Clinton, Obama share delegates; McCain trumps Romney
HARTFORD, Conn. – Sen. Hillary Clinton won two out of three northeastern states in the Super Tuesday Democratic primaries, but her opponent Sen. Barack Obama won almost as many delegates – 165 to Clinton’s 179.
On the Republican side, Sen. John McCain won the state of Connecticut with 52 percent of the vote to former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney’s 33 percent. McCain also won in New York with 51 percent to Romney’s 28 percent, and Romney won in his home state of Massachusetts with 51 percent to McCain’s 41 percent. In the Republicans’ winner-take-all delegate system, McCain walked off with 145 delegates and Romney only 22.
In the Democratic primaries, the delegates are split according to the number of votes each candidate gets.
Clinton won the primary in Massachusetts with 56 percent of the vote and 47 delegates to Obama’s 41 percent and 29 delegates. In her home state of New York, she won 57 percent of the vote and 105 delegates. Obama took 40 percent and 74 delegates.
But it was the state of Connecticut where Obama was the surprise winner, pulling 51 percent of the vote and 25 delegates to Clinton’s 47 percent and 22 delegates, and where most of the election drama in the northeast took place.
The day before the Super Tuesday primaries, both Clinton and Obama appeared in Connecticut in one last push to win over the state’s voters.
For Clinton, it was a kind of a homecoming blast from the past with a small friendly group of invited supporters in an intimate setting.
”Hi!” she said as she walked into the Yale Child Study Center where she had worked in the 1970s while a student at Yale Law School. Before beginning her speech, she thanked the state’s attorney general Richard Blumenthal, whom she had met at Yale Law School.
The media was there in full force as Clinton spent most of the morning talking about the need for universal health insurance.
”I’ve told the health insurance industry that they are going to have to change the way they do business,” Clinton told the audience. After the meeting, she left Connecticut for some stops in Massachusetts, leaving her daughter Chelsea to represent her that night at another event with Blumenthal and another longtime member of the state’s political elite, Comptroller Nancy Wyman.
By contrast, 17,000 people showed up at a huge downtown Hartford arena that evening at an open rally for Obama. The event had the energy and exuberance of a rock concert.
”I submit that the American people desperately want something new, that they are hungry for something different,” Obama told the cheering crowd.
Sitting behind Obama were Sen. Edward Kennedy and his niece Caroline Kennedy, who had both endorsed Obama the week before. As she did during that endorsement, Caroline Kennedy compared Obama to her father, President John F. Kennedy.
The crowd was diverse, a mix of races and ages, and included a lot of young people.
Obama talked about ending the war in Iraq, health care and better schools.
All too familiar with the vagaries of Washington politics when it comes to Indian country, tribal leaders in the northeast who were reached were diplomatically reserved in their responses to the primaries.
”It was good to see McCain win,” said Richard Velky, chief of the Schaghticoke Tribal Nation in Connecticut. ”He could probably mean a lot to Indian country having been the chair of the Senate Indian Affairs Committee, as long as he keeps and open mind and gives all situations a fair opportunity based on their merits, especially for federal recognition.”
The tribal nation is still waiting for a federal judge to rule on its Administrative Procedures Appeal of the BIA’s unprecedented decision to reverse its own decision to acknowledge the tribe.
”As far as the Democrats are concerned, either Hillary or Obama would be good for Indian country. If Hillary takes the same positions that her husband did, he was very supportive of American Indians. Obama still has to prove what positions he would take, but being of a minority I think he probably has a good feel on how people have discrimination against Natives,” Velky continued.
”Historically, the Democrats have been more supportive of Indian issues; but if McCain wins, I would hope that would change,” Velky said.
Velky said that Obama’s win in Connecticut surprised him, but noted the swell of young Obama supporters.
”A lot of the younger people are finally getting out there and exercising their rights. He’s doing a good job of pulling them in.”
Randy King, the chairman of the Shinnecock Indian Nation in New York, said the elections this year are compelling.
”It’s an exciting time for the country to have a woman and an African American that may represent points of views that may not have been vigorously represented historically,” King said.
Lewis Randall, the chairman of the Eastern Pequot Tribal Nation in Connecticut, said he was not surprised by Obama’s win here, ”because you could see how the trend was going. When you have your Kennedys come out in his favor, that’s a signal right there. I’m sure Clinton was quite surprised about it; that’s a signal right there.”
Randall said it seems likely that McCain will be the Republican nominee.
”He’s always been described as a supporter of Native America, but I also feel that people have a change of heart,” Randall said.
Although it’s too early to tell where the Democrats will end up, Randall said he sees the trend moving toward Obama.
”I think the momentum has shifted to Obama because he has closed the gap; so if this continues, he has a strong chance of being the nominee and it wouldn’t displease me, that’s for sure,” he added.
The day after the primary, both Clinton and Obama could – and did – claim major victories.
Clinton won Arizona and Oklahoma – two states with high percentages of Native Americans – and California, New Jersey and Tennessee.
Clinton has the support of major Navajo leaders. According to The Farmington Daily Times, she won San Juan County, home to part of the Navajo Nation.
Obama won Alaska, Idaho, Utah, Colorado and North Dakota – which also have significant Native populations – and Georgia, Minnesota and Illinois.
In New Mexico, Clinton was leading Obama by a very close margin at press time. Turnout was huge, according to Democratic Party officials, and the vote count continued a day after the caucuses. With 180 of 184 of precincts reporting, Clinton held the narrowest of leads with approximately 43 percent to Obama’s 42.9 percent, according to preliminary returns provided by Democratic Party Chairman Brian Colon, reported on Fox News. After Alaska, the state has the highest percentage of American Indians and Alaska Natives.
