VideoNEW YORK, Feb. 5, 2008
Behind The Clinton-Obama Draw
Black And Young Voters Back Obama; Latinos, White Women And The Elderly Support Clinton
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Play CBS Video Video Obama: Clinton Not Real Change "CBS News RAW": In the midst of a nail-bighting Super Tuesday, Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., reaffirmed his ties with rival Sen. Hillary Clinton, but said she would not do enough to change Washington.
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Video Hillary Congratulates Obama "CBS News RAW": Speaking to a frenzied crowd of supporters in New York, N.Y., Sen. Hillary Clinton, D-N.Y., congratulated her main rival, Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., on his Super Tuesday wins.
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Democratic presidential hopeful Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, D-N.Y, right, and husband, former President Bill Clinton, left, greet supporters at the Douglas Grafflin Elementary School in Chappaqua, New York, Tuesday, Feb. 5, 2008, after casting their votes in the New York Democratic primary. (AP)
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Democratic presidential hopeful, Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., waves to his supporters as he goes to vote at Beulah Shoesmith Elementary School Tuesday, Feb. 5, 2008., in Chicago. (AP)
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Interactive Super Tuesday 2008 Huge chunk of delegates on the line as voters in more than 20 states headed to polls.
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Voters split their support nearly equally between Hillary Clinton and Barak Obama in states holding Democratic primaries on Super Tuesday, according to CBS News exit polls.
Nationwide, 49 percent of Super Tuesday voters supported Clinton, while 46 percent supported Obama. Regardless of who wins the nomination, the overwhelming majority of voters would be content with either outcome. Seventy-two percent would be satisfied if Clinton were the nominee, while 70 percent would be satisfied in Obama were the nominee.
Economic concerns continue to weigh heavily on Democratic primary voters. Ninety-one percent of voters said the economy was not good or poor. Nearly half (48 percent) of voters cited the economy as the most important issue facing the nation, with the remaining voters splitting between the Iraq war (29 percent) and health care (29 percent).
Clinton was favored by a majority of voters who thought the economy and health care to be most important, while Obama was the choice for voters most worried about the war in Iraq.
View All Super Tuesday Results
Voters clearly wanted a new approach to deal with these problems. A majority (51 percent), said they wanted a candidate who could bring about change, as opposed to 23 percent who preferred a candidate with experience.
Fourteen percent wanted a candidate who cares about people like them, and 9 percent wanted a candidate who would win in November. Obama was the choice among voters who sought change, while Clinton was the choice among voters who sought experience or empathy. Voters who wanted a winner were evenly divided between Clinton and Obama.
Coalitions that proved important in earlier primary states such as New Hampshire and South Carolina held once again, and fueled victories in states where these coalitions comprised a disproportionate part of the electorate. Obama did particularly well among blacks and young voters, whereas Clinton won the support of Latinos, white women, and the elderly.
Blacks turn out heavily for Obama
Black voters across the country threw their support overwhelmingly behind Obama. Nationally, 82 percent of blacks voted for Obama, compared to 17 percent who voted for Clinton. The margin was 85 to 14 among black men, and 80 to 18 among black women.
Turnout among black voters was heavy across the country, proving to be decisive in several East Coast states. In Georgia, where Obama defeated Clinton by more than 30 points in the popular vote, blacks comprised 51 percent of the electorate. Obama won 87 percent of their votes compared to only 12 percent for Clinton.
It was the same story in Alabama, where blacks comprised 51 percent of the Democratic electorate. They backed Obama by a margin of 84-15 percent. In Delaware, turnout among blacks was a whopping 12 points higher than in 2004, and comprised 28 percent of the electorate. Obama won the support of 86 percent of black voters in Delaware, compared to only 9 percent for Clinton.
Latinos heavily support Clinton
Clinton drew heavily from Latino voters, who comprised 16 percent of primary electorate on Super Tuesday. Sixty-four percent of Hispanic voters nationwide supported Clinton, as opposed to 34 percent who backed Obama. She won 68 percent of the vote among Latino women and 59 percent of the vote among Latino men.
Latino voters propelled Clinton to victory in two Western states. In California, Latinos comprised a 29 percent of the electorate, up 13 points from 2004. Clinton won Latino voters by a whopping 40 points, 69 percent of the Latino vote, whereas Obama pulled in 29 percent of the vote. In Arizona, Latino voters make up 18 percent of primary voters. Clinton won 55 percent of Latino voters in Arizona, while Obama was supported by 41 percent.
Obama Energizes Young Voters
Obama decisively won voters under 30 years of age. Nationwide, Obama won 56 percent of young voters, while Clinton was supported by 42 percent. Young men supported Obama by a margin of 64 -33 percent over Clinton, while young women supported Obama by 53-45 percent. The margins were similar among young people who attended college and those who did not.
Young people proved to be particularly crucial to Obama’s victory in Connecticut. Obama won voters under 30 years of age by 19 points, receiving the support of 58 percent of this age group, compared to 39 percent who supported Clinton.
The Elderly Support Clinton
Clinton once again performed well among elderly voters, who comprised 28 percent of the Super Tuesday primary electorate. Clinton was supported by 56 percent of voters 60 years of age and older, whereas Obama was supported by 35 percent. Support was similar by gender, with Clinton leading Obama among elderly women voters 59 percent to 34 percent, and among elderly men 53 percent to 38 percent.
Elderly voters powered Clinton’s victories in several key states. In Oklahoma, where Clinton won by more than 20 points, elderly voters comprised 42 percent of the electorate. Clinton won this group by nearly a three-to-one margin, securing 64 percent of their votes compared to 23 percent for Obama.
In Tennessee, elderly voters made up 28 percent of the electorate. Clinton won the support of 65 percent of elderly Tennessee voters, as opposed to only 26 percent for Obama.
White Women Back Clinton
Similar to their behavior in the early primary states, white women once again supported Clinton by a wide margin. White women comprised 35 percent of the Democratic electorate. Fifty-nine percent of white female voters supported Clinton, compared to 35 percent who supported Obama.
White female voters were a key factor in several Clinton victories. In Massachusetts, white women comprised an enormous 50 percent of the electorate. Clinton won these voters by almost a two-to-one margin, securing 65 percent of white female voters as opposed to 34 percent for Obama. In New Jersey, white females made up 34 percent of Democratic voters. A whopping 72 percent of them supported Clinton, compared to only 27 percent for Obama
Looking Ahead
The further strengthening of the coalitions built by Clinton and Obama may provide insights into the upcoming primary battlegrounds. On Saturday, Louisiana holds their Democratic primary. The large number of black voters in the state bodes well for Obama, who scored impressive victories in the nearby states of Alabama and Georgia with similar demographics.
The poll was conducted for the AP and the television networks by Edison Media Research and Mitofsky International as voters left sites in the Super Tuesday primary states. The Democratic poll interviewed 16,290 primary voters. The margin of sampling error was plus or minus 1 percentage point.
Samuel Best is the Director of the Center for Survey Research and Analysis and Associate Professor of Political Science at the University of Connecticut. He holds a Ph.D. in political science from SUNY-Stony Brook.
The poll was conducted for the AP and the television networks by Edison Media Research and Mitofsky International as voters left sites in the Super Tuesday primary states. The Republican poll interviewed 10,402 primary voters. The margin of sampling error was plus or minus 1.5 percentage points.
© MMVIII, CBS Interactive Inc. All Rights Reserved.
More From Politics
Michelle Obama tells how her role as the First Lady has changed her perspective.
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See all 91 CommentsPosted by croft777 at 09:45 PM : Feb 06, 2008
You got that right! Vote for Hillary vote for Hillary vote for Hillary!
Clinton overwhelmingly won in those states which conducted primary elections.
Obama''s wins came predominantly in those states which had caucuses. The few primary states where he had a win, such as his own home state, had voting populations whose demographics were unusually slanted to endorse his candidacy.
Party caucuses tend to emphasize the roles of party activists especially those who are politically on the margins of the nation as a whole.
In the case of democrats this means the liberal wing of the party.
But it is the liberal wing of the party who are most disgruntled with Hillary Clinton''s candidacy. They are also least reflective of the nation''s electorate.
In the primary states where there was a general election, the electorate better reflected the diversity of viewpoints present in the nation as a whole.
Primary states went overwhelmingly for Clinton.
Thus, although Obama carried more states, as a result of the caucus system, this actually result undermines his claim for being a more "electable" candidate. His successes reflect his popularity with a more extreme electorate.
Clinton''s superior performance in primary states with their diverse electorates clearly demonstrates that she is the candidate more likely to obtain wide national support.
%u2026%u2026%u2026.the disenfranchisement of voters in Mich and Fla also happen to be predominately Hillary Delegates, by allowing these voters to be heard and by elevating SC a different demographic in the Party for a State that had no chance of going Blue in 08 when Mich is a must win and Fla a strong want. There is no way to fix this equitably not without marginalizing groups within the base it was just plain dumb and the grudge card already played so blacks and non blacks are already on edge. Resolution will be nothing but ugly.
Another the DNC enabling of the Progressive Blogs and Talk Radio as spokesperson for the Party who behave as rabid and irrational as the wing nut on the right or Rush himself appearing as Pundits representing the Party, Dean just recently resurfacing.
And finally a candidate O and wife who believe this election is about them and have been clear their loyalties are to themselves not a Party. Good luck with that Dems%u2026%u2026
To late to replace Dean and after Nov it may not matter but really they could not have self inflicted more harm.
Come up with some new material, we have heard those same lies from guys like you for months. I really believe that when you post ridiculously inaccurate assertions, it insults the readers intelligence and serves as deterrent and undermines your intended cause. In short, your nutty comments in opposition to Senator Obama are really helping the Obama Campaign...
First: please wake up and don%u2019t be fooled by a phony: Here are the reasons why:
-what this rookie and REZKO have in common? Muslim%u2019s sons are Muslims for life. Blood is sticker than water. You can run but you can not hide.
-refused to say the Pledge of Allegiance. He did not want to offend ISLAM so he refused.
-claims he%u2019s running on his record.. He did not even know how to cast a %u201CYes%u201D or %u201CNo%u201D vote. He voted %u201Cpresent%u201D more than hundred times.
- had 17 years%u2019 old unpaid outstanding parking tickets. He should spent sometime in jail.
-insisted that his health care provides care to everyone, does he know what universal means?
-a fabulous orator, but we need more than words; we need a doer not a talker
-he says one thing and does another
-will meet with enemies without preconditions
-he said that he was not taking money from the Lobbyists. How about the Rezko connection?
-playing old politics as usual, after he promised hope and change%u2026.
-used to be a drug addict or a pusher?
-nexperienced, lack of accomplishments
Well said, croft, WELL SAID. Go Hillary !!
Everything will be different. I wonder how I will go about tying my shoes in this wonderful new age.
((The PEACE LADDER- an orbiting real rung ladder, each rung made by a peace activist group or family, coming together, people ride the ladder, singing songs, and dropping flower to earth below. Orbits cross Washington, Moscow and all of Middle East, daily reminding people that peace is the answer, not war.))
wars will go on and on and on... but this economy won''t. You think we''d learn by now the consenquences of Greed, of ancient civilizations that have collasped because the elite didn''t give a da**mm about the ordinary people who make up the majority and keep their dumb azzzes on their feet, but not if those ordinary people fall, they all will fall then even the elite.
The numbers don''''t add up for you Billary
He''s not going to be up in my state.My state is not about to vote that *** in. Theres alot of Clinton fans here buddy, look out, the good witch is gonna get you! Go Hillary!!!!
Your a goof ball. Theres more trash on the republicans than you can shake a stick at. They tried already to find dirt on the clintons, didn''t work. save it buddy, you might have to eat those words.
cbsespo
So, whats he about, PLEASE TELL ME!! This enquiring mind wants to know. I think I do though. Get a life, no more of these fairy tales, thats only for babies.
Very well said! Well the black man got to vote before women. Some men are just tur*ds. Their insecurity about women make them that way. They know whose got the power if the truth be known.You know women can get most men to do just about anything, even roll over..lol. Its great.But we do have to congratulate the real men in this world, the ones who are not insecure, who know that gender shouldn''t matter. Anyways, I want Hillary to win, but if she doesn''t make it, I won''t vote at all. Let them fight it out. They want this a mans world so be it, goes to show you how well they did their job. Not that they concern me, I''ll do what I please anyways.
dschellb
So where are they? People have spent million of dollars trying to find dirt on her and for that matter Bill, they couldn''t find none except the BJ he got, big deal. Obama is a fruit loop in my cereal that about to get eaten. lol lol lol. Hes got dirt in his dump truck hes been trying to disquise, but hes not doing a very good job about it. Yeah sure Amercians want an idiot like him, hes more racist then there are flys on sh*t. His buddy mr. wright is a terrorist hiding in the bushes with his ol'' buddy Farrakhan.And all his muslim friends are keeping quiet just so we won''t suspect that hes really a muslim, but his mind says, "I don''t know what I am, I just don''t know, I''m so confused"
YOU IDIOTS ARE JUST GETTING SUCKED INTO INDUSTRY MACHINE WHILE A FEW INTELLIGENT PEOPLE ARE WATCHING AND GETTING PULLED OVER THE CLIFF IN YOUR MASS IGNORANCE.FORGIVE THEM FATHER. THEY KNOW NOT WHAT THEY DO.
No, its the few getting sucked in by Obamas cult to worship him. People are stupid. I saw a statue that someone created in chicago of Obama as Jesus Christ. So now hes Jesus Christ. How sick is that. He''s just another Hitler waiting to happen.
On the night of a huge win for both of them, Hillary congratulates Obama on his success...the street punk stands up there and says, Clinton is not real change!
He has done this from Day One of this campaign. He cannot even look to a future of his own making, nor address and articulate policies and issues and has not the class to look beyond his own ego...all he can do is say "I am going to make give you hope and change, and Hillary can''t!" What kind of bull ***** dip ***** is this kind of behavior that I want in the White House! Puleeeeeeeeeze!!!
Well said!
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