June 18, 2009 6:26 PM
- Text
Pennsylvania Democrats Crowd Polls
(AP)
Despite weeks of furious campaigning by Barack Obama and Hillary Rodham Clinton, some Pennsylvania Democrats were still scrambling to pick a side Tuesday as they streamed to the polls for the high-stakes presidential primary.
The choice nagged at Kermita Williams until nearly the moment she pulled the lever for Obama in suburban Philadelphia. Williams said she supported Clinton early, but tired of her negative attacks late in the campaign.
"She lost a lot of credibility with me, with all her bickering back and forth," said Williams, a retiree from Malvern. "I was in her corner, but she showed me some weakness."
The crisp spring morning found enthusiastic voters queuing up at local schools and firehouses to cast their ballots. Election judges in Susquehanna Township, near Harrisburg, had checked in 10 percent of the ward's voters by 9 a.m.
Cindy Wiedl, 50, a full-time student at Harrisburg Area Community College, stood in front of the voting machine for several minutes before pushing the button for Obama, based in part on his pledge in a Tuesday morning television interview to help working people.
Her husband, Anthony Wiedl, a 55-year-old supermarket cashier, voted for Clinton, but said he had "kept listening to what Barack was saying and the wheels were turning."
Poll workers reported high turnout across the state. A line of voters snaked out the door at Allentown's First Presbyterian Church, jammed the two-bay firehouse in the small Philadelphia suburb of Roslyn and filled a fire company in Bellevue, a working-class suburb north of Pittsburgh.
Many voters said they reached decisions only after watching the debates, studying the candidates' Web sites or attending a campaign event. But psychotherapist Kathleen Gavin said the former first lady earned her vote "10 years ago."
"I think she's done tremendous work in the country and in the world," said Gavin, 44, of Allentown. "I don't think he (Obama) has the experience, the wisdom or the presence that Hillary has."
The primary is the first test of the candidates' strength in six weeks, and will decide the allocation of 158 delegates to this summer's national nominating convention - the largest bloc of delegates still up for grabs.
By plane, train, bus and car, the two candidates and their surrogates have been relentless in courting Pennsylvania voters. They spent millions of dollars on TV advertising and squared off in Philadelphia for the 21st debate of their campaign.
Election workers in the University City section of West Philadelphia - whose voters include University of Pennsylvania employees, Drexel University students and residents of the lower-income Powelton Village neighborhood - reported strong registration in the typically transient district.
"I have never seen a polling book this thick," poll worker Sheryl Simons said. "The debates and the candidates coming to campus has really heightened interest."
Voter excitement over the Democratic presidential nomination contest pushed the party's Pennsylvania registration to record levels. Clinton and Obama hoped that same fervor would translate into votes on Tuesday. Obama, an Illinois senator, has trailed Clinton in the polls by a small margin in recent weeks.
Statewide turnout would set a modern record for Democratic presidential primaries in Pennsylvania if more than 2.3 million of the 4.2 million registered party members show up.
The current record - just under 55 percent - was set in 1980, when Massachusetts Sen. Edward Kennedy narrowly defeated then-President Carter in Pennsylvania.
Democratic enrollment began to soar earlier this year when it became apparent that neither candidate would clinch the nomination before Pennsylvania's primary, making it a factor in a presidential nomination for the first time in more than three decades. Voters must be registered Democrats to vote in the Clinton-Obama race. The Republican primary is also being held Tuesday, but Sen. John McCain of Arizona is already the presumptive nominee.
Since last fall's election, largely due to the aggressive efforts of the two presidential campaigns, the number of Democrats increased by nearly 317,000 as of March 24, the deadline for switching or joining parties.
Nearly 150 people had voted in Roslyn by 9 a.m., which election workers called a brisk turnout.
"I never dreamed there would be a woman running, but I think it would be a great change for the United States of America," said Bill Stabilito, 83, a retired machinist and World War II veteran who voted for Clinton.
The Democratic presidential race is not the only one being decided Tuesday - there are nomination contests for state treasurer, Congress and the state Legislature - but it is unquestionably the biggest draw for voters.
Dave Price, 65, a Republican in western Pennsylvania, cast a vote early Tuesday for McCain. But he said that's not necessarily the way he will go in the November general election.
"If Obama runs, I'll be very interested in taking a look," said Price, a retiree voting in Bellevue. "The change theme gets me."
The choice nagged at Kermita Williams until nearly the moment she pulled the lever for Obama in suburban Philadelphia. Williams said she supported Clinton early, but tired of her negative attacks late in the campaign.
"She lost a lot of credibility with me, with all her bickering back and forth," said Williams, a retiree from Malvern. "I was in her corner, but she showed me some weakness."
The crisp spring morning found enthusiastic voters queuing up at local schools and firehouses to cast their ballots. Election judges in Susquehanna Township, near Harrisburg, had checked in 10 percent of the ward's voters by 9 a.m.
Cindy Wiedl, 50, a full-time student at Harrisburg Area Community College, stood in front of the voting machine for several minutes before pushing the button for Obama, based in part on his pledge in a Tuesday morning television interview to help working people.
Her husband, Anthony Wiedl, a 55-year-old supermarket cashier, voted for Clinton, but said he had "kept listening to what Barack was saying and the wheels were turning."
Poll workers reported high turnout across the state. A line of voters snaked out the door at Allentown's First Presbyterian Church, jammed the two-bay firehouse in the small Philadelphia suburb of Roslyn and filled a fire company in Bellevue, a working-class suburb north of Pittsburgh.
Many voters said they reached decisions only after watching the debates, studying the candidates' Web sites or attending a campaign event. But psychotherapist Kathleen Gavin said the former first lady earned her vote "10 years ago."
"I think she's done tremendous work in the country and in the world," said Gavin, 44, of Allentown. "I don't think he (Obama) has the experience, the wisdom or the presence that Hillary has."
The primary is the first test of the candidates' strength in six weeks, and will decide the allocation of 158 delegates to this summer's national nominating convention - the largest bloc of delegates still up for grabs.
By plane, train, bus and car, the two candidates and their surrogates have been relentless in courting Pennsylvania voters. They spent millions of dollars on TV advertising and squared off in Philadelphia for the 21st debate of their campaign.
Election workers in the University City section of West Philadelphia - whose voters include University of Pennsylvania employees, Drexel University students and residents of the lower-income Powelton Village neighborhood - reported strong registration in the typically transient district.
"I have never seen a polling book this thick," poll worker Sheryl Simons said. "The debates and the candidates coming to campus has really heightened interest."
Voter excitement over the Democratic presidential nomination contest pushed the party's Pennsylvania registration to record levels. Clinton and Obama hoped that same fervor would translate into votes on Tuesday. Obama, an Illinois senator, has trailed Clinton in the polls by a small margin in recent weeks.
Statewide turnout would set a modern record for Democratic presidential primaries in Pennsylvania if more than 2.3 million of the 4.2 million registered party members show up.
The current record - just under 55 percent - was set in 1980, when Massachusetts Sen. Edward Kennedy narrowly defeated then-President Carter in Pennsylvania.
Democratic enrollment began to soar earlier this year when it became apparent that neither candidate would clinch the nomination before Pennsylvania's primary, making it a factor in a presidential nomination for the first time in more than three decades. Voters must be registered Democrats to vote in the Clinton-Obama race. The Republican primary is also being held Tuesday, but Sen. John McCain of Arizona is already the presumptive nominee.
Since last fall's election, largely due to the aggressive efforts of the two presidential campaigns, the number of Democrats increased by nearly 317,000 as of March 24, the deadline for switching or joining parties.
Nearly 150 people had voted in Roslyn by 9 a.m., which election workers called a brisk turnout.
"I never dreamed there would be a woman running, but I think it would be a great change for the United States of America," said Bill Stabilito, 83, a retired machinist and World War II veteran who voted for Clinton.
The Democratic presidential race is not the only one being decided Tuesday - there are nomination contests for state treasurer, Congress and the state Legislature - but it is unquestionably the biggest draw for voters.
Dave Price, 65, a Republican in western Pennsylvania, cast a vote early Tuesday for McCain. But he said that's not necessarily the way he will go in the November general election.
"If Obama runs, I'll be very interested in taking a look," said Price, a retiree voting in Bellevue. "The change theme gets me."
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