07 May 2008
Big Win in North Carolina Expands Obama’s Lead
Each candidate claims a Democratic primary victory May 6
Washington -- Primary voters in Indiana and North Carolina put Democrat Barack Obama closer to his party’s presidential nomination, despite a loss in the May 6 Indiana primary. With few nominating contests left and Obama’s lead growing, political experts predict it will be difficult for Hillary Clinton to earn the nomination.
In a speech celebrating his victory in the North Carolina Democratic primary, Obama congratulated Clinton “on what appears to be her victory in the great state of Indiana,” but hours later political experts questioned whether the Illinois senator had congratulated her prematurely.
With record numbers of Indiana voters turning out to participate in the state’s first Democratic primary since 1968 that could affect the presidential nomination, counting votes was a slow process.
The first Indiana counties to report when the polls closed at 6 p.m. indicated Clinton would win the most votes in the state, but early results tend to come from sparsely populated rural areas where she has done well.
As results came in from urban areas and college campuses, Clinton’s lead narrowed. When the final count was reported from Lake County -- a northwestern county that neighbors Obama’s hometown of Chicago and has a sizable African-American population, Clinton's lead held, by 22,400 votes of more than 1.25 million votes cast.
Some political pundits characterized Clinton’s two-percentage-point win in Indiana as a loss. Even though she received the most votes, she will earn only a handful more of the state’s 72 delegates than Obama. Democratic Party rules require delegates to be awarded proportionally.
Clinton’s narrow win in Indiana paired with Obama’s comfortable margin of victory in North Carolina -- 14 percentage points -- expanded Obama’s lead over Clinton.
North Carolina awarded 115 pledged delegates. According to the Green Papers, an organization that tracks the awarding of delegates, Obama will receive 66 of the delegates while Clinton will earn 49.
In North Carolina, many new voters showed up at the polls -- about 270,000 citizens registered to vote for the first time in 2008. Exit polls indicated almost two-thirds of them favored Obama. The Illinois senator also did well among African Americans, who make up about one-third of North Carolina’s Democratic voters: 90 percent of North Carolina African Americans voted for Obama.
In addition to casting votes for presidential nominees, North Carolina voters were also selecting candidates for the U.S. Senate and governor.
The Green Papers reported Obama had 1589.5 pledged delegates compared to Clinton’s 1427.5 pledged delegates as of the morning of May 7. (Democrats Abroad and some U.S. territories award delegates in half-vote increments so that more delegates can attend the national convention.)
As of May 7, 247 superdelegates have said they intend to vote for Obama and 268 superdelegates have said they will vote for Clinton. Superdelegates are elected officials and party leaders who can cast their ballot for any candidate they choose.
Obama remains short of the 2,025 delegates needed to be the party’s nominee.
CANDIDATES SPEAK ABOUT PARTY UNITY
Arizona John McCain has been campaigning as the Republican Party’s presumed nominee for more than two months while Obama and Clinton continue to vie for the Democratic nomination. As that battle continues, some Democrats have expressed concern that the competition between Obama and Clinton could divide the party, making it easier for McCain to win in November.
Both candidates tried to allay these fears in their post-primary speeches May 6.
“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 in North Carolina. “Well I'm here tonight to tell you that I don't believe it.”
“This primary season may not be over, but when it is … we intend to march forward as one Democratic Party,” Obama said.
Speaking in Indiana, Clinton, who said her campaign is “full speed onto the White House,” also agreed that the party would unite for the general election.
“I can assure you … that no matter what happens, I will work for the nominee of the Democratic Party, because we must win in November,” Clinton said. “I know that Senator Obama feels the same way.”
The next nominating contests are West Virginia, Oregon, Kentucky and Puerto Rico in May and early June. The last states to hold primaries will be Montana and South Dakota on June 3. Based on past nominating contest results, political experts favor Clinton to win in West Virginia, Kentucky and Puerto Rico, but say Obama has an advantage in Oregon, Montana and South Dakota.
