Obama And McCain Sweep Potomac Primaries
Those who believed that Obama's momentum might be thwarted in Virginia by Senator Hillary Clinton found nothing of the sort in Tuesday's results. In fact, Obama won by some very large margins (51% in Washington, D.C.).
And Obama's wins put him finally in the lead in the number of delegates.
According to CNN, Clinton's camp responded to these crushing defeats by another personnel shake-up. Mike Henry, Clinton's deputy campaign manager, resigned Tuesday night. Henry is the second high-level Clinton campaign official to resign in a week. On Sunday, Patti Solis Doyle, Clinton's campaign manager, resigned. Doyle hired Henry after he masterminded now Governor of Virginia Tim Kaine's successful campaign.
Obama's continued success and the dominating percentages by which he has won will undoubtedly place considerable pressure on the superdelegates to support Obama's nomination at the Democratic National Convention in Denver. Unless the Clinton camp can stop Obama's run - and the New York senator could do just that in Ohio, Texas, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin - the Democratic superdelegates, upon who the eventual Democratic presidential nomination will most likely now rest, will be extremely hard pressed to follow the will of the Democratic electorate.
As for Senator John McCain's nomination, and he will be the Republican nominee, the question has come down to a question of when, not if, he will gain the number of delegates to secure the Republican nomination. Mike Huckabee has stated he will not step aside and concede the nomination, even after McCain's sweep of the Potomac Primaries, making the rest of the primaries for the Republicans a matter of interesting contests forestalling the inevitable.
CNN exit polls are showing a shift in the Democratic voting electorate as well. The base of Senator Clinton's voting strength has been the blue-collar white male vote. Obama took that vote in Virginia. This could bode ill for Clinton in Ohio and Texas, which have huge blue-collar populations.
Where is all this going?
It seems that John McCain will win enough delegates in the next few weeks to secure the Republican nomination. And perhaps his opponent is being chosen by the Democrats fear of losing the general election. According to RealClearPolitics.com, their average of national polls has McCain defeating Senator Clinton (46.6% - 45.6%) but losing to Senator Obama (43.7% - 47.4%) in the general election. These numbers could also influence the final superdelegate vote as well, giving Senator Obama the Democratic nomination this fall.
Sources:
Candy Crowley, Suzanne Malveaux, and Jessica Yellin, "Clinton's deputy campaign manager resigns," CNNPolitics.com
"Exit Polls: Virginia," CNNPolitics.com
"General Election: McCain vs. Clinton," RealClearPolitics.com
"General Election: McCain vs. Obama," RealClearPolitics.com
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