McCain's Quest
A look at the mileposts in the Arizona senator's race for the Republican nomination and the presidency.
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Announces he will run for president.
Photos: John McCain
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Folds campaign, offers George W. Bush "best
wishes" but no endorsement after a bitter defeat in South
Carolina, where McCain was assailed in negative telephone calls.
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Files paperwork to form a presidential
exploratory committee, calling on the Republican Party to return to commonsense conservatism.
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Appears on David Letterman's "Late Show," and says he'll announce his presidential candidacy after a trip to Iraq.
LINK: Campaign 2008
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Leads a Republican congressional delegation on a
heavily guarded tour of a central Baghdad market and declared that a nearly seven-week-old security crackdown to pacify the Iraqi capital is working.
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McCain's troubled presidential campaign eliminates some non-senior staff positions and cuts some consultants' contracts, all before he makes his bid official.
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Formally launches campaign, which is already
showing signs of trouble with lagging poll standings and poor fundraising.
STORY: The Money Race
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In Houston, McCain challenges other Republican
presidential candidates to propose their own immigration
legislation or stop criticizing the plan he's co-sponsoring.
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In an interview with The Associated Press, McCain dismisses polls that show him slipping into single digits,
arguing that his campaign is going through the typical ups and downs and will be fine in the fall.
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McCain reorganizes campaign, cutting staff in
every department, after reporting an abysmal $2 million cash on hand. McCain calls speculation that he could drop out of the race "ridiculous."
STORY: The Money Race
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Makes sixth visit to Iraq. Comes away with new resolve to press forward with presidential campaign.
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Campaign manager Terry Nelson and chief strategist John Weaver resign. At least three other senior aides follow. In an e-mail to supporters, McCain vows to press on.
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Campaign reports spending more than it raised
from April through June, leaving McCain financially strapped with $3.2 million cash on hand and a $1.8 million debt.
STORY: The Money Race
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McCain appears on "The Tonight Show," jokes with Jay Leno about his campaign's stumbles.
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McCain announces plan for a September "No
Surrender" tour to sell support for the war in the Iraq - and his weakened campaign.
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Ryan Crocker, U.S. ambassador to Iraq, strongly
suggests at a congressional hearing that the Bush administration's troop buildup in Iraq had prevented a debacle.
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McCain, fighting to get back with the Republican
front-runners, raises $6 million in three months and reports $3.6 million cash on hand.
STORY: The Money Race
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The New Hampshire Union Leader endorses McCain.
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The Des Moines Register and The Boston Globe endorse McCain.
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McCain wins New Hampshire primary after losing the Iowa caucus.
Photos: The Primaries
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Rudy Giuliani drops out of race and endorses McCain, a longtime friend.
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Mitt Romney, McCain's leading rival, suspends his campaign. On Feb. 14, Romney announces his support of McCain.
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McCain says he "will not allow a smear
campaign" to distract from his campaign as published reports question his ties to a lobbyist and imply a romantic relationship with her that he denies.
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McCain goes into the March 4 contests with 1,014
of the 1,191 delegates needed for the nomination, and remaining rival Mike Huckabee far behind. He later clinches the Republican presidential nomination.
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McCain picks up the endorsement of President George W. Bush, who has gone out of his way recently to defend McCain's conservative credentials.
Photos: John McCain
LINK: Campaign 2008
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At a rally with in Dayton, Ohio, McCain announces Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin as his running mate. McCain praised Palin, 44, as someone with "strong principles," a
"fighting spirit." Palin, a conservative with a maverick reputation, becomes the first woman named to a spot on a GOP ticket.
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McCain accepts the Repubublican nomination for president at the Republican National Convention in Minneapolis.
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McCain's bid for the presidency falls short as Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., is elected 44th President of the United States.
Photos: John McCain
LINK: Campaign 2008
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Credits:
The Associated Press
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