McCain wins four Tuesday primaries

By Mary Daly
March 7, 2008

Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., addresses the war in Iraq in February in the Spirit of St. Louis Airport. McCain's victories in the Texas, Ohio, Vermont and Rhode Island primaries secured him the Republican nomination.

Graphic/Jen Beasley

(Click graphic to enlarge)

Graphic/Jen Beasley

(Click graphic to enlarge)

Tuesday’s primaries might have proved inconclusive for the Democrats, but they were decisive for Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz.

McCain won the Texas, Ohio, Vermont and Rhode Island primaries, gaining enough delegates to surpass the 1,191 needed to win his party’s nomination.

McCain spoke to supporters in Texas shortly after receiving word he had garnered enough delegates to receive that nomination.

“I am very, very grateful and pleased to note that tonight, my friends, we have won enough delegates to claim with confidence, humility and a great sense of responsibility that I will be the Republican nominee for president of the United States,” McCain said.

McCain said it is time to convince the American people who the best candidate is to be elected president.

“The big battle’s to come,” he said. “I do not underestimate the significance or the size of the challenge.”

Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee dropped out of the race after McCain was projected the winner in all four states.

After calling McCain to congratulate him on receiving the nomination, Huckabee gave a speech in Dallas encouraging his supporters to back McCain in the general election.

“It’s now important that we turn our attention not to what could have been or what we wanted to have been but now what must be,” Huckabee said. “And that is a united party.”

On Wednesday, McCain met with President George Bush at the White House, where the president formally endorsed McCain.

“I am very honored and humbled to have the opportunity to receive the endorsement of the President of the United States, a man who I have great admiration, respect and affection,” McCain said.

Senior Lucinda Housley, student coordinator for McCain’s Missouri campaign, said Bush’s endorsement should only help McCain.

“It’s a fact that a lot of conservatives aren’t crazy about George Bush and in turn, won’t be thrilled by this endorsement,” Housley said. “But it would look worse for McCain if he didn’t receive Bush’s endorsement.”

MU communications professor William Benoit said McCain should only pay attention to running his own campaign now that he has the nomination.

“McCain could sit and try to predict which Democrat he’ll be up against in the fall, or he can promote himself among independents and moderates, as well as swing Democrats,” Benoit said. “This is what will give him an edge in the general election.”

On the Democratic side, Sen. Hillary Clinton, D-N.Y., took three key wins in the Ohio, Texas and Rhode Island primaries. Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., won in Vermont.

Clinton’s victories on Tuesday broke Obama’s winning streak of 12 straight contests since Feb. 5.

“For everyone here in Ohio and across America who’s ever been counted out but refused to be knocked out, 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,” Clinton said in a speech Tuesday night in Columbus, Ohio.

Many political analysts believe the party will not have a nominee until the Democratic National Convention in August.

“The fact that the Republican nomination is assured while the Democrats are still attacking each other helps McCain,” Benoit said. “I don’t think it is an insurmountable advantage, but it is an advantage.”

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McCain wins four Tuesday primaries

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