Hillary Clinton Wins Ohio; John McCain Takes Buckeye State and Nomination
And he did. It was icing on the cake for McCain, who won handily in all four Republican primaries. Huckabee, who was expected to announce whether or not he would stay in the race on Wednesday, March 5, unexpectedly announced that he was conceding the race just before 9:30 p.m. EST and endorsed Senator McCain for president. After McCain acknowledged his victories, CNN announced that president Bush would receive Senator McCain at the White House at 1:15 p.m. EST to formally and officially announce his endorsement of the Party's chosen candidate.
But just as much as the Republicans were showing overwhelming support for John McCain, the Democrats were showing a split amongst the votes. Ohio may have been a second fiddle state to McCain, but the Buckeye state had become crucial in Senator Hillary Clinton's plans to stop Senator Barack Obama's momentum. Obama had won 11 straight contests and Clinton needed a win not only to stop him, but to show that she was still a viable candidate for the nomination of the Democratic Party for president. Clinton also trailed Obama in pledged delegates, total delegates, and number of state's won. Many political analysts saw the March 5 primaries as Clinton's last stand to make her bid and some believe that it is already too late, that she trails by far too many, the contests are too closely matched, and there aren't enough delegates left among the remaining primary states for her to retake the lead over Senator Obama.
Many fear a race already grown heated becoming one of dirty and destructive infighting.
Early poll returns showed Clinton a heavy favorite in Rhode Island, effectively stopping Obama's win streak, but just as much as she was winning in that state, she was losing in Vermont. As the polls closed in Texas and Ohio and the precincts began reporting in, the two New England states were projected to the leading candidates. As 11:00 p.m approached and Senator Clinton had taken a slight percentage lead in the Texas Primary (with 30% of the precincts reporting thus far), CNN declared Senator Clinton the projected winner in Ohio. With over 50% of the precincts reporting, Clinton had a lead of more than 15%, a surprising and substantial margin.
This tightening of an already close race could prove the Democrats undoing. As the Republicans consolidate and repair any damage done during their primaries, the Democratic Party might be headed for a brokered convention, a fight over the remaining delegates in upcoming primaries, and jockeying to secure the undecided super delegates. In effect, while the Republicans try to unify their political structure, the Democrats could very well be headed toward further division and detrimental infighting, something Democratic leaders certainly did not want.
The Democratic contest will no doubt be carried to the Denver convention floor. Senator Hillary Clinton entered the primaries to be the presidential nominee of her party; she will undoubtedly not stop until she either has the nomination or has lost it. Having stopped Obama's momentum, however, may not be enough.
The question that seems to be on many political analysts and experts minds is: What price victory? Does the continuation of the race and the almost assured mudslinging that will come with it pose a threat to the Democratic chances in the general election? In short, could a hardfought and bitter campaign that results in a win for either Clinton or Obama only spell defeat for that nominee in the general election?
It seems that America is going to find out...
Sources:
CNN Television
Published by Saul Relative
WVU graduate, with degrees in History, English, Secondary Education, Computer Programming, and Psychology (and nearly a degree in Political Science). Originally from West Virginia, with stints in Virginia,... View profile
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2 Comments
Post a CommentRosa: According to all the experts and analysts (and even Bill got in on the deal, desperately appealing to the voters, telling them that if she didn't win Ohio and Texas, it was over), Clinton needed the wins to remain viable. Many believed that if she lost one or both, the DNC would have come out and blatantly pressured her to withdraw. Now, it looks as if we'll be going to the end...
This race has been the most heated one that I have seen in a while. I thought that Clinton needed to win both Ohio and Texas to stay in the race, am I wrong?