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<br>{{Infobox election|election_name=2008 United States presidential election|country=United States|flag_year=1960|type=presidential|opinion_polls=|previous_election=2004 United States presidential election|previous_year=2004|election_date=November 4, 2008|next_election=2012 United States presidential election|next_year=2012|votes_for_election=550 members of the [[United States Electoral College|Electoral College]]|needed_votes=Plurality of electoral votes|turnout=63.6% {{increase}} 1.5 pp|image_size=x150px|image1=Hillary Rodham Clinton-cropped.jpg|nominee1='''[[Hillary Rodham]]'''|party1=[[Democratic Party (United States)|Democratic]]|home_state1=Oregon|running_mate1='''[[Michael Bloomberg]]'''|electoral_vote1='''248'''|popular_vote1='''59,857,905'''|percentage1='''44.9%'''|image2=Elizabeth Dole official photo.jpg|nominee2=[[Elizabeth Dole]]|party2=[[Republican Party (United States)|Republican]]|home_state2=North Carolina|running_mate2=[[Oswaldo Paya]]|electoral_vote2=220|popular_vote2=52,525,645|percentage2=39.4%|image3=Russ Feingold Official Portrait 3.jpg|nominee3=[[Russ Feingold]]|party3=[[Progressive Party (United States)|Progressive]]|home_state3=Wisconsin|running_mate3=[[Barbara Lee]]|electoral_vote3=82|states_carried3=|popular_vote3=19,597,131|percentage3=14.7%|color3=|map_size=350px|map=|map_caption=|title=President|before_election=[[John McCain]]|before_party=Republican Party (United States)|after_election=[[Hillary Rodham]]|after_party=Democratic Party (United States)|ongoing=}}
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|colspan=6|'''2008 United States presidential election'''
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|colspan=6|< [[2004 United States presidential election|2004]] [[File: Possible 52-star U.S. flag.svg |border|35x35px]] [[2012 United States presidential election|2012]] >
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|rowspan=3| <small>'''Nominee'''</small>
|[[File: Hillary Rodham.jpeg |175x175px]]
|[[File: John McCain 2009 Official.jpg |175x175px]]
|[[File: Russ Feingold Prog.jpeg |175x175px]]
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| style="background:#ff3333;"|
| style="background:#000080;"|
| style="background:#28c128;"|
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|'''[[Hillary Rodham]]'''
|John McCain
|Russ Feingold
|-
|rowspan=1|'''Party'''
|'''Republican'''
|America First
|Progressive
|-
|rowspan=1|'''State'''
|'''Arkansas'''
|Arizona
|Wisconsin
|-
|rowspan=1|<small>'''Run. Mate'''</small>
|'''Michael Bloomberg'''
|Colin Powell
|Ed Markey
|-
|rowspan=1|'''1st Round'''
|43,114,992
|'''45,439,005'''
|19,813,751
|-
|'''2nd Round'''
|'''55,245,633'''
|49,233,994
|''(eliminated)''
|}
The '''2008 United States presidential election''' was the 56th quadrennial presidential election, held on Tuesday, November 4, 2008. The Republican ticket of Hillary Rodham, a U.S. senator from Arkansas, and Michael Bloomberg, the mayor of New York City, defeated the America First ticket of John McCain, the incumbent president, and Colin Powell, the incumbent Vice President as well as the Progressive ticket of Russ Feingold, a U.S. senator from Wisconsin and Ed Markey, a U.S. representative for Massachusetts 7th congressional district. Rodham became the first woman to become president after being elected to the office- previous president Jeane Kirkpatrick became president after the assassination of Ronald Reagan.
President John McCain’s campaign was heavily dented after an unexpectedly strong primary challenge from AFP senator Tom Tancredo.
The early campaign focused heavily on President McCain’s involvement in the Liberian War, with Rodham and Feingold being opposed to the war and McCain, who having started it, declared it a triumph. Other issues included the administration of Sudan, which was under continued military occupation, LGBT rights, and the ongoing economic recession.
===Republican Candidates===
<gallery position="center" captionalign="center">
File:Hillary Rodham.jpeg|Senator '''[[Hillary Rodham]]''' of [[New York]]
File:(Bloomberg).jpeg|Mayor Michael Bloomberg of New York <small>(withdrew; endorsed Rodham)</small>
File:Mitt Romney crop.jpg|Senator Mitt Romney of Massachusetts <small>(withdrew; endorsed Bloomberg)</small>
</gallery>
===America First Candidates===
<gallery position="center" captionalign="center">
File:John McCain 2009 Official.jpg|[[President of the United States|President]] '''[[John McCain]]''' of Arizona
File:Tom Tancredo, official Congressional photo.jpg|Senator Tom Tancredo of Colorado <small>(withdrew)</small>
</gallery>
===Progressive Candidates===
<gallery position="center" captionalign="center">
File:Russ Feingold Official Portrait 3.jpg|Senator '''Russ Feingold''' of Wisconsin
File:John Edwards, official Senate photo portrait.jpg|Senator John Edwards of North Carolina
File:Ron Dellums (1).jpg|Mayor Ron Dellums of Oakland, California
</gallery>
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