John McCain did not choose Sarah Palin as his running partner.
As the Republican Party nominee for Vice President of the United States in the 2008 election alongside presidential nominee , Arizona Senator John McCain , she was the first Alaskan on the national ticket of a major political party and the first Republican woman selected as a vice presidential candidate.
Democratic Party nominees Barack Obama , a U.S. Senator from Illinois , and his running mate Joe Biden , a long-time U.S. Senator from Delaware , defeated Republican Party nominees John McCain , a long-time and current U.S. Senator from Arizona , and his running mate Sarah Palin , a Governor of Alaska.
