On Saturday, March 8, Barack Obama won the Democratic Wyoming caucus. He took 61% of the caucus to 38% for Hillary Clinton. The overall delegate total was little changed by Obama’s 7-5 victory. Mitt Romney won the Republican Wyoming caucus in January.
Overall Delegate Count (2,024 needed to win)
Barack Obama: 1,527 (1,328 pledged; 199 super)
Hillary Clinton: 1,428 (1,190 pledged; 238 super)
There are still 1,066 delegates to be awarded, however there are only around 750 pledged delegates left, and neither can realistically win enough for clinching the nomination. There are still 359 undecided superdelegates, but the 796 superdelegates can change their mind at any time.
My Take
This makes little difference. The major contest is still Pennsylvania on April 22 and Mississippi this Tuesday, but it is so long until the Pennsylvania primaries that a victory by either in Mississippi would carry no significant momentum. On a side note, this victory attests to Obama’s caucus strength since in the individual counties he won with at least 60% of the vote while receiving around 45% support in those that he lost.
Michigan/Florida
More important for the Democratic race is the fate of the delegates from Michigan and Florida. For moving their primary up past February 5, the Democratic National Committee (DNC) stripped the states of their delegates to deter other states from doing the same. Now, with the race so close, there is talk of what to do with the states’ delegates. Some say that the votes should stand, but neither campaigned in either state and Obama was not even on the Michigan ballot. Some have called for a revote, but that would cost $10 million in Michigan and $20 million in Florida. There have been also calls for a caucus or Democratic Party Chairman Howard Dean has stated that mail-in ballots might be utilized to keep costs low. The question of who picks up the cost is the major stumbling block, as Governor Granholm of Michigan has stated that no Michigan tax dollars will be used for the effort, and Dean asserted that the DNC will not foot the bill to make up for Michigan’s and Florida’s decision to break party rules.
My Take
Personally, I believe that a caucus should be held in each state so cost is down and it is more of a party decision since I believe that a party’s candidate should be chosen primarily by the party, and I originally stood in solidarity with DNC in its effort to maintain some control over the nominating process. But, I think in the end funds will be gathered by some means for a primary redo. But, the race is too close to ignore two big states. However, results from a contest with only Clinton on the ballot cannot stand, and mail-ins would be a horrible mess to distribute and collect to count—not to mention coordinating mailing for a certain day by millions that live in Florida and Michigan. What do you guys think should be done?
Final Note
Ron Paul has, in effect, ended his campaign by acknowledging he will not be the nominee or that there is hope for a brokered convention in which his beliefs and principles can make it onto the Republican platform. He has vowed to continue to fight for his beliefs and for change in America.
Edit, 3/11/08-
Ron Paul has affirmed in an interview that he has, in fact, not ended his campaign.
Links
http://www.cnn.com/ELECTION/2008/primaries/results/state/#WY
http://www.cnn.com/ELECTION/2008/primaries/results/scorecard/#D
http://www.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/03/09/michigan.florida/index.html
http://www.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/03/07/florida.michigan/index.html
http://www.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/03/07/ron.paul/index.html
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/03/07/AR2008030703061.html
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
2 comments:
As far as your inquiry goes, Chris, I believe that using a low-cost caucus while barring voters who voted in the Republican primary on January 14th (if I recall correctly) would be the best way to go about a re-vote for the two states. Complaints about a caucus being open too short a time will subside if the caucus is held some time in June when weather is not an issue in either state, and this way voters in both states could get out and make their voices heard.
Don't know about Florida, but Michigan has no party identification so there is no realistic way to make it a Democratic exclusive while keeping out the other party since there is no current list of the party. It would probably be an "open caucus" the same way an open primary is open if it went to that.
Post a Comment