The candidate announces their intention to run.
He was the first President.
obama
Yes, he won the election and became the first African-American president of the US.
The first presidential election was in 1788 and George Washington won and became the president of the United States. He ran unopposed.
For the first few elections, what happened was the winner became president and the runner-up (2nd place) became vice-president. This resulted in either two different parties in office, or a divided party in the election. The 12th Amendment addressed the problem.
The general election for President and Vice President is always held on the first Tuesday in November. The upcoming election in 2008 will be on Tuesday, November 4.
Johnson
James Polk was the first president who did not seek re-election after serving his first term in office. Other presidents before him did not serve two terms, but they sought re-election and failed to get it.
nomination of candidates
If Washington has refused to be president, bast guess is that John Adams who finished second in the first election would have won the first election.
The first U.S. presidential election was in 1789. George Washington was elected as the first president of the United States.
President Warren Harding was the first American president to be elected with the support of female voters. The election was in 1920. Harding was the Republican representative in the presidential election for that term.