Author: Ben Dalgetty
The 2008 Presidential primaries began this January and both parties have an impressive list of candidates. As the field stands, Senator Hillary Clinton has won the Democratic primary in New Hampshire and the Nevada Caucus, Senator Barack Obama came out on top of the Iowa Caucus and swept South Carolina, and Senator John Edwards has not yet won a state. Mitt Romney won the Republican caucuses in Wyoming and Nevada as well as the Michigan primary. Senator John McCain captured the primaries in both New Hampshire and South Carolina, and former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee won the Iowa Caucus.
The race for the Democratic candidacy is divided mainly between Clinton and Obama, with Edwards in the backseat, receiving second only in Iowa despite his strong debate performances. Clinton successfully captured a large portion of older African-American civil rights activists and religious leaders, due largely to President Bill Clinton’s popularity among African-American voters. However, Obama still remains popular, in particular with the younger demographic, which does not feel the same connection to Clinton.
Clinton has been supported by Robert Johnson (the founder of BET), Janet Jackson, Magic Johnson and 50 Cent, as well as 83 Congressional representatives, the New York Times and the Las Vegas Sun.
Obama has been supported by Oprah, Macy Gray, Will Smith, Senator Ted Kennedy (John F. Kennedy’s brother) and Caroline Kennedy (JFK’s daughter), who was quoted in a New York Times Opinions piece as saying, “I have never had a president who inspired me the way people tell me that my father inspired them. But for the first time, I believe I have found the man who could be that president-not just for me, but for a new generation of Americans.”
Obama also captured the sponsorship/endorsement of 47 representatives, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, the Boston Globe and the Chicago Tribune.
The Republican Party is also still searching for its candidate, with three front-runner candidates as well as former New York Mayor Rudy Guiliani, who has been campaigning exclusively in Florida. Romney leads the Republicans in Congressional endorsements, garnering 41 over McCain’s 35, Guiliani’s 25 and Huckabee’s three. However, McCain has dominated newspaper endorsements, capturing both the New York Times and the Boston Globe, compared to Romney, who received endorsements from numerous smaller newspapers, and Huckabee, who won over the Dallas Morning News.
On the road to the party conventions, a number of states’ primaries have been discounted after failing to adhere to party rules. The Democratic primaries in Michigan and Florida were invalidated when both states held their elections before the dates designated by national party leaders. Similarly, Wyoming, New Hampshire, Michigan, South Carolina and Florida all lost half of their delegates for moving their Republican primaries too far forward.
Both parties are looking towards February 5, also known as “Super Tuesday,” as a deciding point in their search for a 2008 presidential candidate. For the Democrats, 22 states-plus American Samoa and Democrats Abroad-will cast their votes on that day.
If no clear winner emerges after Super Tuesday, the candidates will continue to campaign up until the Democratic convention on August 25-28, where party delegates from each state will make the final decision.
Twenty-one states will also hold elections for the Republican candidate on February 5. The Republican convention will be held in Minneapolis on September 1-4.
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