|
Race For The Presidency
Winning the 2008 Nomination
By Rhodes Cook |
|
The fact that Tennessee is the home state of one of the leading Republican presidential candidates, Fred Thompson, should keep the Volunteer State from being lost in the shuffle of Super Tuesday events on Feb. 5. Thompson's vote-getting ability on his home turf will no doubt be compared against that of fellow Tennessean Al Gore, who won at least 72 percent of the vote the two times he was on the state's Democratic primary ballot (1988 and 2000).
Tennessee does not have party registration. As of June 2007, there were 3,305,881 active registered voters in the state, who can vote in either the Democratic or Republican primary.
| |
DEMOCRATS |
REPUBLICANS |
| THE CALENDAR |
Primary Date
(polling hours) |
Feb. 5
(open 10 to 13 hours; close by 8 p.m. EST, 7 p.m. CST) |
Feb. 5
(open 10 to 13 hours; close by 8 p.m. EST, 7 p.m. CST) |
| Filing Deadline |
Dec. 4, 2007 |
Dec. 4, 2007 |
| Filing Procedure |
The secretary of state notifies nationally recognized candidates on Dec. 4, 2007, that they will be placed on the primary ballot. Other candidates must submit to the state election commission petitions signed by 2,500 registered voters. |
| THE DELEGATES |
| Number (% of national total) |
85 (1.9%) |
55 (2.3%) |
| Distribution: |
|
|
| |
By district |
44 (from 4 to 6 per district) |
27 (3 per district) |
| |
At-Large |
15 |
25 |
| |
Pledged PEOs |
9 |
— |
| |
RNC members |
— |
3 |
| |
Superdelegates |
17 |
— |
| Method of Allocation |
Proportional—15% of vote needed to win a share of statewide or district delegates. |
Winner-take-all or Proportional—statewide winner takes all the at-large delegates if that candidate draws at least two-thirds of the vote; a winner with a two-thirds majority in a district takes all its delegates. Where no candidate wins with two-thirds of the vote, delegates are distributed proportionally among candidates that get at least 20%. |
|
