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

On March 4, 2008, SenatorJohn McCain ofArizona won the2008 nomination by theRepublican Party forPresident of the United States, and became thepresumptive nominee of the party. McCain held an event with Alaska governorSarah Palin, revealing her as hisvice presidentialrunning mate on August 29, 2008, a date which coincided both with McCain's 72nd birthday and the Palins' 20th wedding anniversary,^[1][2] at theErvin J. Nutter Center inDayton, Ohio, the day after Barack Obama's acceptance speech.^[3] If elected, she would have been the first vice president fromAlaska and outside the mainland United States, and the first female vice president, but the feat would later be accomplished byKamala Harris in 2020. The McCain–Palin ticket ultimately lost to theObama–Biden ticket in the2008 presidential election, and Palin returned to the governorship following the campaign but laterresigned the following year.

Sarah Palin was the GOP choice for Vice President. At a speech inNorfolk, 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."^[4] 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.^[5]

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)^[6] and pro-choice stance led McCain's aides to veto the choice. Close aideMark Salter preferred Pawlenty, while the campaign managerSteve Schmidt preferred Palin. By picking Palin, Schmidt argued, McCain could snatch the "change" mantle away from Obama.^[7] McCain, rejecting 'safer' choices such as Pawlenty or Romney, instead chose Palin as his running mate.

• 
  Democratic^[a]Senator
  Joe Lieberman
  fromConnecticut
  (1989–2013)
• 
  Governor
  Sarah Palin
  fromAlaska
  (2006–2009)
• 
  Governor
  Tim Pawlenty
  fromMinnesota
  (2003–2011)
• 
  FormerSecretary of Homeland Security
  Tom Ridge
  fromPennsylvania
  (2001–2005)
• 
  FormerGovernor
  Mitt Romney
  fromMassachusetts
  (2003–2007)

After his selection byRepublican 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. TheAssociated Press reported that McCain had composed a list of 20 or so potential running mates.^[8] Over two dozen names had been offered as viable potential running mates byThe Kansas City Star,^[9]The Salt Lake Tribune,^[10]The New York Sun,^[11]The Indianapolis Star,^[12] theSt. Louis Post-Dispatch,^[13]The Times of India,^[14]The Globe and Mail,^[15] andCBS News.^[16]This list includes both names that had been mentioned in several sources and some much less likely candidates:

• 
  Representative
  Eric Cantor
  fromVirginia
  (2001–2014)
• 
  Senator
  Sam Brownback
  fromKansas
  (1996–2011)
• 
  Senator
  Lindsey Graham
  fromSouth Carolina
  (2003–present)
• 
  Democratic^[a]Senator
  Joe Lieberman
  fromConnecticut
  (1989–2013)
• 
  Senator
  Lisa Murkowski
  fromAlaska
  (2002–present)
• 
  Representative
  Paul Ryan
  fromWisconsin
  (1999–2019)
• 
  Senator
  Olympia Snowe
  fromMaine
  (1995–2013)
• 
  Senator
  John E. Sununu
  fromNew Hampshire
  (2003–2009)
• 
  Senator
  John Thune
  fromSouth Dakota
  (2005–present)
• 
  Senator
  Tom Coburn
  fromOklahoma
  (2005–2015)
• 
  Representative
  Marsha Blackburn
  fromTennessee
  (2003–2019)
• 
  FormerSenator
  Fred Thompson
  fromTennessee
  (1994–2003)
• 
  Senator
  Wayne Allard
  fromColorado
  (1997–2009)
• 
  FormerRepresentative
  J. C. Watts
  fromOklahoma
  (1995–2003)

• 
  Haley Barbour
  ofMississippi
  (2004–2012)
• 
  Matt Blunt
  ofMissouri
  (2005–2009)
• 
  Charlie Crist
  ofFlorida
  (2007–2011)
• 
  Mike Huckabee
  ofArkansas
  (1996–2007)
• 
  Sarah Palin
  ofAlaska
  (2006–2009)
• 
  Rick Perry
  ofTexas
  (2000–2015)
• 
  Mitt Romney
  ofMassachusetts
  (2003–2007)
• 
  Mark Sanford
  ofSouth Carolina
  (2003–2011)
• 
  Jeb Bush
  ofFlorida
  (1999–2007)
• 
  Jon Huntsman Jr.
  ofUtah
  (2005–2009)

• 
  Former Director of theOffice of Management and Budget
  Rob Portman
  fromOhio
  (2006–2007)
• 
  FormerSecretary of Homeland Security
  Tom Ridge
  fromPennsylvania
  (2003–2005)
• 
  FormerEPA Administrator
  Christine Todd Whitman
  fromNew Jersey
  (2001–2003)
• 
  Chair of the SEC
  Christopher Cox
  fromCalifornia
  (2005–2009)

• 
  Mayor of New York City^[b]
  Michael Bloomberg
  fromNew York
  (2002–2013)
• 
  FormerHewlett-Packard CEO
  Carly Fiorina
  fromCalifornia
  (1995–2005)
• 
  RetiredU.S. Army General
  Tommy Franks
  fromOklahoma
• 
  Commander ofUnited States Central Command
  David Petraeus
  fromNew York
  (2008–2010)
• 
  FormereBay CEO
  Meg Whitman
  fromCalifornia
  (1998–2008)
• 
  FormerMayor of New York City and2008 presidential candidate
  Rudy Giuliani
  fromNew York
  (1994–2001)

• 
  Senator
  Kay Bailey Hutchison
  fromTexas
  (1993–2013)
• 
  Governor
  Bobby Jindal
  ofLouisiana
  (2008–2016)
• 
  FormerSecretary of State
  Colin Powell
  fromVirginia
  (2001–2005)
• 
  Secretary of State
  Condoleezza Rice
  fromAlabama
  (2005–2009)

• 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

• John McCain 2008 presidential campaign
• John McCain
• Sarah Palin
• Republican Party (United States) vice presidential nominees
• Mike Huckabee
• Rick Perry
• Paul Ryan
• Michael Bloomberg
• Mitt Romney
• Joe Lieberman
• John Thune
• 2008 in women's history

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