Though Baldwin was not included on many mainstream polls, a May 2008
Fox News opinion poll revealed favorable news for the campaign. It showed that 47% of the public were open to voting for a third-party presidential candidate such as Baldwin, compared to 39% who were not. Moreover, a
Zogby poll discovered that 42% of conservatives (whom the Baldwin campaign targeted) said they would never vote for the presumptive Republican presidential nominee John McCain and found that 86% of "very conservative" respondents were displeased. Baldwin expressed his own discontent with the Republican Party in a May 22 interview with
Montana News. He expressed frustration with
evangelicals who "coalesc[e] around John McCain" despite his "twenty-plus year track record of liberal policies." Baldwin highlighted
globalism as the main threat to the nation stating that "Immigration, the
U.N....,
NATO,
NAFTA,
CAFTA, the
North American Union, the
Superhighway, the
war in Iraq,
China's threat to our peace...are connected"
Growing media interest The campaign also increased a drive for ballot access, appealing to supporters for help to get on the presidential ballot in
Pennsylvania,
Massachusetts,
Maryland, and
West Virginia. The campaign began in August by announcing its plans to participate in a demonstration against illegal immigration in
Denver during the
Democratic National Convention. Baldwin was joined by Bob Barr, Alan Keyes and Tom Tancredo at the "Rally Against Illegal Immigration" during the first day of the convention. Later in August, Baldwin campaigned in
Spartanburg, South Carolina where he criticized both parties' presidential nominees as "globalists". He declared his opposition to the
Federal Reserve, which he stated has "subjugated" the nation to "foreign dependence". He railed against the use of the
National Guard in the Iraq War remarking that the forces should be used to "repel" the "invasion" of illegal aliens from the southern border, and described the
United Nations as "a sinister organization run by
Marxists,
socialists and
communists." Baldwin criticized both major parties for not cutting
spending stating that "the only difference between Democrats and Republicans is Democrats want to tax and spend and Republicans want to borrow and spend." He promised that slashing spending would be a priority in his administration. On September 10, Baldwin appeared on the
Lou Dobbs Tonight television program on
CNN where he proclaimed that if elected president he would release U.S. Border agents
Jose Compean and
Ignacio Ramos. The agents were sentenced to 11 and 12-year terms in prison, respectively, after shooting a
drug smuggler on the
US-Mexico border. Baldwin promised he would release the men during his first day on the job as president.
Final stages In October, Baldwin was interviewed by
NPR where he discussed his opposition to the Federal Reserve, which he described as a "fraudulent system" and which he blamed for the
2008 financial crisis. He attacked Republicans for "reneg[ing] on their promises" in 1994's
Contract with America to "eliminate five federal departments, such as Department of Education, Energy, Commerce..." and to "slash spending." He also criticized Republicans' failure to criminalize abortion during their years in government. As president Baldwin stated he would eliminate the IRS and cut government spending as well. He stated that the "responsibility of government [is] to protect life, even life in the womb." Baldwin participated in a third party debate with Independent candidate
Ralph Nader on October 23, broadcast on
CSPAN-2. During the debate, Baldwin often agreed with Nader on as wide-ranging issues as corporations and the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. He stood in solidarity with Nader in expressing the need to open the presidential debates to third-party candidates. He emphasized his connections to Congressman Ron Paul throughout the debate, even suggesting that as president he would appoint "somebody like Ron Paul" as
United States Secretary of Treasury. He articulated his opposition to the
USA PATRIOT Act and questioned how an ideological conservative could support the legislation. But, he marked a disagreement with Nader on health care, criticizing government involvement in favor of free market solutions but with use of regulation to lower
health care costs. Baldwin stated that if elected his first priority would be to secure the border. Throughout the debate Baldwin repeated his party's pro-life platform and support for the right to bear arms. On election day, Baldwin was on ballot in 37 states. He was a write-in candidate in eleven additional states including
Montana where Ron Paul was listed as the party's nominee. Baldwin was completely absent from ballots in
Oklahoma,
North Carolina and the
District of Columbia.
Results Baldwin's campaign ended after receiving 199,314 or 0.15% of the popular vote on Election Day. He finished in fifth place, but won the largest percentage of votes for his party since
Howard Phillips in
1996. 14,865 of his votes were won in Michigan, but he won his largest percentage in Utah with 1.26% of the state's votes. ==Aftermath==