Obama Sweeps Virginia, DC, And Maryland!
While the Virginia GOP race is still close, CNN is projecting Arizona Senator John McCain will capture the southern state, with Obama snatching up Virginia, the District of Columbia, and Maryland. Another great day for this audacious Black man trying to change the world.
Voters today participated in the so-called "Potomac primaries" -- named for the river that separates Virginia and Maryland and flows past the nation's capital. High turnout reported in these large swaths of African Americans could not be denied by Camp Billary, as the once presumptive Democratic nominee from New York downplays Obama's string of victories over the last few days.
Right now, Obama has bested Hillary Clinton in all five of the Democratic contests of late. Apparently this is causing many a superdelegate to lean his way, including House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. And who could blame her. If Barack wins, Pelosi solidifies her position as being the most powerful woman in the world who doesn't have to share that tiara with Queen Hillary. It may sound petty, but don't think for one minute that these politicos don't roll like that.
Voters today participated in the so-called "Potomac primaries" -- named for the river that separates Virginia and Maryland and flows past the nation's capital. High turnout reported in these large swaths of African Americans could not be denied by Camp Billary, as the once presumptive Democratic nominee from New York downplays Obama's string of victories over the last few days.
Right now, Obama has bested Hillary Clinton in all five of the Democratic contests of late. Apparently this is causing many a superdelegate to lean his way, including House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. And who could blame her. If Barack wins, Pelosi solidifies her position as being the most powerful woman in the world who doesn't have to share that tiara with Queen Hillary. It may sound petty, but don't think for one minute that these politicos don't roll like that.
And what about White men? According to ABC News, they too have a serious crush on Obama.
Virginia election officials saw 30 to 40 percent higher turnout for the state's primaries. High turnout was also reported in the northern part of the state and in Richmond and Charlottesville, according to Virginia Board of Elections spokeswoman Susan Pollard. Mark Coakley, the general register for Henrico County said the turnout in his Richmond-area county was record breaking. "It's our first ever-dual primary so regardless it would be record breaking," he said.
At an Alexandria, Virginia, polling station, election officials said they also saw a steady turnout. "We're getting good, consistent turnout. We started out with over 20 people at the gate when we opened up the doors at 6 a.m.," election official Chris Tatem said. "We're averaging maybe a hundred an hour of people that push through here, which is good."
High winds swept through the state on Sunday and Monday knocking out power in some areas and forcing some polling stations to relocate. The storms knocked out power to 50 stations, election officials said, but power had been restored to all but eight of them. Generators were used to restore power at some locations. As a result, Maryland kept there polls open for additional ninety minutes.
District election officials did not give an estimate of overall turnout, but two precincts in Washington ran out of ballots, according to Bill O'Field, a spokesman for the District Board of Elections.
Several other precincts had to have more ballots delivered due to higher-than-expected turnout. The demographics in Tuesday's primaries suggest Obama could pull off a political hat trick over Clinton. However, the senator from New York said Obama's recent success doesn't faze her because future primaries will swing her way.
Right now we're looking at 238 Democratic delegates and 119 total GOP delegates at stake tongiht. In total delegates, Clinton tops Obama 1,157 to 1,145, according to CNN estimates. The breakdown paints a slightly different picture, as Obama leads 989 to 923 in pledged delegates, and Clinton is winning among superdelegates 234 to 156.
Superdelegates, a group of almost 800 Democratic Party officials and leaders, are not required to make their votes public and are free to change their minds.
In the Republican race, the question is whether McCain can start to unify the Republican party behind his all-but-certain nomination.
McCain is leading the only other Republican candidate in the race, Huckabee, 723 to 217 in total delegates, according to CNN estimates. A GOP candidate needs 1,191 delegates to secure the nomination. But Huckabee is coming off a big win Saturday in Kansas, where he won by double digits, and another narrower win in Louisiana.
McCain edged out the former Arkansas governor in the Washington caucuses, but Huckabee is questioning the result. Huckabee has done well with Christian conservatives and rural voters, and McCain's performance last weekend suggests the GOP, particularly conservative voters, are not quite ready to unite behind him.
McCain, however, scoffed at the notion that the former Arkansas governor could close the over 500-delegate gap that separates the two GOP contenders. "We are doing fine. We have 700 and some -- close to 800 delegates, and the last time I checked Gov. Huckabee has very few," McCain said.
"So I think I am pretty happy with the situation that we are in." He said Tuesday he was "guardedly optimistic" about the Potomac primaries. [CNN]
Virginia election officials saw 30 to 40 percent higher turnout for the state's primaries. High turnout was also reported in the northern part of the state and in Richmond and Charlottesville, according to Virginia Board of Elections spokeswoman Susan Pollard. Mark Coakley, the general register for Henrico County said the turnout in his Richmond-area county was record breaking. "It's our first ever-dual primary so regardless it would be record breaking," he said.
At an Alexandria, Virginia, polling station, election officials said they also saw a steady turnout. "We're getting good, consistent turnout. We started out with over 20 people at the gate when we opened up the doors at 6 a.m.," election official Chris Tatem said. "We're averaging maybe a hundred an hour of people that push through here, which is good."
High winds swept through the state on Sunday and Monday knocking out power in some areas and forcing some polling stations to relocate. The storms knocked out power to 50 stations, election officials said, but power had been restored to all but eight of them. Generators were used to restore power at some locations. As a result, Maryland kept there polls open for additional ninety minutes.
District election officials did not give an estimate of overall turnout, but two precincts in Washington ran out of ballots, according to Bill O'Field, a spokesman for the District Board of Elections.
Several other precincts had to have more ballots delivered due to higher-than-expected turnout. The demographics in Tuesday's primaries suggest Obama could pull off a political hat trick over Clinton. However, the senator from New York said Obama's recent success doesn't faze her because future primaries will swing her way.
Right now we're looking at 238 Democratic delegates and 119 total GOP delegates at stake tongiht. In total delegates, Clinton tops Obama 1,157 to 1,145, according to CNN estimates. The breakdown paints a slightly different picture, as Obama leads 989 to 923 in pledged delegates, and Clinton is winning among superdelegates 234 to 156.Superdelegates, a group of almost 800 Democratic Party officials and leaders, are not required to make their votes public and are free to change their minds.
In the Republican race, the question is whether McCain can start to unify the Republican party behind his all-but-certain nomination.
McCain is leading the only other Republican candidate in the race, Huckabee, 723 to 217 in total delegates, according to CNN estimates. A GOP candidate needs 1,191 delegates to secure the nomination. But Huckabee is coming off a big win Saturday in Kansas, where he won by double digits, and another narrower win in Louisiana.
McCain edged out the former Arkansas governor in the Washington caucuses, but Huckabee is questioning the result. Huckabee has done well with Christian conservatives and rural voters, and McCain's performance last weekend suggests the GOP, particularly conservative voters, are not quite ready to unite behind him.McCain, however, scoffed at the notion that the former Arkansas governor could close the over 500-delegate gap that separates the two GOP contenders. "We are doing fine. We have 700 and some -- close to 800 delegates, and the last time I checked Gov. Huckabee has very few," McCain said.
"So I think I am pretty happy with the situation that we are in." He said Tuesday he was "guardedly optimistic" about the Potomac primaries. [CNN]