Obama Beats Clinton, Winning More States

By the time we went to publication, it was not possible to assess the breakdown in terms of delegates won by each candidate yesterday. The Black Star News provisionally estimates that Obama will end up winning anywhere from 700 to 800 delegates–meaning that at worse Obama would trail Clinton by anywhere from about 100 delegates to just several dozen delegates.

[Elections 2008]

With 1,678 delegates at stake for the Democratic presidential nomination, Senator Barack Obama beat Hillary Clinton by winning at least 13 states compared to Clinton’s 8 victories, in 22 states where Democrats competed.

New Mexico was tied with each candidate garnering 48% of the votes, by our publication time.

Without the New Mexico results, which will come later, Obama now has a total of 732 delegates (626 won; 106 super) while Clinton has 823 (632 won; 193 super).

Delegates are apportioned on a proportional basis–meaning while a candidate can win a state, or a voting district within a state, say by earning 60% of the votes, the trailing candidate would gain at least 40% of the available delegates.

In addition to pledged delegates, the ones actually won in contests, each candidate gets support from “super delegates,” comprising of members of congress,senators, and party officials.

Clinton won some of the top states with the most delegates at stake, such as California and New York. Yet, Obama also won states with huge delegate counts such as Illinois, his home state.

Additionally Obama won Alabama, Alaska, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Georgia, Idaho, Kansas, Minnesota, N. Dakota, and Utah.

Clinton additionally won Arizona, Arkansas, Massachussetts, New Jersey, Oklahoma, and Tennessee.

Obama kept the margin close in California by winning more than 90% of the African American vote, and beating Clinton by getting support from more white male voters than she got. Clinton was boosted to California victory by Asians and Latinos.

Both Democratic candidates survived the bruising battle and now the race is guaranteed to continue through April and perhaps to the August Democratic Party Convention.

The contest shifts this weekend to Louisiana, Nebraska and Washington state. Maryland, Virginia and Washington, D.C., vote next week.

John McCain emerged as the front runner in the Republican field; Mike Huckabee exceeded expectations, while Mitt Romney, who has spent millions of his own money, may have been mortally wounded, with his defeat in California by McCain.

Unlike the Democrats, in most of the states contested by the Republicans, the winning candidate wins all the delegates.

 

[More To Come]

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