Column: Primaries yield surprising results
Feb. 8, 2008
So Super Tuesday has come and gone. There is one big question on everyone’s minds: what now?
For months, Super Tuesday was billed as the decisive day of the longest presidential primary campaigns in American history. Tuesday evening, we saw that this would not be the case. For the Democratic Party’s nomination, Sen. Hillary Clinton, D-N.Y., and Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., both enjoyed victories in key states. But because the Democratic Party splits its delegates based upon a proportional system, the race is far from over.
As for the Republican Party, it was a big night for Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., and a rather disappointing one for former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney. Mike Huckabee, the former governor of Arkansas, also had quite a night, although he did not show he could win in states that don’t have a large evangelical population. In effect, Huckabee and Romney split the conservative anti-McCain vote, in part because of John McCain. Huckabee won West Virginia solely because of McCain’s supporters efforts to block Romney.
This thing is far from over, especially for the Democrats. There are Democratic primaries scheduled for this weekend in Louisiana, and Democratic caucuses in Nebraska, Washington, and Maine. The GOP has a primary in Kansas this Saturday, and both parties have the “Potomac Primary” (D.C., Virginia and Maryland) early next week.
Although Obama claimed a big victory last night, it should be noted that going into Tuesday, his campaign had much higher expectations. They thought they could catch Clinton in places like California and Arizona by cutting into her huge lead among Hispanic voters with the Kennedys’ endorsements. Obama’s camp also thought they could beat or at least come close to beating Clinton in Massachusetts. To be sure, Obama pulled off some surprises in Connecticut and Missouri. But wherever Obama’s supporters mounted a rally, Clinton’s voters were there as well. Despite Obama’s victories across the nation, Clinton still leads the delegate count, thanks in large part to the Democratic Party’s proportional delegate system.
On the other side of the nomination, it’s looking rough for Huckabee. But I’m not willing to write him off just yet. I think he’ll do well this weekend in Kansas and Louisiana. Huckabee won Tuesday without much money and much ground organization due to the fact that he used the evangelical churches and home-schooling networks as his get-out-the-vote machine. I can’t see that happening in Washington, Vermont or Rhode Island. It’s still a very long shot, but depends on whether Romney releases his delegates to Huckabee.
This is turning out to be one of the most dramatic presidential races in history, and it could be even more historic. If there’s no clear front-runner, which could happen in either party, after the last primaries in June, we could see something that we haven’t seen since 1976: a true party convention.
More Feb. 8, 2008 Outlook Stories
- Youth vote critical Tuesday — Super Tuesday didn’t quite answer the question of which two candidates would represent their parties in the 2008 presidential election, ...
- Man flees police in car with flat tires — A man led law enforcement officials on a chase that started in Columbia and ended in Moberly early Thursday morning, ...
- Primaries yield surprising results — So Super Tuesday has come and gone. There is one big question on everyone’s minds: what now? For months, Super ...
- McCain takes Missouri in close race Tuesday — In the shadow of the state Capitol, where state employees smoked and socialized after work, state Rep. Jason Brown, R-Platte ...
- Super Tuesday proves indecisive for Democrats — After Super Tuesday, the two Democratic presidential hopefuls emerged from the fallout of this year’s biggest day of nominating contests ...
Most recent Outlook Stories
- Democrats rally behind Obama at convention — Speakers at the Democratic National Convention, including both Clintons and VP pick Joe Biden, praised the Illinois senator.
- Man flees bank robbery on a bike — Maurice Penny Sr. was arrested on suspicion of first-degree robbery.
- More cases of counterfeit bills found — Two separate incidents of counterfeit bills were reported to Columbia police Tuesday evening.
- Report: Despite flooding, farmers might have high yield — The U.S. Department of Agriculture said the increase should come despite June flooding.
- Teenager drowns at Stephens Lake — The teen was diving in a prohibited area.