This article is about African-American candidates for President of the United States. The article covers only candidates from major parties (including one who briefly left one of the major parties to run). On November 4, 2008, U.S. Senator Barack Obama (D-IL) was elected president of the United States. He was the first African American to win a presidential election and the first African American to serve as president of the United States. He was re-elected as president in 2012.