Posted: March 11, 2008 7:56 PM
Obama Projected to Coast to Victory in Miss. Primary
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Illinois Sen. Barack Obama easily won Tuesday’s open primary in Mississippi, the Associated Press and other news networks projected.
About 25 minutes after polls closed, Obama was projected to win — the Illinois senator was heavily favored in polls going into the contest. But the Democratic primary was one of the most racially divided of all the party’s contests this year, according to exit polls.
Nine in 10 black voters were backing Obama while seven in 10 whites were voting for rival New York Sen. Hillary Clinton, according to exit polling done for the AP. Obama apparently gained the edge because those voting in the primary were split about evenly between the two races.
In just two other states — Alabama and Arkansas, where Clinton was once first lady — did more than seven in 10 whites support her. Four in 10 black Mississippi voters said race was important in choosing their candidate. Of that group, nine in 10 supported Obama. Among whites, a quarter said race was in important factor in deciding their vote. Nine in 10 of them voted for Clinton.
More than six in 10 voters said they’d be content with either candidate as the eventual nominee, with only a bit more saying they would be satisfied with Obama.
With the win, Obama was expected to regain some of the delegate lead he lost to Clinton in last week’s contests in Ohio and Texas. The two will divvy up the state’s 33 pledged delegates.
Obama began Tuesday with 1,579 delegates, to 1,473 for Clinton, according to the AP. It takes 2,025 to win the nomination.
After Obama won Saturday’s Wyoming caucuses, both Democrats focused their campaigning in Mississippi. The whole Clinton family made appearances in the state and her campaign aired both TV and radio ads on Monday. Obama’s campaign opened more campaign offices across the state in addition to TV and radio ads.
In the days before Tuesday’s primary, Clinton managed to narrow Obama’s commanding polling lead in Mississippi by 8 points, according to American Research Group.
Even so, former President Bill Clinton lowered expectations for his wife’s campaign over the weekend. “We got started late,” he said, according to Time magazine. “We started behind organizationally.”
MSNBC political analysts hypothesized that Obama might be able to put Mississippi in play for Democrats in the general election with the overwhelming support of black voters.
“Take a look at Alabama (Obama won it by 14 points), Georgia (by 35 points), Louisiana (by 21 points) and South Carolina (by 28 points), and you’ll get an idea about Obama’s likely margin of victory.”
But Republican National Committee spokesman Alex Conant tried to nip that idea in the bud.
He might enjoy some demographic advantages, but he’d have a tough time aligning with Mississippi’s voters ideologically, Conant said.
“It hasn’t gone Democrat in over 30 years,” he said.
After a frenzied front-loaded primary season, political junkies will have to wait 42 days before the next contest in Pennsylvania on April 22.
And of course, Indiana, North Carolina, West Virginia, Kentucky, Oregon, Puerto Rico, Montana and South Dakota will all hold primaries after the Keystone State.
-- By , NewsHour with Jim Lehrer | Comments | Link
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Why hasn't newshour adjusted the results in Texas to reflect Obama's overall delegate win 99 Obama, 95 Clinton?
The Republicans may very well be in fior a rude surprise.
Let's stay tuned to PBS...!
Why wouldn't anybody have a problem with the fact that somebody who lost the popular election in a state (or 2) still ended up with more pledged candiates because of idiotic primary rules that are meaningless in a November General Election. Furthermore, why doesn't anybody have issue with the fact that people who caucused in Texas essentially voted twice? Must be the old Chicago mottoe - vote early and vote often. Who caucused? For the most part young people, becasue tehy have no familial commitments and they have no work commitments. THose of us who did our duty of voting in the primary, did not all have the leisure to hang around a polling station til 10 or 12 at night to vote for somebody we already voted for once. YOu can scream and deny it, but how else would you explain losing the popular election, but winning the caucus. We also wont talk about the huge contingent of Republicans who turned out in Harris County to vote for Obama because they despise Hllary. Bottom line? Obama cannot win November.
Why wouldn't anybody have a problem with the fact that somebody who lost the popular election in a state (or 2) still ended up with more pledged candiates because of idiotic primary rules that are meaningless in a November General Election. Furthermore, why doesn't anybody have issue with the fact that people who caucused in Texas essentially voted twice? Must be the old Chicago mottoe - vote early and vote often. Who caucused? For the most part young people, becasue tehy have no familial commitments and they have no work commitments. THose of us who did our duty of voting in the primary, did not all have the leisure to hang around a polling station til 10 or 12 at night to vote for somebody we already voted for once. YOu can scream and deny it, but how else would you explain losing the popular election, but winning the caucus. We also wont talk about the huge contingent of Republicans who turned out in Harris County to vote for Obama because they despise Hllary. Bottom line? Obama cannot win November.