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Obama won North Carolina by a margin of 56 percent to 42
percent. Clinton won Indiana with 51 percent of the vote to
Obama's 49 percent.
The "results solidified the status quo in the Democratic
race," the Washington Post reported, leaving Obama with
a clear advantage because of his lead in delegates.
Others saw it as an important step forward for Obama, and
proof that he could weather recent controversies that have
plagued his campaign.
"Once Obama won big tonight in North Carolina, he stopped
her momentum train and picked up some serious steam of his
own,'' Jenny Backus, a Democratic strategist not affiliated
with either campaign told Bloomberg News.
Obama secured the support of at least another 94 delegates
to the convention in Denver this summer, moving him within
200 delegates of the nomination, according to the Associated
Press. Clinton won the support of at least 75 delegates.
Both campaigns said they would carry on, taking aim at the
28 delegates at stake May 13 in West Virginia.
Racial divide
The win in North Carolina
was Obama's first since remarks made by his former pastor that
were seen as unpatriotic and inflammatory made the rounds on
YouTube and the nightly news.
Nearly half of Indiana voters in the primary said the coverage
of the pastor's comments affected their vote. Clinton won about
60 percent of the white vote
In North Carolina, which has a much larger African-American
population, Obama won more than 90 percent of the black voters
and 40 percent of white voters.
Michigan and Florida
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The Clinton campaign has pressured the Democratic party
to count the results from disqualified primaries in Michigan
and Florida. |
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Even without a win in
North Carolina, Clinton vowed to continue "full speed to
the White House."
The campaign is intensifying pressure on party leaders to include
results from the disqualified primaries of Michigan and Florida.
Both states violated Democratic Party rules by holding their
primaries too early in the year. The states had hoped to increase
their influence on the nomination but were punished by the party,
which said before the vote that it would not count their delegates
at the convention.
Clinton "won" both states, but neither candidate campaigned
in the states. The Obama campaign has said the results are not
an accurate reflection of what a real vote in the states would
be, as he did not even appear on the Michigan ballot.
If all of the delegates were counted, Clinton would add 50
to her total. The Democratic National Committee will take
up the matter of Michigan and Florida at the end of May.
A unified party?
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Democrats are concerned that as their primary race continues,
it weakens the party's nominee against John McCain in
the general election. |
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Many Democrats worry a
prolonged primary will weaken the candidates going into the
November election against Republican John McCain.
Both Obama and Clinton used their victory speeches Tuesday night
to try to assuage those fears.
"Tonight, many of the pundits have suggested that this
party is inalterably divided - that Senator Clinton's supporters
will not support me, and that my supporters will not support
her," Obama said. "Well I'm here tonight to tell you
that I don't believe it."
Clinton spoke about the importance of a unified Democratic
Party defeating the Republican nominee in the fall.
"No matter what happens, I will work for the nominee
of the Democratic Party because we must win this November,"
Clinton said.
Economic worries
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A debate over whether to suspend the federal gas tax was
a major issue between Obama and Clinton immediately before
the voting in Indiana and North Carolina. |
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The one trend that has continued to build is growing concern
about the struggling American economy. Some two-thirds of
voters in Indiana and North Carolina cited the economy as
their primary issue- twice as many as in earlier contests.
One voter, Republican Mark Dexter, told the Indianapolis
Star that Clinton's proposal to lift the 18-cent federal gas
tax was a major reason for voting for her.
"Gas prices are totally out of line... From what I can see,
there's absolutely no excuse for it.," Dexter said. "I'm a
Republican. I'm just not at all happy with the current administration.
Something has got to be done."
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