February 5, 2008 (2008-02-05) 2012 → 111,899 83,030 33.40% 24.78% Location Oklahoma, United States | 122,772 111,899 36.64% 33.40% Date 5 February 2008 | |
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← 2000 February 5, 2008 (2008-02-05) | ||
The Oklahoma Republican primary, 2008 was held on February 5, with 41 delegates at stake. It was a closed primary, meaning only registered Republicans could vote in the election. The primary was on Super Tuesday on the same day as twenty-three other states. John McCain won Oklahoma's primary with 37% of the vote, although Mike Huckabee picked up some delegate votes as well by receiving 33% of the vote.
Contents
Eleven candidates appeared on the Oklahoma Republican Party primary: John McCain, Tom Tancredo (withdrawn), Duncan Hunter (withdrawn), Ron Paul, Rudy Giuliani (withdrawn), Jerry Curry, Mitt Romney, Alan Keyes, Fred Thompson (withdrawn), Daniel Ayers Gilbert, and Mike Huckabee.
The filing period ended December 5, 2007, after which candidate was allowed to be added to the ballot. No candidate could withdraw his name after the withdrawal deadline of December 7, 2007. Consequently, four candidates' names appeared on the ballot despite their withdrawal from the election.
Polling
Early polling in Oklahoma showed Oklahoma Republicans preferred Rudy Giuliani over John McCain. A February 9–13, 2007 by the American Research Group showed Oklahoma Republicans preferred Rudy Giuliani, 37%, over John McCain, 21%. Three months later, a May 16, 2007 Tulsa World/KOTV poll showed Rudy Giuliani, 32%, retained his lead over John McCain, 23%.
By December 2007, Mike Huckabee had started to make headway in both national polling and in Oklahoma. A December 16–19, 2007 Tulsa World/KOTV poll showed Mike Huckabee 29%, John McCain 17%, and Rudy Giuliani 11%. Huckabee retained his lead leading into mid-January. A January 11–13, 2008 Survey USA poll showed Mike Huckabee 31% and John McCain 29%. Rudy Giuliani had slipped to fourth with 11%.
With the primaries less than two weeks away, John McCain started polling better than Mike Huckabee. A January 27, 2008 poll by Survey USA showed Mike Huckabee with 28% and John McCain 37%. With just two days before the Oklahoma Republican primary, another Survey USA poll showed John McCain retained his lead at 37% and Mike Huckabee at 32%.
Allocation of delegates
Oklahoma sent 41 delegates to the 2008 Republican National Convention:
In the event of a brokered convention, all of Oklahoma's 41 delegates may vote for any Republican Presidential candidate regardless of the state primary results.