2008 Pennsylvania Republican presidential primary explained

Election Name:2008 Pennsylvania Republican presidential primary
Country:Pennsylvania
Type:presidential
Ongoing:no
Previous Election:2004 Pennsylvania Republican presidential primary
Previous Year:2004
Next Election:2012 United States presidential election in Pennsylvania# Republican primary
Next Year:2012
Candidate1:John McCain
Party1:Republican Party (United States)
Home State1:Arizona
Delegate Count1:74
Popular Vote1:594,061
Percentage1:72.86%
Candidate2:Ron Paul
Party2:Republican Party (United States)
Home State2:Texas
Delegate Count2:0
Popular Vote2:129,246
Percentage2:15.85%
Candidate3:Mike Huckabee
Party3:Republican Party (United States)
Home State3:Arkansas
Delegate Count3:0
Popular Vote3:92,057
Percentage3:11.29%
Outgoing Members:MS
Elected Members:IN

The 2008 Pennsylvania Republican presidential primary was an election held on April 22 by the Pennsylvania Department of State in which voters chose their preference for the Republican Party's candidate for the 2008 United States presidential election. Voters also chose the Pennsylvania Republican Party's candidates for various state and local offices.[1] [2] [3]

Background

The selected candidates were placed on the ballot of the 2008 General Election on November 4, 2008. The Republican primary was part of a General Primary that also included the 2008 Pennsylvania Democratic presidential primary.

Polls opened at 7:00 am and closed at 8:00 pm. John McCain was the winner. He had already been declared the presumptive Republican Presidential nominee, having secured enough delegate votes in earlier primary contests to win the nomination at the 2008 Republican National Convention.

Campaigning

Unlike on the Democratic side, little campaigning took place as John McCain had already clinched the nomination. Outsider candidate Ron Paul made several stops in the state, including his birthplace of Pittsburgh.

Results

Official Results
CandidateVotesPercentageDelegates
John McCain 594,061 72.86% 74*
129,246 15.85% 0
Mike Huckabee92,057 11.29% 0
Total 815,364 100% 74

Some media sources noted that Ron Paul and Mike Huckabee combined took in around 220,000 votes (about 27% of the vote total), despite McCain's status as presumptive nominee and the statistical irrelevance of Pennsylvania, as a possible sign of continuing social conservative or libertarian unease with McCain's nomination and have speculated about whether these results could potentially affect McCain in the November general election. Although some strategists disputed this theory, pointing to low turnout among McCain supporters and arguing that primary results would not necessarily affect the result in November.[4] [5] [6]

See also

Notes and References

  1. Singleton, David. "Historic primary election is here." Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania: Citizens' Voice (subscription required), April 22, 2008, p. T4.
  2. Delazio, Sheena. "Turnout heavy in many areas." Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania: The Times Leader (subscription required), April 23, 2008, p. 5.
  3. "Counties expecting high voter turnout." Hazleton, Pennsylvania: Standard-Speaker (subscription required), April 22, 2008, p. 1.
  4. News: Rich . Frank . Opinion How McCain Lost in Pennsylvania . The New York Times . 27 April 2008.
  5. News: McCain Loses 27% of Pennsylvania Vote . https://web.archive.org/web/20080426232052/https://news.yahoo.com/s/thenation/20080423/cm_thenation/45314454 . 26 April 2008.
  6. News: Rhee . Foon . Pa. vote hints Republicans divided in support for McCain . https://web.archive.org/web/20080726211241/https://www.boston.com/news/nation/articles/2008/04/24/pa_vote_hints_republicans_divided_in_support_for_mccain/ . 26 July 2008.