The Super Tuesday of 2008 US presidential, on 5th February, was a crucial day in the race for US presidential election, as the largest number of states (24) had to designate which candidate will represent each party in the final race. This day should have been considered as the judgment day, deciding between both candidates Hilary Clinton and Barack Obama in the captivating match for the Democratic investiture.
It was the day when millions of Democrats cleaved sharply between these two candidates offering them a historic opportunity: becoming the first woman or first African-American to lead the party’s in the White House nomination.
The Super Tuesday of 2008 US presidential, on 5th February, was a crucial day in the race for US presidential election, as the largest number of states (24) had to designate which candidate will represent each party in the final race. This day should have been considered as the judgment day, deciding between both candidates Hilary Clinton and Barack Obama in the captivating match for the Democratic investiture.
It was the day when millions of Democrats cleaved sharply between these two candidates offering them a historic opportunity: becoming the first woman or first African-American to lead the party’s in the White House nomination.
Cutting through the middle
Yet, in view to the first outcomes, supports are divided: none of the candidates could decisively lay claim, neither secure an edge, to the nomination, assuring an electoral fight for weeks to come. The Democratic presidential nomination is more elusive than ever, and the race becomes tighter and tighter.
Exit polls showed Barack Obama winning a majority of men in many of the states and doing particularly well among white men, blacks and young people; while main supports for Hilary Clinton are women, Hispanics and older voters.
Projections
The projections showed Obama winning more states overall (13), but Clinton claimed victory in several key states (such as California and New-York) with higher delegates counts. 1,678 pledged delegates were at stake in this Super Tuesday contest, and 2,025 are needed to win the nomination. But as most states give nominating delegates to both Clinton and Obama, based on vote proportions, it’s predicting that none would have a determined lead, intensifying race as some main states (Washington, Louisiana, Texas, Ohio) hold contests over the next four weeks.
California, a key state – Obama did not succeed in captivating Hispanic vote.
Outcomes from the most populated state, California, were ones of the most important, as it was the biggest delegate prize. And the polls showed that Obama did not succeed in captivating Hispanic vote, with only 33% of the voices, against 66% to Clinton, and she also win Asiatic votes with 73%, and 55% of women votes. Throughout the night uncertainty vexed both campaigns. Early Wednesday Clinton solidified her lead there and her victory was announced with 53% of the voters. But California does not practice the rule of “winner takes all”, so that Clinton will not win all the 370 delegates for this state, and the counts are not yet done.
other states
Some other of the biggest prizes of the primary were up for grabs on that Tuesday, including Illinois, New Jersey, Georgia and Missouri. This last one, historically deemed as determining and “opinion leader” was, late in the night, almost evenly split between both Democrats, with Obama leading by half a percentage point; lead confirmed later. Obama also held wide leads in state like Minnesota and ran close behind Clinton in states like New Jersey. It left him poised to pick up a hefty number of delegates, even in some states she won.
Latest estimates suggest the pair could be separated by as few as 20 of the 1,678 delegates at stake on that Super Tuesday. But all figures cannot be confirmed yet, and are likely to change as the vote tallies are completed and delegates are awarded under complex rules that vary from a state to another. And rather than the number of voters, this is the delegate count which is the key for candidates to secure their nomination. Barack Obama, taking the stage to the strains of U2’s “It’s a Beautiful Day”, after his victory of Illinois, said at a party in Chicago : “There is one thing on this February night that we do not need the final results to know: our time has come… our movement is real and change is coming to America”
Final results
The Democratic contest will continue Saturday with primaries in Louisiana, Washington State and Nebraska followed by primaries in Virginia, Maryland and the District of Columbia on Tuesday.
Possibly, the suspense could remain for a few months again as Democratic contest could go to the National Convention in August when delegates will gather to confirm the party’s final choice. But the results of Republican nomination to the presidential race make John McCain as the favourite in the final US presidential race.
