Clinton Victorious In 3 States
This story was written by Teresa Mioli, Daily Texan
The second Super Tuesday has come and gone, but Americans are waking up with a hazy picture as to who might spend the next four years in the White House.
Voters in Texas, Ohio and Rhode Island kept Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton in the fight for the Democratic party nomination, while Sen. John McCain won the Republican nomination after sweeping primaries in Texas, Ohio, Rhode Island and Vermont.
Clinton's triumphs broke her 11-state losing streak to Sen. Barack Obama, who took the Vermont primary Tuesday night.
More than 300 Clinton supporters went to rally for her at Hill's Cafe on South Congress Avenue.
Former President Bill Clinton arrived moments after CNN projected his wife as the winner in Texas.
"Hillary came here to the dusty roads of Texas for her first political job," Bill Clinton said.
Bill Clinton said the supporters of the campaign will look to the future and that his wife will continue to "brave the caucuses" and fight for victory.
Kamyl Bazbaz, spokesman for Clinton's Austin campaign, said the goal is to make sure everyone who wants to aid in the campaign goes out to help.
"Tonight there was an incredible amount of energy. The supporters are so excited," Bazbaz said. "Winning in Texas is the proof in the pudding. And for President Bill Clinton to show up on his own accord says a lot. We look forward to a big future ahead of the campaign."
Obama's supporters said the race is not over.
Nick Kimball, a spokesman for Obama's Austin campaign, said though CNN projected Clinton won Texas, votes still needing to be counted in Houston could sway the state in Obama's favor.
"We always knew Sen. Clinton had a very distinct advantage in Texas with long-held ties to the Democrats established in the state," Kimball said. "But one thing I would caution you on is there's still quite a bit of votes still out there."
The campaign's objective was to keep things close and pick up as many delegates as possible, he said.
Candy Owens has missed every Texas primary since she moved to Ohio 20 years ago, but made it back to her home state for one of the most important primaries in Texas history.
Owens was at Scholz Garten Tuesday for the official Barack Obama supporters rally, and said young people inspired her to vote and caucus.
"This was the most important election I have ever been involved in, and what made it so exciting for me was seeing the youth involved," Owens said.
The Republican race was not as heated as the Democratic one and McCain's competitor has called it quits. Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee conceded his bid and pledged to help McCain unify the party after losing in all four states. McCain will now look to the Republican National Convention starting Sept. 1 in Minneapolis-St. Paul, Minn.
There were 228 Democratic delegates up for grabs in Texas. The primaries determined 126 delegates, the caucuses determined 67 and 12 votes are determined by super-delegates from the Texas Democratic party.
With 189 of 210 Travis County precincts reporting at press time, Obama took 62.48 percent of the vote and Clinton took 36.86 percent, according to the Travis County Clerk. McCain won 52.18 percent of the Republican vote in Travis County, Huckabee took 26.66 percent and Texas congressman Ron Paul took 16.91 percent.
Between today and June 3, 10 more states will host primaries, conventions and caucuses. To win the Democratic nomination, a candidate needs 2,025 delegate votes. If a nominee is not decided by June 3, Obama and Clinton will compete for the party's nomination at the Democratic National Convention in Denver, Colorado starting Aug. 25.
© 2008 Daily Texan via U-WIRE