican presidential primary
Next Year:2012
Nominee1:John McCain
Colour1:ce5c17
Home State1:Arizona
Delegate Count1:80
Popular Vote1:697,767
Percentage1:51.22%
Color2:990000
Nominee2:Mike Huckabee
Home State2:Arkansas
Delegate Count2:16
Popular Vote2:518,002
Percentage2:38.02%
Outgoing Members:RI
Elected Members:VT
Map Size:310px

The 2008 Texas Republican presidential 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.

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 Democratic 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.

Results

Voter turnout was 10.8%.
CandidateVotesPercentageDelegates
697,767 51.21% 80
518,002 38.02% 16
66,360 4.87% 0
27,264 2.00% 0
11,503 0.84% 0
8,260 0.60% 0
8,222 0.60% 0
6,038 0.44% 0
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