Today is a big day for the Democratic candidates with the largest remaining primaries held in Indiana and North Carolina. It is a close race in both states with a total of 187 pledged delegates at stake. Currently, Barack Obama is leading Hillary Clinton with 1,745 delegates to 1,608 delegates. In order to secure the nomination, the candidate will need a total of 2,025 delegate votes. In both Indiana and North Carolina today, the "turnout was reported brisk" according to the Washington Post article titled "Voter Turnout Brisk in Ind., N.C."
The candidates have been splitting their time campaigning in both states. Clinton said that "this election is about jobs, jobs, jobs" and "championed her proposal to suspend the federal gas tax for the summer" according to "Two Candidates, Two States and One Big Day" in the Washington Post. Bill Clinton has also been helping his wife campaign. He has been traveling to the small towns and rural areas where people would never expect him to go to where people “love him just for coming” (In Small Towns, Bill Clinton Finds A Campaign Niche, Washington Post).
Obama has also been campaigning on many of the similar issues as Clinton. He “[dismissed] her proposed gas tax holiday as a gimmick that would amount to a mere $30 per voter while costing highway construction jobs” (“Two Candidates…”).
For the Republican party, John McCain has secured the GOP nomination on February 29th and has a total of 1,266 total delegates (msnbc.com).
After today’s primaries, there will be 217 pledged delegates left in the states of West Virginia, Kentucky, Puerto Rico, Oregon, Montana, South Dakota, Michigan, and Florida (“Eight Questions About Today’s Primaries,” Washington Post). It will be interesting to see the results of today’s primaries and to watch the rest of the primaries to see how the 2008 campaign unfolds…
~Sarah
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