West Virginia Republican caucuses, 2008
Encyclopedia
The West Virginia Republican caucuses took place on February 5, 2008 to select 18 delegates to the 2008 Republican National Convention
. An additional nine delegates were selected in a primary election on May 13, 2008, for a total of 27 delegates to the national convention. Mike Huckabee
won the caucuses, and John McCain
later won the primary.
Romney entered the caucus with the most pledged convention-goers, but delegates for McCain defected to Huckabee. In the first round of caucusing, the results were Romney 464, Huckabee 375, McCain 176, Paul 118, Giuliani 0. Since no candidate had a majority, Giuliani dropped out and the delegates took a second vote. At this second vote, most Paul and McCain supporters, reportedly acting on commands from their coordinators, shifted to Huckabee, ensuring him the majority. As a result of a deal with Huckabee's camp, Paul's delegates swung to Huckabee in exchange for 3 of the State's 18 national delegates.
The West Virginia caucus was the first of the 21 "Super Tuesday
" contests to be counted, with the results being reported in the mid-afternoon. Huckabee's win over the favored Romney was considered a major loss of momentum for Romney's campaign, while it revitalized Mike Huckabee's hopes for the nomination.
In the primary election, three delegates were awarded for each of West Virginia's three congressional districts. The winner in each district was awarded all three of that district's delegates. McCain easily won all three districts, but by then he had already won enough primaries and caucuses to guarantee his eventual nomination.
*Candidate suspended campaign prior to this primary
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...
. An additional nine delegates were selected in a primary election on May 13, 2008, for a total of 27 delegates to the national convention. Mike Huckabee
Mike Huckabee
Michael "Mike" Dale Huckabee is an American politician who served as the 44th Governor of Arkansas from 1996 to 2007. He was a candidate in the 2008 United States Republican presidential primaries, finishing second in delegate count and third in both popular vote and number of states won . He won...
won the caucuses, and John McCain
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....
later won the primary.
Romney entered the caucus with the most pledged convention-goers, but delegates for McCain defected to Huckabee. In the first round of caucusing, the results were Romney 464, Huckabee 375, McCain 176, Paul 118, Giuliani 0. Since no candidate had a majority, Giuliani dropped out and the delegates took a second vote. At this second vote, most Paul and McCain supporters, reportedly acting on commands from their coordinators, shifted to Huckabee, ensuring him the majority. As a result of a deal with Huckabee's camp, Paul's delegates swung to Huckabee in exchange for 3 of the State's 18 national delegates.
The West Virginia caucus was the first of the 21 "Super Tuesday
Super Tuesday, 2008
Super Tuesday 2008, Super Duper Tuesday, Mega Tuesday, Giga Tuesday, Tsunami Tuesday, and The Tuesday of Destiny are names for February 5, 2008, the day on which the largest simultaneous number of state U.S. presidential primary elections in the history of U.S. primaries were held...
" contests to be counted, with the results being reported in the mid-afternoon. Huckabee's win over the favored Romney was considered a major loss of momentum for Romney's campaign, while it revitalized Mike Huckabee's hopes for the nomination.
In the primary election, three delegates were awarded for each of West Virginia's three congressional districts. The winner in each district was awarded all three of that district's delegates. McCain easily won all three districts, but by then he had already won enough primaries and caucuses to guarantee his eventual nomination.
February 5 Caucus
| Candidate | Votes | Percentage | Delegates |
|---|---|---|---|
| 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... |
567 | 51.55% | 18(15) |
| 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... |
521 | 47.36% | 0 |
| 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... |
12 | 1.09% | 0 |
| 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... |
0 | 0% | 0(3) |
| Total | 1,100 | 100% | 18 |
- As a result of the deal between Huckabee and Paul's delegates, 3 of the State's 18 delegates went to Ron Paul, although the election was technically a "winner-take-all."
May 13 primary
| 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... |
89,683 | 76.0% | 9 |
| 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... * |
12,175 | 10.3% | 0 |
| 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... |
5,914 | 5.0% | 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... * |
5,188 | 4.4% | 0 |
| Rudolph Giuliani* | 2,831 | 2.4% | 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... |
1,427 | 1.2% | 0 |
| Others | 727 | 0.6% | 0 |
| Total | 117,945 | 100% | 9 |
*Candidate suspended campaign prior to this primary
See also
- 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...
- West Virginia Democratic primary, 2008West Virginia Democratic primary, 2008The 2008 West Virginia Democratic primary took place on May 13, 2008 with polls closing at 7:30 p.m. EST. It was open to Democrats and Independents. The primary determined 28 delegates to the 2008 Democratic National Convention, who were awarded on a proportional basis. West Virginia's Democratic...