Free Republic

By David Weigel 11/3/09 10:50 PM SARANAC LAKE, N.Y. – I caught Watertown, N.Y., Mayor Jeff Graham, who endorsed NY-23 Conservative Party candidate Doug Hoffman this weekend, looking very glum at Doug Hoffman’s election party. I asked him what happened in Jefferson County, where Watertown is located, and where Democrat Bill Owens is leading the vote. “We lost,” said Graham. “The Scozzafava endorsement, the [Watertown Daily Times] endorsement of Owens–I mean, they roughed Hoffman up.” Could Hoffman still pull out a win? Graham grimaced. “It’s over.”

With just three primaries left in the race for the Democratic presidential nomination, an analysis of results in the 33 primary states for which there are exit polls reveals the decisive role identity politics played in cleaving the party and determining the likely outcome: Barack Obama's overwhelming margin with black voters trumped Hillary Clinton's broad backing from white women. The finding suggests that, despite recent attention to Obama's perceived weakness with a segment of white voters because of race, his immediate challenge is to assuage the letdown and even bitterness of some white women who, along with African-Americans, have been...