2012 Presidential Candidates

[AspireOne]

The 57th quadrennial United States Presidential Election will be held on November 6, 2012, and it will be expected to feature the incumbent, President Barack Obama for the Democrats, against a yet to be decided Republican candidate, and the increasingly obligatory third-party nominee.


List of Democratic Candidates

A movement that begun in the late 1780's, brought into being by a faction led by Thomas Jefferson to combat the rise of the Federalist agenda, the Democratic Party was officially formed in 1830 after breaking up from its earlier incarnation known as the United States Democratic-Republican Party. This center left party currently has the largest number of registered voters in the country at 72 million. Barack Obama became the 15th Democrat to hold the office of president, the second highest, serving a collective total of 85 years.

List of Independent Candidates

Independent candidates have always held a larger than life image, with Ross Perot and Ralph Nader being perfect examples. Independents are consistently at a disadvantage compared to their Republican and Democratic peers, from a financial, party support machinery and captive voter base perspective. Nevertheless, despite the fact that they have never, and are not expected to, mount a credible challenge to the big boys, their presence sometimes can affect the outcome of an election, as can be observed in the 2000 presidential election won by former President Bush by the narrowest of margins and under some interesting circumstances. Democrats contend to this day that Ralph Nader's presence took away some crucial votes from their candidate, Al Gore that would have assured an outright victory for the Democrats.

List of Libertarian Candidates

Founded in 1971, the Libertarian Party is the biggest of the fringe political parties in the United States. The party was conceived by citizens who were disillusioned by the perceived divergence of both the Democratic and Republic party from the ideals of libertarianism of our founding fathers. While not exactly setting the world alight, the Libertarian Party is indeed punching above its weight class in the national political arena. Its registered voter base of 225,000 is among the most active in the country and currently contributes 590 office bearers in various state level positions.

List of Republican Candidates

The Grand Old Party (GOP), as the Republican Party is sometimes referred to, can trace its roots back to the United States Democratic-Republican Party, with an anti-monarchy, pro-decentralization and pro-entrepreneur leanings, which it subsequently broke away from in 1854 owing to their increasingly leftist agenda. Its rise to power was swift, where its candidate, Abraham Lincoln, won the presidency in 1860, barely four years after they fielded their first candidate in a national election and six years after its formation. Since then, they have had another 17 Republican presidents, serving a total of 88 years.