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Backgrounder: Presidential nomination races won by Obama and Clinton
WASHINGTON, June 1 (Xinhua) -- U.S. Senator Hillary Clinton of New York handily won Sunday's Democratic presidential primary in the U.S. territory of Puerto Rico, but her rival Senator Barrack Obama of Illinois will soon declare he wins the nomination.
The following is a list of states each of them has won in U.S. states, Washington D.C., U.S. territories and overseas Americans in order of the date.
Obama:
Iowa, South Carolina, Alabama, Alaska, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Georgia, Idaho, Illinois, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, North Dakota, Utah, Louisiana, Nebraska, Washington, Maine, Washington, D.C., Maryland, Virginia, Hawaii, Wisconsin, Vermont, U.S. Virgin Islands, Democrats Abroad, Wyoming, Mississippi, Guam,North Carolina and Oregon.
Clinton:
New Hampshire, Michigan, Nevada, Florida, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Ohio, Rhode Island, Texas, American Samoa, Pennsylvania, Indiana, West Virginia, Kentucky and Peurto Rico.
There are only two remaining contests, including Montana (June 3, 16 delegates) and South Dakota (June 3, 15 delegates).
WASHINGTON, June 1 (Xinhua) -- U.S. Senator Hillary Clinton of New York handily won Sunday's Democratic presidential primary in the U.... more -
After Puerto Rico, Obama Closer To Nomination
Hillary Rodham Clinton won most of the delegates in Puerto Rico's primary Sunday, but Barack Obama crept closer to clinching the Democratic nomination for president.
Clinton won at least 28 delegates, according to an Associated Press analysis of early returns. Obama won at least 14, with 13 still to be allocated.
Obama has a total of 2,068 delegates, leaving him 50 shy of the number needed to clinch the nomination, with two primaries remaining. Clinton has 1905.5, according to the latest tally by the AP.
Obama also picked up two superdelegates Sunday, which means he has made up most of the ground he lost Saturday when the national party's rules committee voted to reinstate delegates from Michigan and Florida. The delegates had been stripped because the two stated violated party rules by holding primaries before Feb. 5.
There are a total of 31 delegates at stake in Tuesday's contests in Montana and South Dakota. If Clinton and Obama split them, Obama would need to pick up 30 or so superdelegates to secure the nomination.
There are about 200 superdelegates left to be claimed.
[Credit: Stephen Ohlemacher, AP] Hillary Rodham Clinton won most of the delegates in Puerto Rico's primary Sunday, but Barack Obama crept closer to clinching the Democ... more -
Obama used party rules to foil Clinton
Unlike Hillary Rodham Clinton, rival Barack Obama planned for the long haul.
Clinton hinged her whole campaign on an early knockout blow on Super Tuesday, while Obama's staff researched congressional districts in states with primaries that were months away. What they found were opportunities to win delegates, even in states they would eventually lose.
Obama's campaign mastered some of the most arcane rules in politics, and then used them to foil a front-runner who seemed to have every advantage—money, fame and a husband who had essentially run the Democratic Party for eight years as president.
"Without a doubt, their understanding of the nominating process was one of the keys to their success," said Tad Devine, a Democratic strategist not aligned with either candidate. "They understood the nuances of it and approached it at a strategic level that the Clinton campaign did not."
Careful planning is one reason why Obama is emerging as the nominee as the Democratic Party prepares for its final three primaries, Puerto Rico on Sunday and Montana and South Dakota on Tuesday. Attributing his success only to soaring speeches and prodigious fundraising ignores a critical part of contest.
Obama used the Democrats' system of awarding delegates to limit his losses in states won by Clinton while maximizing gains in states he carried. Clinton, meanwhile, conserved her resources by essentially conceding states that favored Obama, including many states that held caucuses instead of primaries.
In a stark example, Obama's victory in Kansas wiped out the gains made by Clinton for winning New Jersey, even though New Jersey had three times as many delegates at stake. Obama did it by winning big in Kansas while keeping the vote relatively close in New Jersey.
The research effort was headed by Jeffrey Berman, Obama's press-shy national director of delegate operations. Berman, who also tracked delegates in former Rep. Dick Gephardt's presidential bids, spent the better part of 2007 analyzing delegate opportunities for Obama.
Obama won a majority of the 23 Super Tuesday contests on Feb. 5 and then spent the following two weeks racking up 11 straight victories, building an insurmountable lead among delegates won in primaries and caucuses.
What made it especially hard for Clinton to catch up was that Obama understood and took advantage of a nominating system that emerged from the 1970s and '80s, when the party struggled to find a balance between party insiders and its rank-and-file voters.
Unlike Hillary Rodham Clinton, rival Barack Obama planned for the long haul. ... more -
Carter sees superdelegates prompting Clinton to quit
Former U.S. President Jimmy Carter said on Sunday he expects Democratic superdelegates to reveal their choice for presidential nominee soon after the final primary in June and that Hillary Clinton will then have to quit the race.
In an interview with Sky News, Carter said he did not think Clinton was achieving anything by staying in the fight.
"I think not. But of course she has the perfect right to do so," he said while attending a literary festival in Britain.
"I'm a superdelegate ... I think a lot of the superdelegates will make a decision quite, announced quite rapidly, after the final primary on June 3," he told Sky News.
"I have not yet announced publicly, but I think at that point it will be time for her to give it up," Carter said.
Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama is seen as front-runner. He holds a nearly insurmountable lead in delegates to the party's August nominating convention after months of contests that began in January.
Clinton has refused to quit until the last votes are cast and counted and the Democratic nominee is likely to be decided by the nearly 800 "superdelegates" -- members of Congress and other party insiders -- free to vote for whomever they want.
The Democratic candidates need 2,026 delegates to be nominated to run against Republican John McCain in the November 4 U.S. presidential election.
According to estimates by MSNBC, Obama now has 1,954 while Clinton has 1,783. There are 86 delegates left to be chosen in the state-by-state contests. Former U.S. President Jimmy Carter said on Sunday he expects Democratic superdelegates to reveal their choice for presidential nominee... more -
Super Delegate Can't Fly
Jackson Blaine, a Democratic National Committee “Super Delegate” from Tennessee, suffered severe fractures to his skull, ribs, arms and legs Thursday, after jumping from a fourth floor window at the DNC Headquarters in Nashville, in his attempt to “fly faster than a speeding bullet.”
“We tried to tell him that Super Delegates have no special powers,” said an assistant to the local party chair, “but he wouldn’t listen.”
Blaine entered the Nashville office shortly before noon and began asking employees if they had information about any “Dastardly, evil plans.” The employees, initially believing it was yet another childish prank from DNC leader Howard Dean, laughed off the incident. “But then he returned from the men’s room donning a blue cape and wearing an Al Gore mask,” said an insider. “That’s when we called security.”
In an interview from the Intensive Care Unit at Nashville Memorial Hospital, Blaine remained defiant. “Why would they call us Super Delegates,” he pondered, “if we can’t even fly or see through concrete walls?”
A DNC official could only shake his head. “Isn’t altering the course of an election in an unfair and undemocratic manner power enough?”
Blaine was released from Nashville Memorial an hour later, when it was determined that he lacked health insurance and could not afford to pay for his entire stay. Witnesses spotted him being tossed from an ambulance in an alleyway three blocks from the hospital.
And to whom will he be pledging his support at the Democratic convention in August? As he lay bleeding on the asphalt, a dazed and broken Blaine looked off into the distance. “I’m not sure,” he said, taking a moment to contemplate the huge decision before him. “What are my choices, again?”
TheRepublicant.org Jackson Blaine, a Democratic National Committee “Super Delegate” from Tennessee, suffered severe fractures to his skull, ribs, arms an... more -
Obama now leads Clinton by at least 4 superdelegates
May 11, 2008
Barack Obama erased Hillary Clinton's once-imposing lead among superdelegates yesterday when he added more endorsements from the group of Democrats who will decide the party's nomination for president.
more stories like thisObama added superdelegates from Utah, Ohio, and Arizona, as well as two from the Virgin Islands who had previously backed Clinton. The additions enabled Obama to surpass Clinton's total for the first time in the campaign. He gained nine endorsements Friday.
Nearly 800 superdelegates will attend the convention. Obama has endorsements from 276, according to the latest tally by the Associated Press. Clinton has 271.5.
The milestone is important because Clinton would have to win over the superdelegates by a wide margin to claim the nomination. Party insiders have been streaming to Obama since he started posting wins in early voting states.
"I always felt that if anybody establishes himself as the clear leader, the superdelegates would fall in line," said Don Fowler, a former chairman of the Democratic National Committee.
"It is perceived that he is the leader," said Fowler, a superdelegate from South Carolina who supports Clinton. "The trickle is going to become an avalanche."
ASSOCIATED PRESS
GOP leader quits after Burma ties are reported
The man picked by the John McCain campaign to run the 2008 Republican National Convention resigned yesterday after a report that his lobbying firm used to represent the military regime in Burma. "Today I offered the convention my resignation so as not to become a distraction in this campaign," said Doug Goodyear, the convention coordinator.
Goodyear, chief executive of lobbying firm DCI Group, resigned a few hours after Newsweek posted a story posted online that the company was paid $348,000 in 2002 and 2003 to represent Burma's junta. The convention runs Sept. 1-4 at the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul.
ASSOCIATED PRESS
© Copyright 2008 Globe Newspaper Company.
more stories like this May 11, 2008 ... more -
FOR SALE: Superdelegate in California
I think this is interesting because it shows how much this man cares to sell his vote for $20 million in order to educate recent immigrant citizens. Being of Mexican-American descent, I feel that this is a crucial issue. We must educate new citizens so that they CAN exercise their right to vote. I think this is interesting because it shows how much this man cares to sell his vote for $20 million in order to educate recent immig... more
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Obama has more superdelegates than Clinton
Obama moved into the lead today in the last category that Clinton had claimed to have an edge -- support among the Democratic Party's superdelegates.
Obama moved into the lead today in the last category that Clinton had claimed to have an edge -- support among the Democratic Party's ... more -
Obama takes lead in superdelegates
Sen. Barack Obama moved into the lead today in the last category that Sen. Hillary Clinton had claimed to have an edge -- support among the Democratic Party's superdelegates.
The Illinois Democrat grabbed the superdelegate lead thanks to a switch by New Jersey Rep. Donald Payne and an endorsement from previously uncommitted Rep. Peter DeFazio of Oregon.
Those two votes gave Obama a 267-266 lead over Clinton. That is a huge shift since the days when Clinton boasted about a 60-plus vote lead among the party's pros back on Super Tuesday. Sen. Barack Obama moved into the lead today in the last category that Sen. Hillary Clinton had claimed to have an edge -- support amon... more -
5 Ways Hillary Clinton Can Still Win
Option #4 Change the minimum voting age to 60. You have to check it out for the rest (video included) to understand.
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Campaign Update 05/02/08
Superdelegate switches, gasoween returns, and the latest democratic device you've never heard of.
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Obama closing in on Clinton's advantage among superdelegates
Barack Obama is closing in on Democratic presidential rival Hillary Rodham Clinton's advantage among superdelegates, building on his lead in the primary race even as he faces troubled times.
Party leaders are encouraging superdelegates to pick a side by late June to prevent the fight from going to the national convention in August, and it seems some are listening as the race enters its final five weeks of voting.
Barack Obama is closing in on Democratic presidential rival Hillary Rodham Clinton's advantage among superdelegates, building on his ... more -
Campaign Update 04/30/08
Michigan compromise, college superdelegates, and...is that goldenrod?
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Eyes On Obama: Help Petition Superdelegates in Your Area
EyesonObama.com needs your help to petition the remaining uncommitted superdelegates to endorse Senator Obama. Please visit their site and sign the petition. They have a list of uncommitted superdelegates they'd like to send signed petitions to. We just need another 290 delegates to pledge for Senator Obama and make him the Democratic Nominee. If you're like me, you're sick of this primary campaign. Senator Obama is ahead in pledged delegates and most analysts agree, it is near impossible for Hillary Clinton to catch up. I think we all know that if the circumstances were reversed, Obama would have been asked to drop out of this race after losing 11 states in a row. Please help put an end to this madness be petitioning the remaining uncommitted superdelegates to come out and endorse Senator Obama as the Democratic Nominee so we can get on with the business of preparing for the general election and take on Senator McCain on the issues. Spread the word. Thank you! EyesonObama.com needs your help to petition the remaining uncommitted superdelegates to endorse Senator Obama. Please visit their site... more
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The low road to victory
The Pennsylvania campaign, which produced yet another inconclusive result on Tuesday, was even meaner, more vacuous, more desperate, and more filled with pandering than the mean, vacuous, desperate, pander-filled contests that preceded it.
Voters are getting tired of it; it is demeaning the political process; and it does not work. It is past time for Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton to acknowledge that the negativity, for which she is mostly responsible, does nothing but harm to her, her opponent, her party and the 2008 election.
On the eve of this crucial primary, Mrs. Clinton became the first Democratic candidate to wave the bloody shirt of 9/11. A Clinton television ad — torn right from Karl Rove’s playbook — evoked the 1929 stock market crash, Pearl Harbor, the Cuban missile crisis, the cold war and the 9/11 attacks, complete with video of Osama bin Laden. “If you can’t stand the heat, get out of the kitchen,” the narrator intoned.
It is getting to be time for the superdelegates to do what the Democrats had in mind when they created superdelegates: settle a bloody race that cannot be won at the ballot box. Mrs. Clinton once had a big lead among the party elders, but has been steadily losing it, in large part because of her negative campaign. If she is ever to have a hope of persuading these most loyal of Democrats to come back to her side, let alone win over the larger body of voters, she has to call off the dogs. The Pennsylvania campaign, which produced yet another inconclusive result on Tuesday, was even meaner, more vacuous, more desperate, a... more -
Pennsylvania and Beyond: Let Voters Decide
As democrats in Pennsylvania set to vote on Tuesday, April 22, many believe the prolonged nomination will undermine both candidates' electability. Obama's association with controversial Rev. Wright and his "bitter" comments have been an unwelcome distraction, and underscored his vulnerabilities; while Clinton’s "Bosnia" gaffes and revelation of new wealth ($109 income tax statements) increased her negative ratings (from 38% to 52% according to latest polls). Democrats worried John McCain, the Republican nominee, will be unchallenged for the next several months, and this may diminish the party’s chances of reclaiming the White House. As a result, various democratic politicians, the media and some political pundits forcefully pressured Clinton to withdraw from the race. Notwithstanding these strong challenges and being outspent by Obama (3 to 1), Clinton is poised to win Pennsylvania’s primary by 5-10% (according to recent polls).
These calls for Clinton’s withdraw proved premature for several reasons as both campaigns move forward to Indiana and North Carolina after Tuesday.
1) The Democratic Party has a history of contentious primary contests and not all proved fatal. In some cases, strong primary competitions became invaluable experiences, especially for new politicians because they helped strengthen the candidates' policy positions, debating skills, and addressed potential land mines early in the process. For example, in 1960, John Kennedy faced formidable opponents such as Herbert Humphrey, Lyndon Johnson and Adlai Stevenson. Strong competition forced Kennedy to address the Catholic question beforehand and as a result, it did not become Kennedy's Achilles' heel in the general election. Even Kennedy was short of delegates needed to secure the nomination when the party convention commenced in Los Angeles. Despite the tough nominating process, party faithfuls gravitated back to Kennedy and he went on to win the presidency.
2) Clinton and Obama's history making candidacies to date generated enormous enthusiasm and money, expanding the democratic party’s political base such as Hispanics, "soccer moms", and independents, key constituencies in the general election. The nail-biting contest between both candidates will continue to galvanize and attract new voters in the remaining primaries, and these voters may be crucial to winning key contests in November such senate races in Oregon and Kentucky.
3) Make every vote count. This year, many states moved their primaries early to jockey for influence and attention, and this resulted in a messy primary schedule with delegates from Michigan and Florida discounted for violating party rules. It is clear after the 2000 election, democrats want to make certain their votes count in every and all elections. Ending the contest prematurely by pressing a candidate to withdraw will not only disenfranchise voters, but also create the perception that only early voting states matter. It will only drive more states to move their primaries ahead, further exacerbating the already insane primary schedule.
After Pennsylvania, there are still nine remaining primaries with over 500 delegates at stake and millions of voters waiting to be heard. Their voices, concerns, aspirations, and votes are equally important. The calls should not be for a particular candidate to withdraw, but should be for a reformed primary process, one that allows all voters to decide, not the first 15, 30 or 40 states, and surely not the superdelegates.
As democrats in Pennsylvania set to vote on Tuesday, April 22, many believe the prolonged nomination will undermine both candidates' e... more -
A Clinton backer says "Trailing candidate should drop out by June 3"
Why does the media continue to prop up Clinton as if she had a chance?
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Why Superdelegates Exist
The author offers up some of the most infuriating defenses for the system that I have ever read. Try this one:
"One major defense of the superdelegate system is protection against more “radical” candidates. Superdelegates are a defense against fringe candidates that capture popular imagination but would be disastrous for the party. The superdelegates of the party could prevent a radical candidate from winning the nomination."
So the superdelegates are a check on...democracy? Thanks asshole. Because everyone knows the Dems have had a lot of success with their "middle of the road" candidates. Why don' the Dems just grow some balls and nominate somebody who is ACTUALLY progressive? The author offers up some of the most infuriating defenses for the system that I have ever read. Try this one: ... more -
Clinton and Obama Sitting by a tree, "P O A C H I N G."
Hillary alluded to it. Obama is aware of it. So that just leaves millions of democratic "john and jane Q public" in the dark.
The media from ABC to CNN to WKTZ has been very good about leading voers to water-cooler arguments over superdelegates. However, what they haven't told you is that even you so-called "pledged" delegates are not obligated to vote according to primary or caucus results.
Watch. Hillary alluded to it. Obama is aware of it. So that just leaves millions of democratic "john and jane Q public" in the dark. ... more -
'Obama can't win'
A new ABC report sheds more light on the spirited exchange between Senator Hillary Clinton and New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson when Richardson called Clinton to tell her that he was endorsing rival Senator Barack Obama: Clinton insisted Obama could not win the Presidency.
Sen. Hillary Clinton, and former President Bill Clinton are making very direct arguments to Democratic superdelegates, starkly insisting Sen. Barack Obama, cannot win a general election against presumptive Republican nominee, Sen. John McCain.
Sources with direct knowledge of the conversation between Sen. Clinton and Gov. Bill Richardson, prior to the Governor’s endorsement of Obama say she told him flatly, “He cannot win, Bill. He cannot win.”
Despite her appeal, Richardson ultimately endorsed Obama- which sent Bill Clinton into a purple rage last weekend during a private meeting with California superdelegates.
The Clinton campaign’s main focus now seems less on arguments for Hillary Clinton, her ideas and what she can do for the country than constant pounding on negative themes about Obama. A new ABC report sheds more light on the spirited exchange between Senator Hillary Clinton and New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson when Ri... more
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Superdelegates
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Superdelegates
