page_title: Bob Barr 2008 presidential campaign
section_title: Early stages
hierarchical_section_title: Bob Barr 2008 presidential campaign / Early stages
caption_attribution_description: These photos were taken at the Ron Paul: Rally for the Republic on September 2, 2008 at or near the Target Center, Minneapolis, Minnesota.
context_page_description: The 2008 presidential campaign of Bob Barr, former Congressman of Georgia began on May 12, 2008. He announced his candidacy for the Libertarian Party's presidential after months of grassroots draft efforts. Barr was criticized by Libertarians who opposed his efforts in Congress, which included a vote in favor of the USA PATRIOT Act and authorization of the War in Iraq, but he was supported by others who accepted his regret for the votes. Barr won the party's nomination after six rounds of balloting at the 2008 Libertarian Party National Convention. Former contender Wayne Allyn Root was named as his running mate. Reason magazine senior editor Radley Balko called Barr "the first serious candidate the LP has run since I've been eligible to vote."
  In the general election, Barr hoped to portray himself as a conservative alternative to the Republican nominee John McCain. He emphasized his opposition to the Republican Party for its positions on the War in Iraq and the USA PATRIOT Act, but stood as an advocate for border security and fiscal constraint, demonstrated by his opposition to the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008.
context_section_description: On March 19, 2008, Barr confirmed his interest in running for president. This coincided with the media acknowledging a movement on Facebook encouraging the former Congressman to begin a campaign. Barr talked about a widespread "dissatisfaction with the candidates for the two major parties" but complimented presidential candidate and Republican Congressman Ron Paul for "advocat[ing] libertarian and true conservative principles". Pollster John Zogby commented that a possible Barr candidacy would be potentially upsetting for Republicans, and described his possible supporters as individuals who saw him "as a consistent libertarian who opposed the PATRIOT Act, budget deficits and gun control." Later in the month, Barr stated that he was "looking very seriously at" a presidential run.
  Barr launched an exploratory committee and created a campaign website on April 5, 2008. Within two days, the committee reported that $25,000 had been contributed. Russ Verney, who had served as an adviser to Ross Perot in the 1992 and 1996 presidential elections, joined the campaign as a volunteer adviser and worked with Barr's consulting firm, Liberty Strategies LLC, to form a campaign team and build an organization. Verney became the campaign manager after Barr officially announced his candidacy. A poll in late April by Barr's exploratory committee showed that Barr had the support of 7% of the electorate before he had officially declared his candidacy. Leading up to Barr's announcement, columnist George Will wrote an article in Newsweek chronicling the Libertarian Party and the potential candidate's run. Will stated that Barr could have an effect on the election similar to Ralph Nader's in 2000. He described the potential effect as a "condign punishment" for presumptive Republican Party nominee John McCain for his co-sponsorship of the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act of 2002, which Barr opposed.
caption: Closeup of Barr
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