Barack Obama 2008 presidential primary campaign

Obama for America
2008 Obama presidential campaign logo
Campaign	U.S. Democratic presidential primaries, 2008
Candidate	Barack Obama U.S. Senator 2005–2008
Affiliation	Democratic Party
Status	Announced February 10, 2007 Presumptive nominee June 3, 2008 Official nominee August 27, 2008
Headquarters	233 North Michigan Avenue Chicago, Illinois 60601
Key people	Sen. Joe Biden (VP Running Mate) David Plouffe (Manager) Penny Pritzker (Finance) David Axelrod (Media) Robert Gibbs (Communications)
Receipts	US$287.4 (May 31, 2008)
Slogan
Chant	Yes We Can
Website
www.barackobama.com

This article is part of a series about Barack Obama
Personal Early life and career Family Honors Public image Publications Dreams from My Father The Audacity of Hope A Promised Land Summer playlist Non-profit organizations Obama Foundation One America Appeal Illinois State Senator and U.S. Senator from Illinois Illinois State Senate tenure 2004 DNC keynote address U.S. Senate tenure 2004 election sponsored bills 44th President of the United States Presidency timeline Transition Inaugurations Trips international Presidential library Tenure First 100 days Recovery Act Russia nuclear treaty Nobel Peace Prize Affordable Care Act Dodd–Frank Iraq withdrawal Killing of Osama bin Laden 2011 debt-ceiling crisis Libya intervention Afghanistan withdrawal Benghazi attack 2013 debt-ceiling crisis Anti-ISIL campaign Iraq Syria Tan suit controversy Iran nuclear deal Cuban thaw Sanctions against Russia Selma 50th anniversary speech Paris Agreement Policies Economy Energy Foreign policy Arctic Europe East Asia Middle East South Asia Obama Doctrine Pardons Marine Native Social Space Appointments Cabinet Judiciary Sotomayor Kagan Garland Supreme Court candidates Presidential campaigns 2008 election primaries convention debates Obama coalition 2012 election primaries convention debates
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On February 10, 2007, Barack Obama, the junior United States senator from Illinois, announced his candidacy for the presidency of the United States in Springfield, Illinois. Obama announced his candidacy at the Old State Capitol building, where Abraham Lincoln had delivered his "House Divided" speech.^[1] Obama was the main challenger, along with John Edwards, to front-runner Hillary Clinton for much of 2007. He had only recently emerged as a national figure in Democratic politics, having delivered the DNC keynote address just three years prior and won his Senate election shortly thereafter.

Obama's initial victory in the Iowa caucus in January 2008 helped bring him to national prominence from a crowded field of Democratic challengers. Obama benefited from early support from prominent Democrats including Tom Daschle and Ted Kennedy, and his campaign began to trade a series of hard-fought state wins with Clinton through Super Tuesday, in which Obama had great success in large rural states and Clinton was nearly as dominant in high-population coastal areas. Obama continued to have success in small donor fundraising,^[2] and continued winning a greater number of contests than Clinton through April.

In early May, after Obama won the North Carolina primary and narrowly lost the Indiana primary, superdelegates began to endorse Obama in greater numbers. Obama's win in Oregon gave him an absolute majority of the pledged delegates. After a rush of support for Obama from superdelegates on June 3, 2008, the day of the final primary contests of Montana and South Dakota, Obama was estimated to surpass the 2,118 delegates required for the Democratic nomination.^[3] On June 7, 2008, Clinton formally ended her candidacy and endorsed Obama, making him the party's presumptive nominee.^[4]

On August 27, 2008, at the Democratic National Convention, the Democratic Party formally nominated Obama to run for the office of the President of the United States of America. Obama would go on to win the presidential election against Republican nominee John McCain.