Moderators: Alyrium Denryle, Edi, K. A. Pital
By JENNIFER PARKER
Feb. 12, 2008
Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., has overwhelming defeated Senator Hillary Clinton, D-N.Y., in the Virginia primary tonight, crushing what may have been Clinton's best chance at a Potomac primary win.
On the Republican side in Virginia , Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., and former Gov. Mike Huckabee's, R-Ark., are battling in a race too close for ABC News to project.
Xisiqomelir wrote:Barack Obama thanks for doing your part to stop John McCain.
But Shep, Bush said McCain was a true conservative on Fox this past weekend...MKSheppard wrote:Xisiqomelir wrote:Barack Obama thanks for doing your part to stop John McCain.
Thank You. I probably will vote for Black Hussein Osama in the General, since neither McCain or Huckasanity appeal to me.
Come on people in the Republican party; give me a goddamn real choice, not warmed over shit, and when I complain about it; say that party unity, and keeping OMFG t3h Klintoons out of office again is more important than principles!!
So there's quite a increase in voters.Obama projected to beat Clinton in Virginia
Race between McCain, Huckabee is too close to call, NBC News says
BREAKING NEWS
NBC News and news services
updated 7:17 p.m. ET, Tues., Feb. 12, 2008
WASHINGTON - Sen. Barack Obama was projected to add to his string of recent victories with a substantial triumph over Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton in Virginia’s Democratic presidential primary, NBC News reported Tuesday.
In the Republican primary, NBC said the race between Sen. John McCain and former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee was too close to call.
Voters in Maryland and the District of Columbia also were going to the polls Tuesday.
With 168 delegates at stake on Tuesday, Obama hoped to build on the lead that he has gained on Clinton in the past week in NBC News' delegate count.
Interviews with voters leaving the polls showed Obama, who is hoping to become the first black president, winning the votes of nine in 10 black voters in Virginia, where they were about a third of the electorate. That offset Clinton's support among white women, six in 10 of whom voted for her.
But overall Obama won among both men and women, even winning among white men.
Obama won the votes of eight in 10 Virginia Democrats under age 30. He did better than Clinton in nearly every age group, although Clinton had stronger support among older voters. The two candidates were about even among senior citizens. Obama won the votes of six in 10 white voters under age 50, while Clinton won six in 10 white voters over age 50.
The surveys were conducted by Edison Media Research and Mitofsky International for NBC News, the other television networks and The Associated Press. No survey was conducted in the District of Columbia.
The Illinois senator won a string of contests in all regions of the country over the weekend, routing Clinton in a Louisiana primary as well as caucuses in Nebraska, Washington state and Maine.
Many new voters in Virginia
In Virginia, the parties were holding binding primaries on the same day for the first time.
Turnout was described as heavy across the state, with waits as long as 90 minutes in the Richmond area, NBC affiliate WWBT reported. State election officials said they expected even longer lines in the evening as people showed up to vote after work.
More than a third of voters in the Virginia Democratic primary said they had not voted in a primary before, as did almost one in five voters in the Maryland Democratic primary, according to the exit interviews.
In the Roanoke area of southwest Virginia, there was some confusion after a weekend wind storm knocked out electricity to about 50 polling places.
Susan Pollard, a spokeswoman for the state Board of Elections, said the board worked with utility companies to get power restored to as many polling places as possible, but eight had to be moved at the last minute.
In Baltimore, where Obama was expected to do especially well, NBC affiliate WBAL quoted city and county officials as describing the turnout as “slow and steady.” Statewide, Maryland elections administrator Linda Lamone projected an overall turnout of 39 percent, with 44 percent turnout for the Democratic primary and 29 percent for the Republicans.
Icy winter weather in the region threw a wild card into the mix.
Hagerstown, in northern Maryland near the border with Pennsylvania, was under a winter weather advisory. A messy mix of freezing rain, sleet and snow was making travel difficult and closing numerous schools, NBC affiliate WHAG reported.
Washington also reported freezing rain, but turnout did not appear to be affected. NBC affiliate WRC said officials were reporting heavy turnout.
A united ticket?
The final Maine returns had not been tallied when Clinton's campaign manager announced she was stepping down. Coming several days after the former first lady lent her own campaign $5 million, it was a fresh indication of the trouble the one-time front-runner is having fighting off Obama's strong challenge for the nomination.
Aides to the former first lady concede she is in the midst of a difficult period in which she could lose 10 straight contests. She is hoping to rebound on March 4, in primaries in Ohio and Texas, states where both candidates have already begun television advertising.
In fact, while still in Virginia on Tuesday, Clinton did satellite interviews with 10 TV stations in Ohio, Texas and Wisconsin, calling for more debates and addressing regional concerns such as the economy in Ohio and immigration in Texas.
Asked about the possibility of sharing the November ticket with Obama, she said it was too soon to talk about such things, but in an interview with WTMJ in Milwaukee she echoed the comment her rival has been making about her: "I have the highest regard for him. He was my friend before this started, and he will be my friend going into the future."
Obama began the night with 958 delegates, to 904 for Clinton, according to NBC News counts that do not include super delegates. Both candidates are far from the 2,025 needed to win the nomination at the Democratic National Convention this summer.
McCain looks for Republican rebound
Among Republicans, McCain , the far-away front-runner, hoped to rebound in Maryland, Virginia and the District of Columbia from a poor weekend showing. There were 116 GOP delegates at stake.
McCain lost caucuses in Kansas and a primary in Louisiana on Saturday to Huckabee , his last remaining major rival. He won caucuses in Washington state.
The NBC News count showed McCain with 724 delegates. Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, who dropped out of the race last week, had 278. Huckabee had 234 and Texas Rep. Ron Paul had 14.
It takes 1,191 delegates to clinch the nomination, and McCain appears to be on track to reach the target by late April.
Obama has campaigned before huge crowds in recent days, and far outspent his rival on television advertising in the states participating in the regional primary in Maryland, Virginia and the District of Columbia.
He began airing commercials in the region more than a week ago, and spent an estimated $1.4 million. Clinton began hers last Friday, at a cost estimated at $210,000.
With Clinton facing a series of possible defeats, and Obama riding a wave of momentum, the two camps debated which contender is more likely to defeat McCain in the general election.
An Associated Press-Ipsos poll found Obama with a narrow lead over the Arizona senator in a potential match-up, and Clinton running about even.
"We bring in voters who haven't given Democrats a chance" in the past, said Obama pollster Cornell Belcher, citing support from independents.
Mark Penn, Clinton's chief strategist, countered that she holds appeal for women voters and Hispanics. "Hillary Clinton has a coalition of voters well-suited to winning the general election," he said.
Stravo wrote:But Shep, Bush said McCain was a true conservative on Fox this past weekend...
Fine! Edit your own posts!Stravo wrote:EDITED FOR STUPID BRAINFART
Now, the parties would never go for this (:roll:), but what if we did away entirely with the primary system and simply let all the candidates who register run for the election proper? That way, we could at least have an honest-to-God field of candidates instead of two candidates whittled down by party machinery and back-door politics. I would much prefer to have eight or twelve candidates to choose from in November instead of the two candidates I'll get, just on general principle.Stravo wrote:WTF?! In other words, let's give those states with early primaries an even bigger voice because, you know, it sucks to have an primary process that still counts for something for states down the road. And more importantly it smells of "We didn't get the results we wanted so let's make sure this shit doesn't happen again."
Pfft. Next you'll be asking for a simple popular vote with no delegates at all in the general election.Surlethe wrote:Now, the parties would never go for this (:roll:), but what if we did away entirely with the primary system and simply let all the candidates who register run for the election proper? That way, we could at least have an honest-to-God field of candidates instead of two candidates whittled down by party machinery and back-door politics. I would much prefer to have eight or twelve candidates to choose from in November instead of the two candidates I'll get, just on general principle.Stravo wrote:WTF?! In other words, let's give those states with early primaries an even bigger voice because, you know, it sucks to have an primary process that still counts for something for states down the road. And more importantly it smells of "We didn't get the results we wanted so let's make sure this shit doesn't happen again."
Such forward thinking is dangerous, and HIGHLY un-American.FSTargetDrone wrote:Pfft. Next you'll be asking for a simple popular vote with no delegates at all in the general election.
PRFYNAFBTFCP It would be fascinating to know how those people voted when all of the numbers are in.Chardok wrote:Holy crap, look at the "Never voted before" 71% Goddamn, people who have NEVER voted are turning out in droves for this guy. THAT is some energizing shit, there.
Sorry, I meant to say, "It would be fascinating to know how those people voted in each of the primaries tonight when all of the numbers are in."FSTargetDrone wrote:It would be fascinating to know how those people voted when all of the numbers are in.Chardok wrote:Holy crap, look at the "Never voted before" 71% Goddamn, people who have NEVER voted are turning out in droves for this guy. THAT is some energizing shit, there.
BREAKING NEWS
NBC News and news
updated 1 minute ago
WASHINGTON - Sen. Barack Obama was projected to win Democratic presidential primaries in Virginia and the District of Columbia on Tuesday, NBC News reported, adding to his string of recent victories over Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton.
Hurry up dammit! I'm counting on other Obama supporters getting their shit together in time for the primary, while the rest of PA (who usually doesn't even need to bother showing up for the primary, 49th in the nation) sits with their thumb up their ass. Get the lead out!FSTargetDrone wrote:In any case, I have to change my affiliation soon. As a registered Independent, I am locked out of voting in Pennsylvania's Primary and the change has to be done 30 days ahead of time.
Hee. I'm getting the form online right now.Turin wrote:Hurry up dammit! I'm counting on other Obama supporters getting their shit together in time for the primary, while the rest of PA (who usually doesn't even need to bother showing up for the primary, 49th in the nation) sits with their thumb up their ass. Get the lead out!
