Democratic and liberal support for John McCain in 2008
Senator
Democratic and liberal supporters of McCain included some elected officials, retired elected officials, journalists, and some supporters of Hillary Clinton's unsuccessful primary campaign. According to exit polls on Election Day, 10% of those who identified themselves as Democrats voted for John McCain, approximately the same percentage of Democratic votes that George W. Bush won in 2004.[5]
History of the term "McCain Democrat"
The term "McCain Democrat" first appeared during McCain's 2000 primary campaign. McCain garnered attention for reportedly having cross-party appeal.[6] In Texas, Charles Gandy explicitly ran for the Senate as a "McCain Democrat."[7]
Joe Lieberman
The most well-known Democratic Party member to support McCain was Senator
On June 5, Lieberman launched "Citizens for McCain," hosted on the McCain campaign website, to recruit Democratic support for John McCain's candidacy. He emphasized the group's outreach to supporters of Hillary Clinton, who was at that time broadly expected to lose the Democratic presidential nomination to Barack Obama.[11] Citizens for McCain was prominently featured in McCain team efforts to attract disgruntled
Lieberman spoke at the 2008 Republican National Convention on behalf of McCain and his running mate, Alaska Governor Sarah Palin.[14] Lieberman was alongside McCain and Senator Lindsey Graham during a visit to French president Nicolas Sarkozy on March 21, 2008.[15]
Republican vice president talk
Lieberman was mentioned as a possible vice presidential nominee on a McCain ticket.[16][17] ABC News reported that Lieberman was McCain's first choice for vice president until several days before the selection, when McCain had decided that picking Lieberman would alienate the conservative base of the Republican Party, due to his left-of-center positions on social issues.[18] Lieberman had been mentioned as a possible secretary of state under a McCain administration.[19] In 2018 McCain confirmed that his advisers had counseled him to not pick Lieberman for the ticket, and that he regretted following their advice.[20]
Fallout and support from Barack Obama
Many Democrats wanted Lieberman to be stripped of his chairmanship of the
McCain campaign efforts to recruit Democratic support
The case of Debra Bartoshevich, a 41-year-old emergency room nurse from Wisconsin[26] who was featured in McCain's national television ads, is an example of McCain team efforts to recruit high-profile Democrats and supporters of Hillary Clinton. In the ad, Bartoshevich declares herself "a proud Hillary Clinton Democrat" who will vote for John McCain, rather than Barack Obama, in the 2008 presidential election.[27]
Bartoshevich's support for McCain made national news because she was a delegate to the Democratic National Convention, one of four people from Racine County, Wisconsin selected by a local Democratic caucus. The Racine, Wisconsin Journal Time quotes her, "in a speech before the votes were cast" telling other delegates "I support her because of her universal health care plan...I see the devastating consequences of diseases on the uninsured."[28]
Bartoshevich can be seen on YouTube telling a television interviewer that she was contacted by the McCain campaign "approximately three minutes" after Hillary Clinton's June 5 speech suspending her campaign for the presidency.[29]
On Friday, June 13, the
McCain himself traveled to Racine in July, where he met with Bartoshevich before introducing her and her family to a campaign gathering of about 1,000 people.[32] On August 25, the new ad (called "Debra") was launched.[33] A second McCain ad launched the same day (called "Passed Over") also urged Hillary Clinton's followers to switch allegiance to McCain.[34]
Also on August 25, Bartoshevich was made the central figure of a press conference sponsored by the
Conservative Democratic voters and Hillary Clinton supporters
The Gallup Poll indicates McCain's support among Democrats calling themselves "conservative" by party standards has varied from a low of 15% to a high of 26% according to Gallup.[39]
During the campaign, there was significant media discussion of Democratic Hillary Clinton voters backing McCain, in particular members of People United Means Action (also known as PUMA, originally standing for "Party Unity My Ass," and also known as "Just Stay No Deal") and those sympathetic to it.[40] After Clinton's June 8 concession, 40% of women who supported Clinton described themselves as dissatisfied and 7% described themselves as angry; 25% said they would support McCain in November.[41]
Polling data
According to
According to exit polls on Election Day, McCain won the votes of only 10% of Democrats nationwide, the same percentage of Democrats' votes that George W. Bush won in 2004.[5]
Democrats and former Democrats who endorsed John McCain
- Bartle Bull (the elder), aide for Robert F. Kennedy.[44]
- Wendy Button, former speechwriter for Barack Obama, John Edwards, and Hillary Clinton.[45][46][47][48]
- Orson Scott Card, science fiction author and Democratic columnist[49] said that he supported and voted for Barack Obama during the primary season, but had become a McCain supporter by September 2008.[50]
- David Carlin, former Democratic majority leader of the Rhode Island Senate (pre-1992)[51]
- Brenda Ferland, formerly Democratic member of the New Hampshire House of Representatives.[54][55]
- Dick A. Greco, former Mayor of Tampa, Florida[56]
- Doreen Howard, member of the New Hampshire House of Representatives[57]
- Mayor of Phoenix, Arizona (1990–94)[58]
- Elaine Lafferty, former editor of Ms. magazine[61]
- Joe Lieberman, Former Senator for the state of Connecticut and 2000 Democratic vice-presidential candidate (ID-CT)
- Shelly Mandell, president of the
- Zell Miller, former U.S. Senator (D-GA)
- Minnesota Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party)[60]
- Lynn Forester de Rothschild, businesswoman and fundraiser for Hillary Clinton[64]
- Donald Trump, businessman, television personality, politician, and (subsequently, as a Republican) the 45th president of the United States[65] from January 20, 2017, to January 20, 2021.
- Bill Veroneau, former mayor of Concord, New Hampshire[55]
- Steve Wenzel, former state representative in Minnesota (Bush appointee to the USDA, since then he has only contributed to Republicans)[60][66]
- R. James Woolsey, Jr., former CIA Director under President Bill Clinton, who describes himself as a "Scoop Jackson Democrat."[67]
Democratic politicians who voted for McCain, but did not formally endorse
- Dov Hikind, New York Assemblyman and host of "The Dov Hikind Show"
- Gene Taylor – Former representative of Mississippi's 4th congressional district[68][69]
See also
- Democrats for Nixon
- Reagan Democrat
- Party switching
- Obama Republican
- Obama–Trump voters
- People United Means Action
References
- ^ Am I a McCain Democrat?
- ^ Payne, Dan. "So, you want to be a McCain Democrat?". Boston.com.
- ^ "McCain Democrats". Archived from the original on September 16, 2008. Retrieved July 12, 2008.
- ^ "ニキビを治す方法を調べてみる".
- ^ a b "Inside Obama's Sweeping Victory". Pew Research Center. November 5, 2008. Archived from the original on May 9, 2011. Retrieved February 3, 2009.
- ^ Levy, Clifford J. (February 12, 2000). "The 2000 Campaign – New York – For McCain, a New Ardor Gets Spun Into New Money – NYTimes.com". The New York Times.
- ^ "Amarillo.com". Archived from the original on June 4, 2011. Retrieved September 26, 2008.
- ^ "Lieberman, McCain Endorsement". MSNBC. Archived from the original on December 21, 2007. Retrieved November 6, 2008.
- ^ "Lieberman: "I want to elect a Democratic president in 2008"". YouTube. Retrieved August 5, 2008.[dead YouTube link]
- ^ "Lieberman to Cross Aisle to Endorse McCain". blog.washingtonpost.com. Archived from the original on July 4, 2008. Retrieved December 16, 2007.
- ^ Rhee, Foon (June 5, 2008). "Lieberman leads new pro-McCain group". Boston.com. Retrieved January 4, 2009.
- ^ Wheaton, Sarah (June 14, 2008). "McCain Courts Democrats, Independents". The New York Times. Retrieved January 4, 2009.
- ^ Falcone, Michael (August 24, 2008). "Republicans Unveil War Room in Denver". The New York Times. Retrieved January 4, 2009.
- ^ Meckler, Laura (February 13, 2008). "McCain Gets Boost from Senate Buddy". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved February 13, 2008.
- ^ J.C. (lefigaro.fr) (March 22, 2008). "McCain loue l'ère "d'amitié franco-américaine"". lefigaro.fr. Retrieved March 21, 2008.
- ^ Christensen, Alex. "The 2008 GOP Field or It's the Tenacity, Stupid". Archived from the original on February 13, 2008. Retrieved January 27, 2008.
- ^ Kristol, William (November 19, 2007). "Say It's So, Joe – Vice President Lieberman?". Retrieved January 27, 2008.
- ^ See http://blogs.abcnews.com/politicalradar/2008/08/how-palin-came.html Archived 2010-03-23 at the Wayback Machine and https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/08/29/AR2008082901777.html?hpid=opinionsbox1.
- ^ "Gizzi on Politics: Convention Diary". Human Events. Archived from the original on May 24, 2011. Retrieved February 3, 2009.
- abcnews.go.com. Retrieved June 2, 2018.
- ^ Rushing, J. Taylor. "Sen. Lieberman likely to lose his gavel in massive reshuffle being discussed". TheHill.com. Archived from the original on October 29, 2008. Retrieved October 29, 2008.
- ^ Grim, Ryan (November 7, 2008). "McConnell Reaches Out To Lieberman". Politico.com. Retrieved November 7, 2008.
- ^ Hulse, Carl (November 19, 2008). "Democrats Gain as Stevens Loses Race". The New York Times. Retrieved May 1, 2010.
- ^ Sources: Lieberman likely to keep top Democratic post, CNN.com, November 17, 2008.
- ^ Lieberman credits Obama after Dems let him keep post, CNN.com, November 18, 2008.
- ^ Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
- ^ "Campaign Slog 70 Days to Go!". The Washington Post.
- ^ Journal Times May 5, 2008
- ^ Wisconsin Clinton Delegate's Credentials Challenged For Convention. July 16, 2008. Archived from the original on December 21, 2021 – via YouTube.
- ^ Craig Gilbert. "Delegate's reversal stuns party".
- ^ "Journal Sentinel July 25, 2008". Archived from the original on September 19, 2008. Retrieved August 23, 2018.
- ^ AP July 31, 2008 Archived August 8, 2008, at the Wayback Machine
- ^ AP August 25, 2008 [dead link]
- ^ WSJ Staff (August 23, 2008). "New McCain Ad Uses Clinton Attacks". WSJ.
- ^ Marketwatch
- ^ Time
- ^ NBC News
- ^ "McCain, Obama face off in third presidential debate – CNN.com". CNN. Retrieved May 1, 2010.
- ^ Gallup, Inc. (August 12, 2008). "Candidate Support by Political Party and Ideology". Gallup.com.
- ^ Times Record[permanent dead link]
- ^ "Hill, Yes! O., No!". The Washington Post.
- ^ Gallup, Inc. (August 12, 2008). "Candidate Support by Political Party". Gallup.com.
- ^ "Local Exit Polls – Election Center 2008 – Elections & Politics from CNN.com". CNN.
- ^ "New York Daily News". New York Daily News. Archived from the original on September 2, 2008. Retrieved November 3, 2008.
- ^ "So Long, Democrats". The Daily Beast.
- ^ Wendy Button (Obama staffer who's voting McCain) inspired by Joe the Plumber[permanent dead link], Newark National Post, 29 October 2008.
- ^ Is There Any Gain In Endorsing McCain?, The New Republic
- ^ Obama Speechwriter Defects Democratic Party, Endorses McCain, Cleveland Leader
- ^ Salena Zito (October 26, 2008). "John the Populist". TribLIVE.com. Archived from the original on October 30, 2008. Retrieved November 4, 2008.
- ^ "WorldWatch – September 7, 2008 – Barack Obama, Spinmeister – The Ornery American". Archived from the original on November 19, 2008. Retrieved October 23, 2008.
- ^ Commonweal Magazine
- Likewise I say, “John McCain is the worst possible candidate for president-except for all the others”..."Even though-being a Democrat of the FDR-Truman-Kennedy-LBJ variety-I’m pretty conservative by contemporary Democratic standards, still I’m a Democrat, and that means that I have deeply ingrained anti-Republican prejudices."
- ^ "Could North Carolina Go Blue in 2008?". Archived from the original on October 24, 2008.
- ^ "Charlotte: Search Results".
- ^ New Hampshire House Page
- ^ a b "NH: Longtime Democratic legislator backs John McCain". seacoastonline.com.
- ^ "Home – abcactionnews.com – Tampa Bay News, Weather, Sports, Things To Do – WFTS-TV". Archived from the original on September 29, 2011.
- ^ Jennifer Feals. "Longtime Democrat backs John McCain". seacoastonline.com.
- ^ Phoenix New Times Archived August 13, 2008, at the Wayback Machine
- "Paul Johnson, former mayor of Phoenix, who spent much of the early 1990s publicly loathing the senator, is now a Democrat for McCain."
- ^ Minnesota Independent
- ^ a b c "John McCain's DINOs". OpenSecrets Blog. June 23, 2008.
- ^ "Palin courts the female vote". Las Vegas Review-Journal. August 3, 2023.
- ^ "Long Beach Press Telegram". Archived from the original on October 8, 2008. Retrieved October 7, 2008.
- ^ Orange County Register Archived October 7, 2008, at the Wayback Machine"...lifelong Democrat and president of the Los Angeles chapter of the National Organization For Women, Shelly Mandell. While NOW has endorsed Democrat Barack Obama as best representing women's interests in the race, Mandell has taken a different view."
- ^ Yahoo News
- ^ "Trump endorses McCain". CNN. September 18, 2008. Retrieved July 12, 2016.
- ^ "Rep. Wenzel resigns to take federal job; A DFL House member for 29 years, he'll become the state's USDA director for rural development.(NEWS)". Archived from the original on October 22, 2012.
- ^ Matt Nauman Mercury News (October 12, 2008). "A chat with CIA chief-turned-venture capitalist R. James Woolsey".
- ^ Miami Herald
- ^ "Democratic Rep. Gene Taylor: I Voted for McCain". CBS News. October 25, 2010.