Timeline: 2008 Primary and General Election

Mike Gravel (D), a former senator from Alaska, declared his candidacy for the presidency of the United States in a speech to the National Press Club

Saddam Hussein is found guilty of crimes against humanity and sentenced to death by an Iraqi special tribunal

In the US midterm elections, the Democrats take control of both the House and Senate, with 230 seats and 51 seats respectively (independents Joe Lieberman and Bernie Sanders caucus with the Democrats)

Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld resigns in the aftermath of the midterm elections.  President Bush nominates Robert Gates, a former CIA chief, for the position

Former Governor of Iowa Tom Vilsack (D) announces intentions to run for presidency at Iowa Wesleyan College in Mount Pleasant, Iowa

Congressman Dennis Kucinich (D) announces intentions to seek the nomination of the Democratic party for presidency in Cleveland, Ohio

Former President Gerald Ford dies at age 93.  He was the oldest living president

Former North Carolina Senator John Edwards (D) announces entry into the 2008 Presidential election in New Orleans, LA near sites devastated by Hurricane Katrina

Saddam Hussein is hanged in Iraq

President George W. Bush announces a new strategy for the war in Iraq, dubbed a "surge." The number of troops to be sent is set at 21,500

Connecticut Senator Chris Dodd (D) launches his presidential campaign in an announcement on the "Imus in the Morning" radio show

Senator Hillary Clinton (D) announces her candidacy with a post on her website saying "I'm in. And I'm in to Win".

Senator Sam Brownback (R) from Kansas formally announces his presidential campaign at a rally in Topeka, Kansas

Governor Bill Richardson (D) announces his candidacy on ABC's "This Week with George Stephanopoulos"

Congressman Duncan Hunter (R) from California officially announces his candidacy in Spartanburg, South Carolina

Former Governor of Arkansas Mike Huckabee (R) announces his intentions to run for President in the 2008 elections on NBC's "Meet the Press"

Though he announced his candidacy on the January 7th edition of NBC's "Meet the Press," Senator Joe Biden (D) officially becomes a candidate after filing papers with the Federal Elections Committee

Former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani (R) enters the 2008 Presidential race in an interview with Sean Hannity on Fox News Channel

Illinois Senator Barack Obama (D) announces that he is running for President at a rally in Springfield, Illinois

Former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney (R) formally announces his presidential candidacy at an event in Dearborn, Michigan

Congressman Ron Paul (R) officially announces his candidacy for President on C-SPAN

Former Wisconsin Governor Tommy Thompson (R) announces his candidacy for the 2008 Presidential election in an interview on ABC's "This Week with George Stephanopoulos"

Colorado Congressman Tom Tancredo (R) announces his candidacy for President of the United States in an interview with a Des Moines, Iowa radio station

Senator John McCain (R) announces his intentions to seek the nomination of the Republican Party in Portsmouth, New Hampshire

Former Virginia Governor Jim Gilmore (R) announces his candidacy via a web cast on his campaign website

Nicolas Sarkozy, the conservative candidate, wins the French presidency, defeating Socialist candidate Ségolène Royal 53.1% to 46.9% in the runoff election

Prime Minister Tony Blair announces he will resign on June 27 from the post he held for 10 years

Gordon Brown takes over the head of the British Labour Party from Tony Blair.  Three days later, Brown replaces Blair as Prime Minister

Karl Rove, a close advisor and deputy chief of staff for President Bush, announces that he will resign at the end of the month

Former Tennessee Senator Fred Thompson (R) declares his intention to seek the nomination of the Republican Part on "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno"

President Bush brings Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas together at Annapolis, where they agree to work towards a peace treaty by the end of 2008

Tom Tancredo (R) announces that he is dropping out of the race for the Republican nomination

Former Pakistani prime minister and opposition leader Benazir Bhutto is killed during a bombing and shooting attack at a rally

The first presidential caucus for the 2008 Presidential Elections is held in Iowa; the Democratic Caucus is won by Barack Obama while the Republican Caucus is won by Mike Huckabee.

Republican Wyoming Caucus is won by Mitt Romney

Democratic New Hampshire Primary is won by Hillary Clinton

Republican New Hampshire Primary is won by John McCain

Bill Richardson drops out of the Presidential race

The Michigan Primaries are held but the Democratic National Committee rules that no delegates from the Democratic Primary will be seated at the National Convention because Democratic Party rules prohibit states other than Iowa, New Hampshire, Nevada and South Carolina from holding nominating contests before Feb. 5.

Democratic Nevada Caucus is won by Hillary Clinton but Barack Obama picks up more national delegates in the state Republican Nevada Caucus is won by Mitt Romney Republican South Carolina Primary is won by John McCain Republican Candidate Duncan Hunter drops out of the Presidential race

Fred Thompson ends his bid for the nomination of the Republican Party

Dennis Kucinich drops out of the Democratic race at a news conference in Cleveland

Democratic South Carolina Primary is won by Barack Obama

Senator Barack Obama receives endorsements from Caroline Kennedy and Senator Ted Kennedy

Florida Primaries are held but the Democratic National Committee rules that no delegates from the Democratic Primary will be seated at the National Convention because Democratic Party rules prohibit states other than Iowa, New Hampshire, Nevada and South Carolina from holding nominating contests before Feb. 5.

Rudy Giuliani withdraws from the Republican race and endorses Senator John McCain

Maine Republican Caucus is won by Mitt Romney

Super Tuesday: the largest day of the primary season.  Primaries for 22 states are held

Democrat Results:

Barack Obama wins: Alabama, Alaska, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Georgia, Idaho, Illinois, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, North Dakota, Utah

Hillary Clinton wins: Arizona, Arkansas, California,  Mass., New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Oklahoma, Tennessee

Republican Results:

John McCain wins: Arizona, California, Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, Missouri, New Jersey, New York, Oklahoma.    

Mitt Romney wins: Alaska, Colorado, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Montana, North Dakota, Utah.

With the race between Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton being very close (909 delegates for Obama and 884 delegates for Clinton), DNC chairman Howard Dean proclaims "we're going to have to get the candidates together and make some kind of an arrangement if there is no nominee by April".

Mitt Romney suspends his Presidential campaign effectively ending his bid to become President

The DNC announces that it is considering a possible revote in Michigan and Florida

Louisiana, US Virgin Islands, Washington, and Nebraska Democratic Primaries are won by Barack Obama.

Kansas Republican Caucus is won by Mick Huckabee while Senator McCain wins the Washington Caucuses and Louisiana Republican Primaries.

Maine Democratic Caucus is won by Barack Obama

Senator McCain wins the Washington Republican Primary

Ralph Nader (I) announces that he is running as an independent candidate on NBC's "Meet the Press"

Raúl Castro, Fidel Castro's brother, formally becomes President of Cuba after Fidel resigned February 19

Senator Hillary Clinton wins the Rhode Island, Ohio, and Texas primaries while Barack Obama wins the Vermont Primary and Texas Caucuses.

Mike Huckabee withdraws from the Presidential Race

Senator John McCain passes the 1,191-delegate threshold and becomes the presumptive GOP nominee.

President Bush endorses John McCain

Democratic Wyoming Caucus is won by Barack Obama

Guam Republican Caucus is won by John McCain

Mississippi Democratic primary is won by Barack Obama

Mississippi Republican Primary is won by John McCain

Controversy arises over Obama’s pastor Jeremiah Wright's past remarks on race and patriotism

Mike Gravel withdraws from Presidential race and switches his party affiliation to the Libertarian Party

Pennsylvania Democratic Primary is won by Hillary Clinton.  The win raises doubts about Obama's ability to connect with white, working-class voters.

Pennsylvania Republican Primary is won by John McCain

Indiana Democratic Primary is won by Hillary Clinton

North Carolina Democratic Primary is won by Barack Obama

Indiana and North Carolina Republican Primaries are won by John McCain

Dmitri Medvedev is sworn in as president of Russia. A day later, his predecessor Vladimir Putin is elected Prime Minister by Parliament

West Virginia Democratic Primary is won by Hillary Clinton

West Virginia Republican Primary is won by John McCain

2004 Vice Presidential Candidate John Edwards formally endorses Barack Obama

Kentucky Democratic Primary is won by Hillary Clinton Oregon Democratic Primary is won by Barack Obama Kentucky and Oregon Republican Primaries are won by John McCain

Idaho Republican Primary is won by John McCain

Democratic Party leaders agree to seat the disputed Michigan and Florida delegations with half-votes at the summer convention, a compromise that pushes Obama toward the nomination.

Puerto Rico Democratic Primary is won by Hillary Clinton

Final Primary in Democratic Primary season is held in Montana and is won by Barack Obama

With the race over, Hillary Clinton officially concedes and effectively ends her presidential bid.

Barack Obama becomes the presumptive nominee for the Democratic Party and forms a Vice Presidential Selection committee

NBC Washington Bureau chief and “Meet the Press” moderator Tim Russert dies at age 58

Tony Snow, former White House Press Secretary for George W. Bush, news anchor and radio host, dies at age 53 of colon cancer.  He had been involved in almost every aspect of the media during his long career

Senator Barack Obama begins his tour of the Middle East and Europe with his first stop in Afghanistan.  The Senator meets with US military officials and heads of state in the countries he visits, which include Kuwait, Iraq, Jordan, Israel, Germany, France and Britain

The 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, China take place.  Controversy of the air quality plagues the Chinese government even as the world welcomes the event

Senator Barack Obama announces that Senator Joe Biden from Delaware, the Chairman of the Senator Foreign Relations Committee, as his running mate

The Democratic National Convention takes place in Denver, Colorado

Senator John McCain announces that Alaska Governor Sarah Palin as his running mate

The Republican National Convention takes place in Minneapolis-Saint Paul, Minnesota

Due in part to the spiraling mortgage market and to the failure of investment and Lehman Brothers, the U.S. stock markets take their worst plunge since the September 11th terrorist attacks in 2001.  The drop leads to the bailout of insurance company AIG and then a plan by Fed chairman Ben Bernanke and Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson to bailout many more banks

The first presidential debate takes place at the University of Mississippi with a focus on foreign policy

The vice presidential debate takes place at Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri

After passing through Congress, President Bush signs a $700 billion economic bailout bill

The Dow Jones industrial average closes below 10,000 for the first time since October 26, 2004

The second presidential debate takes place at Belmont University in Nashville, Tennessee with a town hall format

After moving closer to a compromise on a nuclear deal, the US State Department removes Nourth Korea from its list of sponsors of terrorism

The last presidential debate takes place at Hofstra University in Hempstead, New York with a domestic policy focus

Retired General and former Secretary of State under President George W. Bush, Colin Powell, endorses Barack Obama for President

Alaska Personnel Board releases report stating that Republican Vice Presidential candidate and Alaskan Governor Sarah Palin did not violate any laws with regards to the termination of Public Safety Commissioner Walter Monegan. A previous report by a separate legislative investigation found that she did, however, abuse her office.

Barack Obama is elected the 44th President of the United States with 364 electoral votes to John McCain’s 163. Over 122 million votes are cast. Democrats in the House pick up 19 seats to widen their majority to 255 to 174. Senate Democrats win 6 seats to give them a 57 to 40 majority.

President-elect Barack Obama hires Representative Rahm Emanuel as his White House Chief of Staff

The US Bureau of Labor Statistics reports an increase in the unemployment rate from 6.1% to 6.5%, a 14-year high, and that 240,000 Americans lost their jobs in October.

President-elect Barack Obama holds his first press conference, stating that his first action as President will be to pass a stimulus package, unless Congress passes one before he takes office.