Posted on 05/20/2008 3:21:57 PM PDT by Jet Jaguar
(CBS/AP) Barack Obama competed with Hillary Rodham Clinton in Kentucky and Oregon primaries on Tuesday, the latest contests in a historic Democratic presidential race moving inexorably his way.
Before vote counting began, Obama had 1,911 delegates, little more than 100 shy of the 2,026 needed to become the first black presidential nominee of a major party, in the latest CBS News count. The former first lady had 1,715.
According to CBS News early exit polling, in Kentucky, eight in ten Clinton voters said they would be dissatisfied if Obama was the Democratic nominee. Obama voters were about evenly split on whether they would be satisfied if Clinton got the nomination.
In Kentucky, just 33 percent of Clinton voters said they would back Obama in the general election if he is the Democratic nominee - 41 percent said they will vote for McCain, and another 23 percent say they won’t vote.
Oregon voters felt differently on that question, according to the exit poll. A majority of Clinton and Obama voters in the state would be satisfied if their opponent got the nomination. And 68 percent of Clinton voters say they will back Obama in the general election if he is the nominee and 80 percent of Obama voters say they will back Clinton in the general election.
Democratic voters in both states said the economy was the most important issue, with 65 percent of voters in Kentucky saying that. Voters differed, however, on whether to suspend the gas tax was a good idea. In Kentucky, 57 percent thought it would be good idea and 39 percent said it would not be. In Oregon, 63 percent said they thought it would be a bad idea and 26 percent said it would be a good idea.
Voters in Oregon vote by mail, so the exit poll was taken by telephone and completed on Sunday.
Polls close at 7 p.m. ET in Kentucky and ballots are due in Oregon at 11 p.m. ET. Check back at CBSNews.com then for results.
Regardless of the results of the night's two primaries, Obama decided to mark a victory of sorts. He arranged an evening appearance in Iowa, site of his critical Jan. 3 caucus triumph, to claim a majority of the delegates at stake in all 56 contests on the campaign calendar.
Clinton looked for a consolation for the strongest presidential campaign of any woman in history. She hoped to finish with more votes than her rival in all the contests combined, including Florida and Michigan, which were striped of their delegates by the national party for moving up their primary dates.
Campaigning with his wife in Kentucky, former President Clinton dismissed Obama's inevitable claim on pledged delegates.
"There won't be tonight, unless you decapitate Michigan and Florida, which violates our values and is dumb politics," Bill Clinton said.
Kentucky, where Hillary Clinton concentrated much of her efforts in recent days, had 51 convention delegates at stake.
Clinton and her husband spent more than an hour Tuesday morning working the room at a diner in Louisville. They signed autographs, cuddled a baby and shook hands with diners, some of whom told the former first lady they had already voted for her.
"I'm going to work hard for you," she replied to one woman who volunteered she'd voted for Clinton.
Polls opened in Kentucky at 6 a.m. EDT and elections officials reported few problems.
Oregon, where Obama invested his time and drew a crowd estimated by police at 75,000 over the weekend, had 52 delegates at stake. The state also had the distinction of staging the only contest without a designated polling day. Instead, under a vote-by-mail system, election officials tallied all ballots received by 11 p.m. on primary day.
Obama was favored in Oregon, where supporters delivered the largest crowd of his campaign on Sunday.
The only primaries remaining are Puerto Rico, on June 1, followed two days later by South Dakota and Montana.
Increasingly, Obama has been concentrating his campaign on John McCain, the Republican nominee-in-waiting, rather than on Clinton.
The former first lady has jettisoned the sharp attacks against Obama that characterized the race only a few weeks ago, although she bristled on Monday at his decision to focus on the fall campaign. "You can declare yourself anything, but if you don't have the votes, it doesn't matter," she said in a satellite interview with an Oregon television station.
Even so, there was no shortage of signs that the closest Democratic nominating campaign in a generation was reaching its final stages after drawing more than 33 million voters to the polls and shattering numerous turnout records along the way.
Former Sen. Tom Daschle, a key Obama adviser, said now is the time for Democrats to coalesce behind Obama in order to defeat Republican nominee-in-waiting John McCain.
"We want to begin the process of bringing this party together, and I think that over the last few weeks we've seen indications at virtually all levels in both campaigns that there's a desire to do that," Daschle told CBS News' "The Early Show" Tuesday morning. "That doesn't mean we're going to do it tomorrow or the next day, but clearly there is a desire to unify. We know that the differences between Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton pale by comparison [to] the differences that we now see between Barack Obama and John McCain."
As recently as May 6, Obama trailed Clinton among superdelegates, officeholders and party leaders who will attend the national convention by virtue of their positions.
But in the days following his convincing victory in the North Carolina primary and his narrow defeat in Indiana, Obama has gained the support of dozens of superdelegates and taken the lead in that category. Clinton has gained far fewer over that period.
Obama also has picked up the endorsement of former Sen. John Edwards, who dropped out of the race in the early going; two labor unions, and NARAL Pro-Choice America. The abortion rights advocacy organization has supported Clinton throughout her political career.
Fundraisers for the two campaigns have held quiet discussions on working together in the fall campaign.
Additionally, Obama's top strategist, David Axelrod, disclosed he had contacted Clinton's former campaign manager about joining forces for the general election. Patti Solis Doyle confirmed what she called informal conversations about how she might help the Illinois senator if, as expected, he secures the presidential nomination.
<1% in HRC 63% to BHO 31% according to FNC
McCain needs to choose Romney as his VP.
Please change title of article.
Correct title should read,
Voters In Oregon, Kentucky Weigh In Today
Early Exit Polls Show 80 Percent Of Clinton Voters In Ky. Would Be Dissatisfied With Obama As Nominee
I pasted the wrong header.
My apologies.
Fixed, thanks for the heads up.
Many thanks.
With 5% in, HRC 52%; BHO 44%
The only thing wrong with the economy is the upcoming $4 gal memorial day gas.
Multiple headlines do that to me too much. Always go with the most dramatic one, heh.
The numbers, in particular the one referenced here, are devastating - I do think if Obama wins the nomination, some but not most of the Clintonites would vote for him anyways, but it’s a slam-dunk win for Juan - Barack Hussein Obama has done just about everything to alienate the Clinton crowd.
I was hoping for a run a way number for the BEAST in Kentucky. Seems the Terrorist loving muslim is doing very good .. HC/51%-oSama/46%...the SHE-DEVIL is COOKED!!
McBENDOVER is also COOKED!!
The counting is still only at 20%
Exit polls showed a 15 to 20 % spread.
Awesome video:
The same kind of terrorists who support Obama did this:
http://www.frugalsites.net/911/attack/
Never apologize for them.
Never appease them.
Never forget.
58% to 38% now with 32 in
72% reporting.
65% HRC
31% BHO
Clinton 458,955 65% 33 Winner
Obama 209,763 30% 14
Uncommitted 18,027 3% 0
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