Obama Projected Winner Of Wisconsin Primary With Big Margin
February 19th, 2008
By JOE GANDELMAN, Editor-In-Chief
The networks have projected Senator Barack Obama the winner of the Wisconsin primary - -and the numbers on the screen indicate it won’t be a nail-bitingly close election. Reports also suggest voters considered Obama more electable than chief rival Senator Hillary Clinton.
Continuing his winning streak, Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., has defeated Sen. Hillary Clinton, D-N.Y., in the Wisconsin Democratic primary, winning a state with a sizeable population of blue-collar workers and white voters.
Although Wisconsin Democrats were least likely to say “electability” was the most important candidate attribute, they also identified Obama, not Clinton, as most likely to win in November, according to preliminary exit poll results.
ABC also reports that the Clinton campaign released her Ohio speech in advance of the vote and that it again suggested that Obama is words and that she is action:
In a rare move, the Clinton campaign released excerpts of her speech tonight in Youngstown, Ohio.
“Both Senator Obama and I would make history. But only one of us is ready on day one to be commander in chief, ready to manage our economy, and ready to defeat the Republicans,” Clinton’s speech excerpts read.
“It’s about picking a president who relies not just on words — but on work, hard work, to get America back to work. Someone who’s not just in the speeches business — but will get America back in the solutions business.”
Clinton’s campaign has been busily lowering expectations in Wisconsin, and the candidate left the state Monday, preferring to hold events in Ohio.
The exit poll of Wisconsin Democrats indicated the economy was the most important issue for voters today. This has been the case throughout the campaign.
Nine in 10 Democratic voters said in the exit poll that the economy was in bad shape. On the issue of trade, a majority Wisconsin Democratic primary voters said U.S. trade with other countries takes jobs away from their state.
Twenty-seven percent of Wisconsin Democrats in the exit poll decided on their candidate within the last week, but most made up their minds before that.
According to the early exit poll, change was viewed as the most important quality to Democratic primary voters. Clinton has a slight edge over Obama as the candidate most qualified to be commander in chief. And Obama is seen by Wisconsin Democratic primary voters as the candidate most likely to beat the Republican nominee in November.
Overall, the exit poll numbers predicted a good night for Obama, CBS News senior political correspondent Jeff Greenfield told Harry Smith on the CBS Evening News before polls closed.
“Harry, if you’re looking for encouragement from Hillary Clinton, basically you have to hope these numbers are wrong,” Greenfield said.
CBS News chief Washington correspondent Bob Schieffer said the exit poll numbers were similar to those seen in Virginia, a state Obama won handily as part of the Feb. 12 Potomac Primary.
“There can’t be very much happiness in the Clinton camp tonight,” Schieffer said. “She really is going to have her back to the wall now. Unless she does well in Texas and Ohio, I think this thing is about done for her.”
Among Democrats, Wisconsin offers 74 convention delegates, and the margin separating the candidates is smaller than that. Obama began the night with 1,281 delegates and Clinton began with 1,218 — it takes 2,025 to win.
Wisconsin exit polls showed Obama continued to gain ground among groups that normally favor Clinton.
Women voters went with Obama over Clinton by 51-to-49 percent. And voters making less than $50,000 went with Obama over Clinton by the same margin.
Independent voters, who are allowed to vote in Wisconsin’s open primary, broke heavily for Obama. Sixty-three percent went for the Illinois senator and 34 percent went for Clinton.
Clinton still retained a 60-to-39 percent lead among seniors, and the support of 95 percent of voters looking for a candidate with the most experience.
The Wisconsin primary is a contest Clinton’s camp has downplayed from the outset, but polls showed the New York senator was at least competitive in the state. The close race led to some of the sharpest Democratic exchanges in the primary campaign season so far.
Fox News also had this exchange:
Clinton was to hold an election night rally in Youngstown, Ohio, while Obama had planned one in Houston, Texas. She was casting the election as an opportunity to address the struggles of working class families and said she represents the choice of experience.
“They need a president ready on day one to be commander in chief. Ready to manage our economy. And ready to beat the Republicans this November. I will be that president … Someone who’s not just in the speeches business — but will get America back in the solutions business,” she was to say, according to prepared remarks.
Obama’s campaign responded that the Illinois senator agrees that the race is about choice.
“The choice in this election is between more of the same divisive, say-or-do-anything-to-win politics of the past and real change that we can believe in. That’s the change that Barack Obama offers, and that’s why more and more voters across America are choosing him as our next President,” said Obama campaign spokesman Bill Burton.
Once again: be SURE to watch the next Clinton-Obama debate if you enjoy fireworks…
This entry was posted on Tuesday, February 19th, 2008 at 6:52 pm and is filed under Newsweek Blogitics, Primaries, Wisconsin, Elections, Barack Obama, 2008 Elections, Democrats, Hillary Clinton, Politics. Both comments and pings are currently closed.
