Hillary Rodham Clinton won California’s coveted Democratic
presidential primary Tuesday, as the most populous state wielded
its influence in the presidential nominating process for the first
time in decades.
Hillary Rodham Clinton won California’s coveted Democratic presidential primary Tuesday, as the most populous state wielded its influence in the presidential nominating process for the first time in decades.
Clinton had 55 percent to rival Barack Obama’s 33 percent, with 17 percent of precincts reporting, while John McCain was leading Mitt Romney 44 percent to 25 percent in the state’s Republican presidential primary.
Although polls had showed Clinton’s double-digit lead over Obama evaporating in the final days, exit polls conducted for The Associated Press showed she drew strong support from the state’s Hispanic voters, who backed Clinton by a margin of about 2-1. Bucking a national trend, Obama enjoyed only a slight advantage among voters under 30, the exit polls showed.
A rich trove of California delegates was at stake – 370 for Democrats and 170 for Republicans – adding to the Election Day drama as primaries and caucuses were held simultaneously in 24 states.
Californians were also voting Tuesday on several statewide propositions, including one that would modify legislative term limits and another that would allow a major expansion of Indian gambling for four Southern California tribes.
Still, it was the presidential race that attracted almost all the attention.
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, voting in Brentwood with his wife, Maria Shriver, called California Super Tuesday’s “golden prize.”
“When it comes to choosing a presidential candidate, for decades California wasn’t important. Now it is,” said the governor, who with the Legislature moved the state’s presidential primary up from June to February.
With so much at stake, campaigns for all the major candidates pushed hard in California right through Tuesday.
McCain rearranged his schedule to campaign in San Diego on Tuesday and Romney added a stop in the state Monday night. Obama’s campaign placed automated telephone calls to 500,000 people – with Stevie Wonder singing, “I just called to say I love you, and please vote for my friend Barack Obama.”
Voter registration hit a record for a presidential primary in California, at 15.7 million voters, or about 68.5 percent of those eligible.
Turnout was so strong in the San Francisco Bay area’s Alameda County that some precincts ran out of Democratic ballots, prompting a judge to order polls to remain open as late as 10 p.m.
“To run into this situation indicates that turnout was huge,” said county Registrar Guy Ashley.
About half of all ballots cast were expected to be absentee, with a high number expected to come in at the last minute. Election officials predicted that 20 percent or more of the ballots would remain uncounted on Election Night.
Secretary of State Debra Bowen reported some complaints from nonpartisan voters who had trouble voting. The Democratic and American Independent parties allowed voters who aren’t affiliated with any political party to vote in their contests, but those people had to request a special ballot. The state’s Republican primary was closed to voters not registered with the GOP.
In early exit polls, Democrats and Republicans reported the economy was the most important issue facing the country, with about 90 percent of Democrats characterizing it as not so good or poor; about two-thirds of Republicans said the same.
Reflecting the tossup races for both parties, about a quarter of voters in each primary said they had chosen their candidate in the final three days before the election.
Clinton, who saw her double-digit lead over Obama evaporate in the final days before the election, sent her husband, former President Bill Clinton, to campaign at black churches and at rallies throughout the state.
He had to contend with the celebrity power of talk show host Oprah Winfrey, who energized 9,000 people during a weekend rally in Los Angeles for Obama. Shriver also endorsed the Illinois senator, whose campaign resonated with Californians who believe Washington needs an overhaul.
“I hadn’t voted since Jimmy Carter. For the first time in my lifetime, I found someone to vote for – rather than just voting against someone,” said Hank Hardin, a 61-year-old independent and Vietnam veteran from Brentwood who voted for Obama.
Meanwhile, a measure that sought to modify term limits for state legislators by cutting two years off the maximum time lawmakers could serve, had a slight lead with just 2 percent of precincts reporting. That measure, Proposition 93, drew strong criticism because it would allow 34 lawmakers who otherwise would be termed out of the Assembly or Senate this year to stay in office for another four or six years.
Measures seeking approval for the governor’s deals to let four Indian tribes add up to 17,000 slot machines to their casinos were leading in the polls and in early returns. Propositions 94-97 attracted more than $130 million in spending, most of it for advertisements by the tribes and their allies.
Voters defeated Proposition 92, which would have dedicated a certain amount of money each year to the nation’s largest community college system and reduced course fees to $15 per unit from the current $20. The measure was proposed as the state faces a $14.5 billion budget deficit.
For commentary on the primary: check out
