[2] On March 4, 2008, John McCain became the Republican presumptive presidential nominee when he obtained the 1,191 delegates necessary to receive the party's nomination.

McCain's bipartisan compromise on judicial nominations and his strong support of campaign finance reform have drew the ire of many groups,[6] However, his party stood with him on issues concerning foreign policy and government spending.

On the Late Show with David Letterman on February 28, 2007, he announced he would seek the GOP presidential nomination.

[10] On February 15, Giuliani officially announced that he was running on CNN's Larry King Live show.

[12] Duncan Hunter, born May 31, 1948, in Riverside, California, U.S. Representative from that state and former chairman of the House Armed Services Committee.

Hunter formally announced his presidential candidacy in Spartanburg, South Carolina, on January 25, 2007.

He withdrew from the race on January 19, 2008, after a poor showing in the Nevada Republican caucuses, and endorsed Mike Huckabee.

After Mitt Romney withdrew from the race, Huckabee chose to continue with his campaign, despite the fact McCain was already the presumptive nominee.

[15] Ron Paul, born August 20, 1935, in Green Tree, Pennsylvania, is a longtime U.S. Representative from Texas with a strong constitutionalist and libertarian voting record.

[18][19] On February 20, 2007, Paul's exploratory committee posted on YouTube a formal video of him explaining his reason for running.

[21] Romney officially announced his candidacy on February 13, 2007, at the Henry Ford Museum in Dearborn, Michigan.

[24] Alan Keyes, born August 7, 1950, is an American conservative political activist, author, former diplomat, and perennial candidate for public office.

"[citation needed] On June 1, Thompson announced he had established a preliminary campaign committee, thus taking his first formal step toward an official presidential bid.

He is well known for his social and fiscal conservative record, such as opposing abortion and instituting a flat tax alternative to the current IRS Code.

[33] Perhaps hoping to mirror the surprising 2004 campaign of Democrat Howard Dean, another former governor with little national recognition when he entered the race, Gilmore declared that he represents "the Republican wing of the Republican Party" echoing the popular Dean quotation.

Gilmore, however, raised a mere $380,000 in the first half of 2007, which he cited as a reason why he withdrew from the presidential race on July 14, 2007, and endorsed John McCain.

[34] Tom Tancredo, born December 20, 1945, in Colorado, U.S. Representative from that state and leading advocate for more restrictive immigration policies.

He has visited early Presidential primary states such as New Hampshire, Michigan and Iowa to begin building popular support and has polled favorably amongst grassroots Republicans.

[39] After a poor showing in the August 11 Iowa Straw Poll, Tommy Thompson announced on the following day that he is withdrawing from the race, and endorsed Rudy Giuliani.