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Re: Voters turn out for what could be Democrats' final round
(CNN) -- Poll workers in Indiana and North Carolina on Tuesday reported heavy turnout for two primaries that could be pivotal in the Democratic presidential nomination battle between Sens. Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama.
Turnout in the North Carolina Democratic primary was expected to reach 50 percent, according to Gary Bartlett, executive director for the North Carolina Board of Elections.
That figure would far exceed the 15 percent to 30 percent that usually turn out for a primary, he said.
The Indiana secretary of state's office will not release turnout figures until the end of the day, but Bethany Derringer, a spokeswoman for the office, said voter turnout was high.
Polling officials in Indianapolis said that they had set a record for voter turnout after being open for only six hours.
North Carolina election officials reported a minor problem in the town of Oriental after an election official failed to show up. No voting problems were reported in Indiana.
A polling station in Raleigh, North Carolina, also saw a steady stream of voters since it opened at 6:30 a.m. Tuesday.
In all, 187 delegates are at stake in Indiana and North Carolina. Clinton, the junior senator from New York, knows that the results in these two states could shake up the race.
"This primary election on Tuesday is a game changer," Clinton said. "This is going to make a huge difference in what happens going forward. The entire country, probably even a lot of the world, is looking."
Judging by the numbers, Obama is the front-runner. The Illinois senator leads in pledged delegates and in states won, and is also ahead in the popular vote, if Florida and Michigan are not factored into the equation. Those states are being penalized for moving their primaries up in violation of party rules.
With Obama ahead in all these categories, Clinton has a lot on the line in Indiana and North Carolina.
"It would be a game changer if Clinton wins both North Carolina and Indiana by double-digit margins," said Bill Schneider, CNN senior political correspondent. "That would signal to the superdelegates that Democratic voters are having serious doubts about Obama. She needs big victories because it's so late in the game."
In all, only 404 pledged delegates remain to be chosen, and Tuesday's total of 187 makes it the biggest single primary day left. Clinton would need to win 70 percent of the remaining pledged delegates to catch up with Obama.
"That's very unlikely," Schneider said. "She stands a better chance of catching up in the total popular vote."
With neither candidate expected to win the 2,025 delegates needed to clinch the Democratic nomination by June 3, the end of the primary season, the final decision will most likely fall to the 796 so-called superdelegates: Democratic governors, members of Congress and party officials.
The race in Indiana is close. The CNN Poll of Polls released Tuesday suggests Clinton has a four-point lead. The poll, which averages the latest surveys in the state, had been tied for the last week.
In North Carolina, the CNN Poll of Polls released Tuesday indicates that Obama is up by 10 points over Clinton, 51 percent to 41 percent. A poll of polls released on Monday had Obama up by only 8 points after enjoying weeks of double-digit leads.
"If Obama wins both North Carolina and Indiana, that would be a game changer, but not the one Clinton is talking about," Schneider said. "The superdelegates would take that as a signal that the voters are ready to close the deal up with Obama."
Both candidates have spent the past two weeks shuttling between Indiana and North Carolina, each arguing to crucial working-class voters that their rival is out of touch when it comes to the pocketbook issues that are dominating the campaign.
Clinton is touting her plan to repeal the federal gas tax (about 18 cents a gallon for regular unleaded) to give Americans who are facing $4-per-gallon gas prices some relief this summer.
"I think you should have some immediate relief," she said Monday. "In fact, I think it's a false choice, as my opponent and others have been trying to say: 'Oh we can't do anything in the short run to help people, we can only worry about what we do in the long run.'"
Obama calls the Clinton plan, and a similar proposal by presumptive GOP presidential nominee John McCain, a sham and pure pandering for votes.
"We can't afford to settle for a Washington where politicians only focus on how to win instead of why we should; where they check the polls before they check their gut; where they only tell us whatever we want to hear whenever we want to hear it," Obama said Monday. "That kind of politics may get them where they need to go, but it doesn't get America where we need to go. And it won't change anything."
This new disagreement over whether to repeal the federal gas tax is the latest clash in a long feud between the two rivals.
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"The price of gas is same song, different verse of a yearlong battle in which differences are few and matters of character loom large," said Candy Crowley, CNN senior political correspondent. "Fueled by strong and steady support from blue-collar workers, Clinton has to position herself as the working-class champion, and tacitly -- and sometimes openly -- she is framing Obama as out of touch with ordinary people."
"The son of a single mother who once went on the food-stamp program, Obama finds it ironic that he has been painted as an elitist," Crowley added. "Though most economists agree with him, arguing against a gas tax holiday is tricky politically."
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Re: Voters turn out for what could be Democrats' final round
I'm starting to think McCain is going to beat either candidate. The Dems have really shot themselves in the foot. Their chances have plummeted for months and I don't see how they'll right the ship. The youth vote seems to be becoming disinterested as the political games go on and Barack's speeches lose their freshness.
If McCain takes Huckabee for VP I think the Christian Right will be able to put them in office against either Dem, unless they do the super-ticket of Obama-Clinton or Clinton-Obama.
Re: Voters turn out for what could be Democrats' final round
I'm starting to think McCain is going to beat either candidate. The Dems have really shot themselves in the foot. Their chances have plummeted for months and I don't see how they'll right the ship. The youth vote seems to be becoming disinterested as the political games go on and Barack's speeches lose their freshness.
If McCain takes Huckabee for VP I think the Christian Right will be able to put them in office against either Dem, unless they do the super-ticket of Obama-Clinton or Clinton-Obama.
I'm actually starting to agree. While McCain can potentially be slaughtered in a general election, the democrats are doing everything they can NOT to win in November. Its ridiculous.
Huckabee will not secure a McCain victory. In fact, he might become to McCain what Quayle was in 92, a major liability. McCain needs to add some fresh blood to the ticket. She isn't well known and I cant even think of her name at the moment, but that woman governor in Alaska should be seriously considered by McCain as his VP. She's reasonably young, somewhat attractive, very popular in her own state, and could easily ciphon the women and youth vote from either Hillary or Obama.
The election cycle started too early, and the country is getting fed up with it. There is disenfranchisement, and its not just against the government in power, but also the process itself.
Whatever happens tonight, one of these democrats needs to drop out.
Re: Voters turn out for what could be Democrats' final round
(CNN) -- Sen. Hillary Clinton will narrowly win in Indiana, CNN projects, edging out Sen. Barack Obama by a 2-percent margin.
As polls closed in Indiana, Clinton had a double-digit lead over Obama, but by the end of the evening, Clinton's lead had shrunk, forcing the race to be dragged out until early Wednesday.
The focus of the contest shifted to Lake County, home to 8 percent of Indiana's population.
The first results from the county were heavily weighted in Obama's favor, making it seem possible Obama could close the gap, but at the end of the night, Clinton squeaked out a win.
There were 115 delegates at stake in North Carolina and 72 in Indiana.
Because Democratic delegates are awarded proportionally, Obama added four delegates to his lead, according to CNN estimates.
Obama earlier claimed a decisive victory in North Carolina.
With 99 percent of precincts reporting, Obama held a 14-point lead over Clinton.
"Some were saying that North Carolina would be a game-changer in this election. But today, what North Carolina decided is that the only game that needs changing is the one in Washington," Obama told supporters in Raleigh, North Carolina.
Obama took an overwhelming 91 percent of the black vote in North Carolina, according to exit polls, while Clinton claimed only 6 percent.
Clinton took 59 percent of the white vote compared to 36 percent for Obama, according to the polls.
Clinton told her supporters in Indianapolis, "it's full-speed on to the White House."
The senator from New York turned her attention to the upcoming contests in West Virginia, Kentucky and Oregon.
Poll workers in Indiana and North Carolina reported heavy turnout in the two primaries.
Turnout in the North Carolina Democratic primary was expected to reach 50 percent, according to Gary Bartlett, executive director for the North Carolina Board of Elections.
That figure would far exceed the 15 percent to 30 percent that usually turn out for a primary, he said.
The Indiana secretary of state's office said turnout was high throughout the day.
Indiana Secretary of State Todd Rokita said turnout looked more like a general election than a primary.
A judge ordered some polling stations in Indiana to stay open past closing time because the lines were so long.
Polling officials in Indianapolis said they had set a record for voter turnout after being open for only six hours.
According to early exit polls, half of Clinton's supporters in Indiana would not vote for Obama in a general election matchup with Sen. John McCain, the presumptive Republican presidential nominee.
A third of Clinton voters said they would pick McCain over Obama, while 17 percent said they would not vote at all. Forty-eight percent of Clinton supporters said they would back Obama in November.
Obama got even less support from Clinton backers in North Carolina where 45 percent of Clinton supporters said they would vote for him over McCain. Thirty-eight percent of Clinton supporters said they would vote for McCain while 12 percent said they would not vote.
Obama voters appear to be more willing to support Clinton in November. In Indiana, 59 percent of Obama backers said they'd vote for Clinton, and 70 percent of Obama backers in North Carolina said vote for her against McCain.
Obama on Tuesday said he didn't agree with those who said his party would not be able to unite.
"Tonight, many of the pundits have suggested that this party is inalterably divided -- that Sen. Clinton's supporters will not support me, and that my supporters will not support her," he said.
"I'm here tonight to tell you that I don't believe it. Yes, there have been bruised feelings on both sides. Yes, each side desperately wants their candidate to win. But ultimately, this race is not about Hillary Clinton or Barack Obama or John McCain.
"This election is about you -- the American people -- and whether we will have a president and a party that can lead us toward a brighter future."
Voters from both states were spilt over the controversy surrounding Obama's former pastor, the Rev. Jeremiah Wright, early exit polls suggest.
In Indiana, 49 percent of voters in the Democratic primary said the issue was not important, compared to 48 percent who said it was an important factor in their vote.
In North Carolina 50 percent of voters said the Wright controversy was important, and 48 percent said it was not.
In both states, those who said it was an important issue largely broke for Clinton, and those who said it was not backed Obama.
Obama currently leads in pledged delegates and in states won, and he is ahead in the popular vote, if Florida and Michigan are not factored into the equation. Those states are being penalized for moving their primaries up in violation of party rules.
With neither candidate expected to win the 2,025 delegates needed to clinch the Democratic nomination by June 3, the end of the primary season, the final decision will most likely fall to the 796 superdelegates: Democratic governors, members of Congress and party officials.
Both candidates have spent the past two weeks shuttling between Indiana and North Carolina, each arguing to crucial working-class voters that their rival is out of touch when it comes to the pocketbook issues that are dominating the campaign.
