Technician Online

May 6th, 2008

North Carolina heads to the polls; CNN projects Obama winner of N.C. primary

The May 6 tally | Obama: 1,823 total delegates, 45 from North Carolina; Clinton: 1,676, 37 delegates from North Carolina, according to CNN
1:23 a.m. | With 100 percent of Indiana counties reporting, Clinton reigns in Indiana by 1.8 percent, with results split 49.1 percent for Obama and 50.9 percent for Clinton.
11:04 p.m. | Indiana race still too close to call.
10:50 p.m. | Clinton ends by thanking, among many, Gov. Mike Easley for his recent endorsement of her campaign, and promises to “work her heart out” campaigning in the remaining states and territories, which include West Virginia, Kentucky, Oregon, Montana and South Dakota.
10:37 p.m. | Clinton & Co.: While the Indiana results are still too close to call, Clinton, along with husband Bill and daughter Chelsea, makes her appearance in Indianapolis. She cites this victory as the one that has put her on “full speed to the White House.” She also speaks, above her supporters, who continue to chant and cheer (one, markedly behind her, sporting bright red boxing gloves), about gas prices and the economy, two topics that have recently been hot for both candidates, especially in North Carolina. Clinton also touches upon the American story, another theme that has made itself very apparent in both her own and Obama’s speeches.

As the red gloves clap behind her, Clinton goes on to discuss further her proposed gas tax and general points for supporting the middle class, including health care.

And she echoes Obama’s warning about sticking too closely to candidates within the party, urging her supporters to vote for whomever receives the Democratic nomination, for she says: “I win, he wins, he wins, I win. … No matter what happens, I will work for the nominee of the Democratic party because we must win in November.”

9:45 p.m. | Clinton has yet to make her speech, but while we’re waiting, here’s a breakdown of the elusive Superdelegates.

Superdelegates are those who wield extreme power at the Democratic National Convention. They are not elected, nor are they just points assigned to either camp based on votes; instead, they are selected from party leaders and publicly elected officials (for example, former president Bill Clinton is a superdelegate supporting, not at all surprisingly, his wife). Some may support whomever they want, although some are obligated to support the candidate their state is supporting.
9:35 p.m. | Obama ends his speech, in which he gave advanced congratulations to Clinton for her win in Indiana, as he inches toward closing the previous 10-percent gap in Indiana election results. With 72 percent of the precincts reporting in the Hoosier state, Clinton is up 52.4 percent to Obama’s 47.6 percent; in North Carolina, Obama is ahead by 17 percent with 48 percent of precincts reporting.
9:20 p.m. | Obama talks of the division between Clinton and his own supporters — tangible in the fact that, once he mentioned his “formidable opponent,” the Coliseum did not echo with applause — and pushes a united Democratic party no matter which candidate, Clinton or Obama, gets the nomination.

“This race is not about Hillary Clinton, it’s not about Barack Obama, it’s not about John McCain. This election is about you, the American people,” he said, going on to discourage John McCain’s election, or what he called President George Bush’s third term.
9:13 p.m. | New Southern roots: Obama salutes his Wolfpack supporters with the Wolfpack’s hand symbol.
9:10 p.m. | “I love you back, I truly do”: Despite the Obama campaign’s earlier plan to leave Reynolds Coliseum at about 9 p.m., Michelle and Barack Obama take to the stage in Reynolds, accompanied by many cheers, chants and American flags.

9:08 p.m. | While Obama has yet to enter Reynold Coliseum, there are the usual random spurts of applause as the music changes, or as a false alarm of Obama’s appearance arises.
To see CNN’s coverage of both the Clinton rally in Indiana and Obama’s in Reynolds Coliseum, click here and navigate to “Live video” at the top of the page.
8:51 p.m. | Voting: By the Numbers: About 40 percent of registered voters in Wake County came out to vote in today’s primary; in all, however, 885,878 out of the 5,811,778 registered voters in North Carolina (about 16 percent) cast their ballots today, according to the North Carolina State Board of Elections.

Of those registered voters, 2,633,381 are Democrat, 1,933,658 Republican, and 1,244,739 Unaffiliated.

8:23 p.m. | Update: With 11 percent of precincts reporting, Obama is leading the North Carolina primary with 64 percent of the votes to Clinton’s 34.4 percent.
8:12 p.m. | By the Numbers: Fox News is calling Obama’s projected win in North Carolina a result of race: As Clinton won the white vote 59 percent to Obama’s 36 percent, 91 percent of black voters cast their ballots for Obama. But youth voters also voted overwhelmingly in his favor, as 71 percent of this voting block voted Obama, and 26 percent voted Clinton. It’s also a factor of economic status and hope in each candidate: From exit polls, the Fox report discerned that a majority of voters who lie in both the college-educated and working class blocks voted Obama, and 53 percent thought he was the candidate to fix the economy.

Outside influences
About half North Carolina voters said the remarks of Rev. Jeremiah A. Wright Jr., Obama’s former pastor, influenced how they chose the candidate they voted for, according to a New York Times exit poll. Half said the situation did not.

Clinton supporters also raised their voices on the matter: two-thirds stated the uproar caused by the tape was an important factor in their voting decision; two-thirds of Obama supporters took the opposite approach, saying it didn’t influence their thoughts about the candidate.
7:30 p.m. | Tonight, Obama supporters may gather in Reynolds to celebrate more than the Obama’s appearance; if a CNN projection is right, they’ll be celebrating his victory in the North Carolina primary.
The races completed in both states are indicative of the Democratic presidential fight lately. As virtual games make their appearance on the Internet, inviting the politically active to spend a few minutes battling it out, via their keyboards, for their favored candidate, the real candidates are still delivering their punches, via snide comments in speeches and campaign ads, to little avail in this everlasting fight.

Will the real Democratic nominee please stand up?
7:01 p.m. | In a few minutes, across North Carolina, the polls will close.

That means the numerous visits to the state — both by Sen. Barack Obama (who has made eight appearances since April 22, not including a visit downtown today, where he drank Pabst at the Raleigh Times bar, and an election night party at Reynolds tonight) and Sen. Hillary Clinton (who has, during the same time frame, appeared 12 times, including twice in Raleigh) — will have persuaded citizens one way or another, at least for the primary.

Indiana results are slowly coming in, reporting 11 percent of the polling sites with Clinton in the lead with 58 percent to Obama’s 42 percent. And in Indiana’s open primary, Fox News is reporting 52 percent of Republicans who voted in the Democratic primary cast their ballots for Clinton, 46 percent did so for Obama.
North Carolinians are completing their last-minute rush to the polls, and this race track may be one not run for a while. According to an MSNBC report, nearly one third of those who voted in the state’s primary — which excluded the Republican race — were black. And this is substantial, since Obama’s strength lies black voters, who compose about 22 percent of the state’s population and more than a third of the voters, and youth voters. The Clinton campaign, according to Fox News, does not expect to win the North Carolina primary, which holds 134 delegates.

Whether Clinton or Obama wins North Carolina, and whether one wins both states, the race will go on past North Carolina: neither has enough delegates to reach the 2,025-delegate nomination requirement.

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