who ran against obama in his first election
United States presidential election, 2008 The United States presidential election of 2008 was the 56th quadrennial presidential election. It was held on Tuesday, November 4, 2008. The Democratic ticket of Barack Obama, a Senator from Illinois, and Joe Biden, a long-time Senator from Delaware, defeated the Republican ticket of Senator John McCain of Arizona and Governor Sarah Palin of Alaska. Obama became the first African American ever to be elected as president.
Vice President of the United States Of the thirteen presidential elections from 1956 to 2004, nine featured the incumbent president; the other four (1960, 1968, 1988, 2000) all featured the incumbent vice president. Former vice presidents also ran in 1984 (Walter Mondale) and in 1968 (Richard Nixon, against the incumbent vice president, Hubert Humphrey). The presidential election of 2008 was the first presidential election since 1928 that saw neither an incumbent president nor an incumbent or former vice president take part in any primary or general election for the presidency on a major party ticket. Nixon is the only vice president to have been elected president while not an incumbent, as well as the only person elected twice to both the presidency and vice presidency.