2008 Woodie Awards
Presidential election nearing big day
Politics and Law Forum
Jennifer Conner
Issue date: 3/14/08 Section: Opinion
This is the first of four commentaries from the PLF that will appear in The Pacific Index this spring.
Texas voters turned out in droves to set a new attendance record for the competitive March 4 primaries and caucuses: a whopping 20 percent of registered voters managed to show up.
Voter turnout aside, the Democrats continue to battle for the presidential nomination as key wins boosted Senator Hillary Clinton's campaign, while Senator John McCain sealed the Republican nomination for president with four wins in four states.
Vermont, Rhode Island, Texas and Ohio all saw larger turnouts than average as voters gave differing victories to the Republican and Democratic candidates.
McCain's wide-margin wins awarded him enough delegates to secure the nomination and brought endorsements, including President George Bush's support. The wins officially stopped the campaign of Governor Mike Huckabee, who ended his presidential bid after the results Tuesday night.
But Democratic outcomes revealed a close race between Senator Barack Obama and Clinton. Obama won Vermont handily, while Clinton easily managed a win in Rhode Island. Ohio and Texas were both narrow victories for Clinton.
Texas has unusual policies regarding the distribution of delegates, as it has primaries and caucuses the same night. Counties with a higher voter turnout for primaries receive more delegates than smaller districts. A candidate who wins major cities can earn more delegates than a candidate who wins the popular vote.
Obama won counties home to Dallas, Austin, Houston and the caucuses, which kept his delegate count competitive with Clinton's popular vote win.
However, the pledged delegate count remains close between Obama and Clinton. Clinton only gained 12 delegates on March 4, as Democratic primaries split delegates based on the percentage of votes won. The nomination requires 2,025 delegates, and currently the Associated Press estimates Obama has 1,567 delegates and Clinton has 1,462, including pledged and superdelegates.
Analysts attribute Clinton's wins in Ohio to demographics, domestic issues and voters who decided their candidate recently. Obama maintained broad support across all demographic areas, but he found immense backing from young voters. Seventy percent of 18-24 year-olds voted for him in Ohio. However, they made up only seven percent of voters, while seniors had double the representation at 14 percent.
Overall, the results of the primaries ensure that Obama and Clinton will not easily secure the Democratic nomination. Pennsylvania is the biggest individual primary left, and the state votes April 22. Clinton and Obama will likely focus their efforts there, although Mississippi, Wyoming, and the Virgin Islands all vote before Pennsylvania.
Oregon's primary is May 20 and is only open to registered Republicans and Democrats. Voters must register by April 29 to participate.
Texas voters turned out in droves to set a new attendance record for the competitive March 4 primaries and caucuses: a whopping 20 percent of registered voters managed to show up.
Voter turnout aside, the Democrats continue to battle for the presidential nomination as key wins boosted Senator Hillary Clinton's campaign, while Senator John McCain sealed the Republican nomination for president with four wins in four states.
Vermont, Rhode Island, Texas and Ohio all saw larger turnouts than average as voters gave differing victories to the Republican and Democratic candidates.
McCain's wide-margin wins awarded him enough delegates to secure the nomination and brought endorsements, including President George Bush's support. The wins officially stopped the campaign of Governor Mike Huckabee, who ended his presidential bid after the results Tuesday night.
But Democratic outcomes revealed a close race between Senator Barack Obama and Clinton. Obama won Vermont handily, while Clinton easily managed a win in Rhode Island. Ohio and Texas were both narrow victories for Clinton.
Texas has unusual policies regarding the distribution of delegates, as it has primaries and caucuses the same night. Counties with a higher voter turnout for primaries receive more delegates than smaller districts. A candidate who wins major cities can earn more delegates than a candidate who wins the popular vote.
Obama won counties home to Dallas, Austin, Houston and the caucuses, which kept his delegate count competitive with Clinton's popular vote win.
However, the pledged delegate count remains close between Obama and Clinton. Clinton only gained 12 delegates on March 4, as Democratic primaries split delegates based on the percentage of votes won. The nomination requires 2,025 delegates, and currently the Associated Press estimates Obama has 1,567 delegates and Clinton has 1,462, including pledged and superdelegates.
Analysts attribute Clinton's wins in Ohio to demographics, domestic issues and voters who decided their candidate recently. Obama maintained broad support across all demographic areas, but he found immense backing from young voters. Seventy percent of 18-24 year-olds voted for him in Ohio. However, they made up only seven percent of voters, while seniors had double the representation at 14 percent.
Overall, the results of the primaries ensure that Obama and Clinton will not easily secure the Democratic nomination. Pennsylvania is the biggest individual primary left, and the state votes April 22. Clinton and Obama will likely focus their efforts there, although Mississippi, Wyoming, and the Virgin Islands all vote before Pennsylvania.
Oregon's primary is May 20 and is only open to registered Republicans and Democrats. Voters must register by April 29 to participate.
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