05 March 2008
John McCain Wins Enough Delegates To Become Republican Nominee
Democratic race continues as Clinton wins popular vote in three of four states
Washington -- After Americans in Texas, Ohio, Rhode Island and Vermont voted in primaries March 4, Arizona Senator John McCain earned enough delegates to become the presumptive Republican nominee for president.
McCain received the majority of the votes in all four states and now has more than the 1,191 delegates needed to secure the Republican nomination. He does not officially become the party’s nominee until delegates cast their votes at the Republican National Convention in September.
Speaking in Texas alongside a banner displaying the number “1,191,” McCain told his supporters, “I am very pleased to note that tonight, my friends, we have won enough delegates to claim with confidence, humility and a sense of great responsibility that I will be the Republican nominee for president of the United States.”
McCain, who had sought the Republican nomination in 2000, initially was viewed as a favorite to win the nomination in 2008. But over the summer of 2007, his numbers sank in the polls and his funds diminished, leaving many political experts to say that McCain’s campaign was hopeless.
With the Republican nomination secure, McCain focused on the upcoming general election.
“The contest begins tonight,” he said. “It will have its ups and downs. But we will fight every minute of every day to make certain we have a government that is as capable, wise, brave and decent as the great people we serve.”
Former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee also spoke to supporters in Texas where he ended his campaign, which he called a “journey of a lifetime.”
Huckabee told supporters that he called McCain to congratulate him on his victory. "I extended to him not only my congratulations but my commitment to him and to the party to do everything possible to unite our party," he said.
Democratic candidates Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama also congratulated McCain on his victory.
DEMOCRATIC RACE CONTINUES
As has been the case in many Democratic contests this year, record turnouts were reported at many precincts in the delegate-rich states of Ohio and Texas.
Record turnout was reported at many Ohio precincts, despite flooding and icy streets in various parts of the state. A handful of polling places had to be moved because of floods, and voters at a few sites cast their ballots during power outages. A federal judge allowed polls in some counties to extend their hours to accommodate voters.
New York Senator Clinton, who lost the last 11 Democratic nominating contests, won Ohio by 10 percent.
“For everyone in America who has been counted out but refused to be knocked out, and for everyone who has stumbled but stood right back up and for everyone who works hard and never gives up, this one is for you,” she told supporters in that state.
“We’re going on, we’re going strong and we’re going all the way,” Clinton said.
In Texas, where Democrats could participate in both a primary and a caucus, turnout was also very high. The 2008 contest marked the first election since 1968 in which Texan Democrats cast their ballots before a candidate had acquired enough delegate votes to secure the party’s nomination. (See “Texas Democrats Encouraged To Vote Twice.”)
Long lines of voters were reported at primary polling places across the state, meaning that many sites had to stay open late to allow those in line by the set closing time to vote. Caucuses could not begin until primary sites closed, making counting votes a slow process. After hours of counting, Clinton won the primary with about 51 percent of the vote.
In Texas, two-thirds of delegates are awarded based on primary results, while the remaining third are awarded from the caucuses. As of the morning of March 5 only 36 percent of the caucus votes had been counted, with Obama slightly leading with 52 percent of the vote. It remains unclear which candidate will earn more delegates from Texas.
Obama and Clinton each won one of the day’s small-state Democratic contests by large margins. Voters favored Obama by about 22 percentage points in Vermont while Clinton won Rhode Island by about 18 percentage points.
Democrats award their delegates proportionally, so when the final delegate counts are tallied, both candidates are likely to have earned similar numbers of delegates.
“No matter what happens tonight we have the same delegate lead we had this morning and we are on our way to winning this nomination,” Obama told his supporters in Texas before the results of the primary were determined early March 5. Obama held a lead of approximately 100 delegates prior to March 4.
The candidates now will focus on the next contests: the Wyoming caucuses March 8 and the Mississippi primary March 11. The next major contest, with 158 delegates at stake, is Pennsylvania on April 22, and both candidates are likely to spend a great deal of time there in the coming weeks.
