After more than a year of campaigning and months of primaries, it all comes down to tonight’s primary in Pennsylvania. One campaign will come to an end and the other will be the presumptive nominee for the Democratic party.
Of course, I think I may have thought the same thing before the primaries on March 4th and that split decision just meant another seven weeks of sniping between the Clinton and Obama camps. I don’t think I’m the only Democrat who’s hoping that, short of winning by a significant margin, Hillary Clinton will step aside for Barack Obama.
Yeah, I’m not betting on her stepping aside graciously. For some reason, I see her channeling the late Charlton Heston - “You’ll take the nomination from my cold, dead hands!”
Note: Again, I’ll be sticking with CNN’s primary coverage but bear with me as I’ve got a real reason this time. I want to watch John King work his magic with that Pennsylvania map, what with all those counties to track.
Pre-Coverage
Clinton’s double-digit lead has shrink to 7 percentage points, according to an average of campaign surveys - Zogby (April 19-20), Suffolk University (April 19-20) and Quinnipiac (April 18-20). The polls showed 7 percent unsure. (Source: CNN)
Polls close in Pennsylvania
8:00pm: And, of course, it’s too competitive to project a winner. This promises to be a long night.
8:06pm: We’ve got our first mention of voting irregularities!
8:11pm: Without any results coming in, we’re left with a lot of speculation from way too many political pundits.
8:13pm: All the way to June? Oh lord, please don’t let that happen. I just don’t think I can deal with the back and forth sniping for another couple of months.
8:18pm: White men voted for Clinton, 53-46.
8:19pm: No shock as white women voted for Clinton 64-36. 92-8 for Obama when it comes to black voters - not a shock in the victory but in the margin.
8:28pm: I think Paul Begala and Bill Bennett are about to take this fight outside the Time Warner Center.
8:29pm: No more talk about Reverend Wright. This is sooo last month.
8:34pm: By the way, John McCain won Pennsylvania. I know, I too hoped for a Huckabee comeback.
8:36pm: I’m a stats geek but all this talk about popular vote scenarios is a bit much. Chalk it up to lack of things to talk about when there is absolutely no raw data coming in.
8:40pm: Some things don’t change - young vote for Obama and the old vote for Clinton.
8:42pm: Leage of first-time votes? Man, that sounds awfully cheesy.
8:42pm: Hey, some numbers! Clinton jumps out to a 65-35 lead with less than 3,000 votes counted. Yes, it’s very, very early.
8:47pm: With 1% of the precincts reporting in, it’s 60-40 for Clinton.
8:51pm: Cheap shot from Alex Castellanos - “‘Clinton focuses on women.’ I was so glad it was Hillary.”
8:52pm: On second thought, that was pretty funny.
8:53pm: 55-45 for Clinton with 3% reporting in.
8:54pm: 11% of Philadelphia is in and it’s surprisingly close - 50-50. You figure Obama will win it in the end but if Clinton keeps it close, this could be the landslide win she needs.
8:55pm: Of course, Clinton’s got the blue-collar counties in her pocket.
8:59pm: 53-47 for Clinton with 5% in. The dreams of a double-digit win are starting to fade for Clinton.
9:01pm: There is a ridiculous amount of blue-collar areas in Pennsylvania.
9:04pm: And it’s over - CNN is projecting Clinton the winner in Pennsylvania.
9:07pm: “From my cold, dead hands!”
9:12pm: This came to an end about an hour sooner than I thought it would. That was rather anti-climactic. Enjoy the speeches! I’m out!
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