Main article: Barack Obama presidential campaign 2008
On February 10, 2007, Obama announced his candidacy for the presidency of the United States compared to the old state capitol building in Springfield, Illinois. The choice of location for the announcement was symbolic because it It was also the place where Abraham Lincoln delivered his historic speech divided House (House Divided in English) in 1858. Throughout his campaign emphasized issues relating to conclude the war in Iraq, increasing energy independence, provide universal health care, identifying these issues as their top priorities.
The campaign raised 58 million dollars during the first half of 2007, of which 16.4 million came from small individual donations under 200. The 58 million set a record of fundraising for a presidential campaign, six months before the primaries of the political party. In January 2008, his campaign, another record figure of 36.8 million dollars because it was the highest amount that has been collected in one month by a presidential candidate in the democratic elections primaries.
Joe Biden and Barack Obama, August 2008.
During the Democratic Party primary votes for the presidency in 2008, Obama won the same number of delegates in the state of New Hampshire that his rival candidate Hillary Clinton, but to surpass their opponents in the party votes or assemblies of the states Iowa, Nevada and South Carolina. The Super Tuesday or the day they do most of simultaneous elections in different states, won 20 delegates more than Clinton. In early 2008, a newly established brand fundraising, accumulating about 90 million dollars for his campaign compared to the 45 million for Clinton. After Super Tuesday, in February, won the primaries in the remaining eleven states. On March 4, tied with Clinton contests in the states of Vermont, Texas, Ohio and Rhode Island, with a narrow margin of votes, and finished the month with victories in Wyoming and Mississippi.
In late March, Jeremiah Wright, Reverend of the Church of the Holy Trinity of Chicago, which Obama attended for twenty years, was involved in a controversy after the U.S. news network ABC to air launch a video in which He appeared making racially and politically emotional sermons. After this incident, Obama condemned Wright’s comments and walked away from any association with his political campaign. During the dispute, gave a speech entitled A more perfect union (in English A More Perfect Union), which spoke about issues of race. He then renounced his ties with the church to prevent people from taking the negative impression that the support of its manifestations former pastor.
Obama supporters in Austin, Texas, in February 2007.
In April, May and June, he won the primaries in the states of North Carolina, Oregon and Montana, keeping the lead in the computation of the votes of delegates in comparison to their opponents, while Hillary Clinton had defeated Pennsylvania, Indiana, West Virginia, Kentucky, Puerto Rico, and South Dakota. During that period, received the backing of more superdelegados Clinton. On May 31, the Democratic National Committee agreed to meet all the delegates from the states of Michigan and Florida during the National Convention, and given half vote each, narrowing the lead that Obama had with his rival, but by increasing the scrutiny of votes needed to win the presidential nomination of his party. On Tuesday, June 3, 2008 to surpass Clinton in the votes, and that same day he delivered a speech in Saint Paul, Minnesota. For his part Clinton suspended the campaign for the June 7 to join the Obama. From that date its beginning in the presidential general election against Senator John McCain, who was nominated by the Republican Party. 110
On June 19, became the first presidential candidate of a majority party in rejecting public financing for his campaign in the general contest, since the system was created in 1976. On August 23, 2008, select andalusia state senator Joe Biden of Delaware, as his companion formula for the vice presidency. During the Democratic National Convention in Denver, Colorado, his former rival in the primaries, Hillary Clinton gave a speech in which he expressed his full support to the candidacy of Obama.
On August 28, through an Obama speech in Denver and in front of 84,000 supporters, accepted the nomination as presidential candidate of the Democratic Party and presents some details of their political goals.