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Posted on 01.31.08 by Stephen Covington @ 6:35 am
Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger of California is expected to soon make an announcement endorsing Arizona Senator John McCain for the Republican primary. California’s upcoming primary will decide the distribution of 170 district delegates. McCain is doing well, leading former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney by 4 points in a poll taken on Monday - and his recent victory, plus the governor’s endorsement, can only add to that. With Giuliani out of the race, McCain will probably pick up additional voters who are concerned about national security issues. Romney’s strategy is not clear at this point, but he now seems set to position himself as the underdog and a relative newcomer to the political scene, in contrast to McCain’s long period of time in the Senate. Filed under: Endorsements and John McCain and Mitt Romney Comments: 1 Comment |
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Posted on 01.30.08 by Austin Cassidy @ 11:26 pm
With John McCain on the verge of capturing the Republican Presidential nomination, many conservative talk radio hosts are digging in. For some reason, people like Rush Limbaugh have as much of a hatred for Senator McCain as they do for liberal Democrats. They charge that McCain is somehow a phony conservative who doesn’t represent family values or conservative beliefs. Indeed, many of McCain’s harshest critics claim that he lacks the “conservative credentials” that they posses. Some people see that logic as particularly odd coming from Limbaugh, himself a childless, thrice-divorced, former prescription drug abuser. If the election comes down to a McCain vs. Obama or McCain vs. Hillary race… what will happen then? Will Sean Hannity actually advocate that people don’t vote or that they support a spoiler third party candidate? It seems unlikely, but it’s hard to image how these personalities will reverse course. As Republican voters continue to embrace Senator McCain as their choice for President, these radio talk show hosts are in danger of being left behind. No longer the voice of the conservative movement, they become merely an amusing sideshow. What is the alternative? Will Limbaugh ever fully embrace McCain’s candidacy? Sound off in the comments! Filed under: Campaign 2008 and John McCain and Opinion and Talk Radio Comments: 13 Comments |
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Posted on 01.30.08 by Austin Cassidy @ 5:58 pm
Rudy Giuliani’s third place showing in Florida and John Edwards’ third place finish in South Carolina have ended the White House dreams of both hopefuls. Giuliani’s departure was widely expected, but in a bit of a surprise, Edwards announced he would be leaving the Democratic race before next Tuesday’s burst of national primary contests. Giuliani is expected to quickly endorse John McCain’s campaign, while John Edwards has said he will make no official announcement. Edwards can directly swing a couple dozen delegates to whichever candidate he backs, in addition to the organizational and momentum boosts that he backing would offer. “You don’t always win, but you can always try to do it right … that’s what the American people deserve, a return to honesty and substance in our political discussion,” Giuliani said. Both Edwards and Giuliani would probably be top contenders for the role of Attorney General if their party’s nominee were to become President. Filed under: Breaking News and Campaign 2008 and Rudy Giuliani Comments: None |
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Posted on 01.30.08 by Stephen Covington @ 4:44 pm
North Carolina’s former senator John Edwards will be announcing his decision to drop out of the Democratic presidential primary race later today at 1 PM in New Orleans, where the originally kicked off his bid to be the nominee. Although Edwards hasn’t announced who, if anyone, he will be endorsing, he did call both Clinton and Obama earlier to let them know his intentions. Edwards has repeatedly said he would take his campaign all the way to the convention, and may have proven to be a significant influence in the balance of delegates between his two leading colleagues. His dismal showing in his home state of South Carolina next to Obama, and later his distant third in Florida highlighted significant weaknesses within the strategy towards approaching mainstream voters. Edwards’ main message was one of populist economics, focusing on poverty, an idea that is not always popular among majority voters. The reality of the upcoming Super Tuesday also loomed over Edwards’ campaign, as he faced the prospect of campaigning in a large number of states, although lacking the cash and mobility of his competitors. Filed under: Breaking News and Campaign 2008 and Democrats Comments: None |
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Posted on 01.30.08 by Austin Cassidy @ 2:09 am
Rudy Giuliani’s dismal third place finish in Florida appears to have ended the former NYC Mayor’s campaign tonight. Time Magazine is reporting that McCain’s campaign manager Rick Davis has essentially struck a deal with people in the Giuliani camp to secure an endorsement in the next couple of days. Giuliani has long stated that he would be voting for McCain if he hadn’t been running himself. It’s also thought that Giuliani doesn’t want to roll the dice and continue on to Super Tuesday as it would likely mean an ego-crushing defeat in his home state of New York. By defeating Mitt Romney and eliminating Rudy Giuliani, John McCain has all but captured the Republican Presidential nomination here tonight. Also, look for an endorsement from Fred Thompson in the next week or so as McCain consolidates his support among conservatives. Filed under: Breaking News and Campaign 2008 and Endorsements and Florida Primary and John McCain and Rudy Giuliani Comments: 2 Comments |
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Posted on 01.30.08 by Stephen Covington @ 2:00 am
Based on the votes that have been counted so far and the exit polling numbers from CNN, it appears clear that Senator John McCain will win the Florida primary over Mitt Romney. Giuliani and Huckabee are nearly tied for third place, a disaster and fatal blow for Rudy’s campaign. Having been outspent by a margin of 9-1 by Romney, and in a closed primary state where only Republicans can vote, it seems like John McCain has effectively clinched the Republican nomination tonight with his tremendous victory. McCain is the new delegate leader, adding 57 to his total. The race now moves on to Super Tuesday on February 5, which will see about 25 states hold primaries and caucuses, helping to allocate about 4o% of Republican delegates. Filed under: Breaking News and Campaign 2008 and Florida Primary and John McCain and Mitt Romney Comments: 3 Comments |
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Posted on 01.30.08 by Austin Cassidy @ 1:10 am
CNN’s exit polling suggests that this might be a very good night for Senator John McCain. Among male voters, McCain has a 3% lead among men and a 2% lead among women. If these numbers hold, McCain will be awarded the state’s 57 convention delegates. He will also have completed a three state winning streak — South Carolina, Louisiana, and now (maybe) Florida. He will be the delegate leader and the undisputed national front-runner heading into Super Tuesday on February 5th. But first we have to count the actual votes, because exit polling can and sometimes is quite wrong. The current popular vote returns show a razor thin margin between Romney and McCain, with McCain leading by only 0.2% right now. Over 12% of the votes have been counted. This is going to be an exciting and decisive night! Filed under: Breaking News and Campaign 2008 and Election Results and Florida Primary and John McCain Comments: 1 Comment |
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Posted on 01.30.08 by Austin Cassidy @ 12:41 am
A bit of a surprise according to numbers from Fox News, but it appears that John McCain has a slight lead among voters who cite the economy as their main concern. The media has constantly harped on Romney’s supposed economic credentials, but voters may not have bought in. The Fox News numbers show that McCain wins economic voters, but he falls way behind among illegal immigration voters…
Filed under: Breaking News and Campaign 2008 and Florida Primary and John McCain Comments: None |
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Posted on 01.29.08 by Austin Cassidy @ 11:25 pm
Early exit poll results from Florida show that the economy is the dominant issue for Republican voters. About half of Republicans cited it as their top issue, while terrorism, Iraq, and illegal immigration split the other half of the pie. Romney has hammered economic issues hard and conventional wisdom suggests that the mindset of voters is favorable for a Romney win. A local Pensacola NBC affiliate is reporting a strong Romney showing at some local voting locations. The Panhandle was long thought to be a source of some McCain strength and recent polls showed McCain with a slight lead in that part of the state.
It’s important to remember though that random sampling of exit polls from one or two precincts isn’t an effective way to judge larger trends. But the focus on economic concerns suggests a slight advantage for Romney. Another bad sign for McCain is that only 5-7% of voters appear to be Cuban, a community that’s expected to be strong for him following the endorsement of Mel Martinez. Exit polling has been way off in the past, just consider the 2004 elections. And early exit numbers that are leaked on blogs and local TV stations tend to be even less accurate. We’ll just have to wait another couple of hours to see how all of this shakes out. Polls begin closing at 7pm Eastern and the final polls will close at 8pm. Filed under: Campaign 2008 and Florida Primary and Poll Results Comments: 34 Comments |
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Posted on 01.29.08 by Stephen Covington @ 9:27 pm
Revelations that touchscreen voting machines are vulnerable to seemingly simple exploits and can be easily compromised have sparked a wave of conversions across the country to paper-based, optical scan ballots. Cuyahoga County, situated in northeastern Ohio, has become embroiled in a dispute with the American Civil Liberties Union after removing touchscreen machines and replacing them with inadequate optical scan paper ballots. The ACLU has filed a lawsuit that names Ohio Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner and some Cuyahoga officials as defendants, charging that the new ballots do not provide for an effective means of detecting ballot errors. A motion has also been filed with the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Ohio, seeking to prevent the state from using paper ballots in the upcoming presidential primary on March 4. Filed under: Campaign 2008 Comments: 1 Comment |
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