Alan Keyes presidential campaign, 2008
| Alan Keyes for President 2008 | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Campaign | U.S. presidential election, 2008 |
| Candidate | Alan Keyes Assistant Secretary of State |
| Affiliation | Republican Party Constitution Party Independent |
| Status | Lost election November 4, 2008 |
| Headquarters | Montgomery County, Maryland |
| Slogan | We Need Alan Keyes |
| Website | |
| www.alankeyes.com | |
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] Keyes later sought the nomination of the Constitution Party in the same year, before becoming independent.
This was Keyes' third official bid for the presidency; he ran in two election cycles prior to 2008: 1996 and 2000.
Contents |
[edit] Pre-announcement
On June 5, 2007 a draft movement was started entitled We Need Alan Keyes for President and formed a political action committee to encourage Keyes to run for President.[2] On September 14, 2007, Keyes officially announced his candidacy in an interview with radio show host Janet Parshall[1] and was quickly invited to the Values Voter Debate, a debate that was streamed live on Skyangel, the Value Voter Website, and radio.[3]
[edit] Reception
Keyes received 5% of support in the Values Voter straw poll, placing third only behind Mike Huckabee and Ron Paul.[3] His campaign drew very little support in any of the caucuses or primaries that followed, winning a total of only 59,636 votes. His best showing was in the North Carolina primary where he won about 3% of the vote and captured 2 delegates. In the Iowa caucuses, Keyes accused some of the state's ballots of not even listing him as a candidate, and his campaign CEO, Stephen Stone, stated that the reason he did not show up on most ballots was mainly because Keyes had decided to enter the election cycle so late. He also blamed the media for not recognizing Keyes as a viable candidate, excluding him from debates and providing practically no campaign coverage.[4]
Keyes was awarded four delegates, which is more than he received in 1996 but less than in 2000. In early 2008, Keyes changed his allegiance to the Constitution Party, and signified that by showing a dead Republican elephant on the bottom of his web page. However, his effort to win that party's nomination failed as well, as Chuck Baldwin was selected at the party's convention.[5] Following the defeat, Keyes told a group of his supporters that he was "prayerfully considering" continuing his candidacy as an independent,[6] and refused to endorse Baldwin.[7] Keyes became the Presidential nominee of America's Independent Party with ballot access in California, Colorado, Florida. His candidacy was also endorsed by the Christian Falangist Party of America.
In the 2008 presidential election, Keyes received a total of 47,694 votes nationwide.[8]
[edit] See also
- Comparison of United States presidential candidates, 2008
- List of candidates in the United States presidential election, 2008
- Third party (United States) presidential candidates, 2008
[edit] References
- ^ a b "RenewAmerica.us Alan Keyes announces for President!". http://www.renewamerica.us/news/070914keyes.htm.
- ^ "We Need Alan Keyes for President' Website Launched". http://www.christiannewswire.com/news/579913330.html.
- ^ a b Luo, Michael (September 18, 2007). "Values Voters Pick Huckabee". The New York Times. http://thecaucus.blogs.nytimes.com/2007/09/18/value-voters-pick-huckabee/. Retrieved April 23, 2010.
- ^ Tommy Birch (2008-01-03). "Keyes garners little support in Iowa". IowaStateDaily.com. Archived from the original on 2008-01-26. http://web.archive.org/web/20080126070755/http://media.www.iowastatedaily.com/media/storage/paper818/news/2008/01/03/IowaCaucusNews/Alan-Keyes.Garners.Little.Support.In.Iowa-3146178.shtml. Retrieved 2008-01-21.
- ^ Penn, Steve. Constitution Party stunner: Chuck Baldwin KOs firebrand Alan Keyes. Kansas City Star. 26 April 2008.
- ^ Hill, Trent "Keyes' Continuing Candidacy", Third Party Watch.com. April 27, 2008
- ^ Kraske, Steve "Constitution Party stunner II: Keyes won't back Chuck Baldwin for president, suggests party used him", KansasCity Star. April 30, 2008
- ^ "2008 official presidential general election results". FEC. 2008-11-04. http://www.fec.gov/pubrec/fe2008/2008presgeresults.pdf. Retrieved 2009-02-03.
