At first, Lewis supported Hillary Clinton, endorsing her presidential campaign on October 12, 2007.
On February 14, 2008, however, he announced he was considering withdrawing his support from Clinton and might instead cast his superdelegate vote for Barack Obama: "Something is happening in America and people are prepared and ready to make that great leap."
Ben Smith of Politico said that "it would be a seminal moment in the race if John Lewis were to switch sides."

On February 27, 2008, Lewis formally changed his support and endorsed Obama.
After Obama clinched the Democratic nomination for president, Lewis said "If someone had told me this would be happening now, I would have told them they were crazy, out of their mind, they didn't know what they were talking about ... I just wish the others were around to see this day. ...
To the people who were beaten, put in jail, were asked questions they could never answer to register to vote, it's amazing."
Despite switching his support to Obama, Lewis's support of Clinton for several months led to criticism from his constituents.
One of his challengers in the House primary election set up campaign headquarters inside the building that served as Obama's Georgia office.

In October 2008, Lewis issued a statement criticizing the campaign of John McCain and Sarah Palin and accusing them of "sowing the seeds of hatred and division" in a way that brought to mind the late Gov. George Wallace and "another destructive period" in American political history.
McCain said he was "saddened" by the criticism from "a man I've always admired," and called on Obama to repudiate Lewis's statement.
Obama responded to the statement, saying that he "does not believe that John McCain or his policy criticism is in any way comparable to George Wallace or his segregationist policies."
Lewis later issued a follow-up statement clarifying that he had not compared McCain and Palin to Wallace himself, but rather that his earlier statement was a "reminder to all Americans that toxic language can lead to destructive behavior."


On an African American being elected president, he said:
If you ask me whether the election ... is the fulfillment of Dr. King's dream, I say, "No, it's just a down payment."
There's still too many people 50 years later, there's still too many people that are being left out and left behind.

After Obama's swearing-in ceremony as president, Lewis asked Obama to sign a commemorative photograph of the event.
Obama signed it, "Because of you, John.
Barack Obama."
At first, Lewis supported Hillary Clinton, endorsing her presidential campaign on October 12, 2007. On February 14, 2008, however, he announced he was considering withdrawing his support from Clinton and might instead cast his superdelegate vote for Barack Obama: "Something is happening in America and people are prepared and ready to make that great leap." Ben Smith of Politico said that "it would be a seminal moment in the race if John Lewis were to switch sides."
On February 27, 2008, Lewis formally changed his support and endorsed Obama. After Obama clinched the Democratic nomination for president, Lewis said "If someone had told me this would be happening now, I would have told them they were crazy, out of their mind, they didn't know what they were talking about ... I just wish the others were around to see this day. ... To the people who were beaten, put in jail, were asked questions they could never answer to register to vote, it's amazing." Despite switching his support to Obama, Lewis's support of Clinton for several months led to criticism from his constituents. One of his challengers in the House primary election set up campaign headquarters inside the building that served as Obama's Georgia office.
In October 2008, Lewis issued a statement criticizing the campaign of John McCain and Sarah Palin and accusing them of "sowing the seeds of hatred and division" in a way that brought to mind the late Gov. George Wallace and "another destructive period" in American political history. McCain said he was "saddened" by the criticism from "a man I've always admired," and called on Obama to repudiate Lewis's statement. Obama responded to the statement, saying that he "does not believe that John McCain or his policy criticism is in any way comparable to George Wallace or his segregationist policies." Lewis later issued a follow-up statement clarifying that he had not compared McCain and Palin to Wallace himself, but rather that his earlier statement was a "reminder to all Americans that toxic language can lead to destructive behavior."

On an African American being elected president, he said:
If you ask me whether the election ... is the fulfillment of Dr. King's dream, I say, "No, it's just a down payment." There's still too many people 50 years later, there's still too many people that are being left out and left behind.
After Obama's swearing-in ceremony as president, Lewis asked Obama to sign a commemorative photograph of the event. Obama signed it, "Because of you, John. Barack Obama."
John Lewis