In a primary season that
seemed to go on forever, New
York Senator Hillary Clinton
has come out on top in the all
important Pennsylvania
Democratic primary.
Around, 10:15 p.m.
Tuesday, Clinton claimed victory
and told the media,
“Thank you. It’s a long road
to 1600 Pennsylvania Ave.
and it runs right through the
heart of Pennsylvania. You
know, for six weeks, Senator
Obama and I have crisscrossed
this state, meeting
people up close, being judged
side by side. You listened,
and today you chose. You
know the possibilities, those
possibilities are endless if we
roll up the sleeves and get
ready to work with a president
that’s ready to lead on
day one.” The crowd enthusiastically
roared into a “Yes,
she will!” chant, showing
their support for Clinton.
Seven long weeks all came
down to Tuesday’s elections.
As of 11:15 p.m., the major
news networks had declared
Clinton the winner over
Illinois Sen. Barack Obama.
With 87 percent of precincts
reporting, Clinton led Obama
55 percent to 45 percent.
Obama apparently already
knew his chances of winning
were slim, as he left earlier in
the day to campaign in
Indiana instead of staying in
PA to rally supporters.
According to CNN’s exit
polls, Clinton captured 57
percent of the female vote
and 48 percent of the male
vote. Obama, however, was
able to continue his dominance
among younger voters,
capturing 61 percent of 18-29-
year-olds. Clinton also captured
the religious vote and
the votes of gun owners, a
key demographic in a state
that is extremely pro-guns.
The exit polls once again
showed strong support for
Clinton from the elderly as 63
percent of those 65 and older
voted for her. She captured a
majority of those making
between $15,000 and $150,000
a year. Obama carried those
making less than $15,000 a
year and those making more
than $150,000. According to
55 percent of the voters the
most important issue according
to voters was the economy.
Clinton captured 58 percent
of those who believed
this. Iraq was the most important
issue to 27 percent of voters,
with
Obama carrying
55
percent of
those voters.
Of voters,
14 perc
e n t
b e l i e v e d
Health Care
was the
m o s t
important
issue, with
54 percent
of those
v o t e r s
c h o o s i n g
Clinton.
When asked what the top
candidate quality was, 50 percent
of voters stated that a
candidate that could bring
change was most important.
Obama carried an astounding
69 percent of these voters,
proving that his “change”
message is emanating among
the electorate and 26 percent
believed experience was the
most important quality.
Clinton carried an even more
astounding 94 percent of
those voters and 13 percent
stated that the candidate that
cares about them was the
most important quality with
Clinton winning that demographic
with 56 percent of the
vote. Finally, 9 percent
believed the candidate’s electability
was the most important
issue, with Clinton carrying
56 percent of that demographic
as well.
Following her victories in
Ohio and Texas on March 4,
Clinton knew she had to
claim victory in PA in order
for her campaign to continue.
Despite being outspent by
Obama 3-1 during the race,
she met the expectations by
outlasting her opponent and
capturing victory. Obama
had been hurt by a poor performance
in the debate in
Philadelphia last week. His
relationships with Jeremiah
Wright and convicted bomber
William Ayers apparently
unnerved some of PA’s voters.
The race in PA was important
because it was the
biggest state remaining in
this primary season; 10 states
remain with none of them
carrying the amount of delegates
as PA -158. Pundits
have said that the state’s
demographics strongly support
Clinton thanks to its
large number of blue-collar
voters.
Over the past seven weeks,
we have seen an exorbitant
amount of attack ads and tons
of hostility that has raised
many questions on whether
or not the Democrats are
hurting their chances in the
general election by continuing
this campaign. By tearing
down each other, both
Clinton and Obama are helping
presumptive Republican
nominee John McCain gain
voters in the fall. However,
neither candidate has the
required 2,025 delegates, nor
does it look like they will any
time soon.
Obama will now have to
continue to answer questions
on his electability. He has yet
to win a key “swing state” or
a large Electoral College vote
state in regards to the general
election. In 2000 and 2004, the
election came down to the
three key states of Ohio,
Pennsylvania and Florida.
Clinton won all three, and
recent polls show her performing
better than Obama in
all three states. Also, Obama
has yet to capture a large
state when it comes to
Electoral College votes.
Clinton has won
Pennsylvania, Ohio, Florida,
Texas, California and New
York. The only state with
over 20 Electoral College
votes that Obama has won
was his home state of Illinois.
With the equally important
Indiana and North Carolina
primaries on May 6, Clinton
still has an uphill battle to
climb. According to
SurveyUSA, Clinton is
defeating Obama in Indiana
55 percent to 39 percent.
However, Obama has a huge
lead in NC. Only time will tell
if Clinton’s victory in PA will
propel her to victories in the
upcoming primaries. Both
Obama and Clinton have a
tough road ahead of them.
Obama has to answer critics
about why he cannot win the
key swing states that are crucial
in November. Clinton has
to overcome a large deficit in
the delegate count in order to
capture the nomination. One
thing is for sure, the
Democratic race for President
is alive and kicking with no
end in sight.