May 7, 2008
Posted: 11:30 AM ET

From
 CNN=Politics Daily is The Best Political Podcast from the Best Political Team.
CNN=Politics Daily is The Best Political Podcast from the Best Political Team.

(CNN) – It was a split decision — with a substantial win for Sen. Barack Obama and a razor-thin victory for Sen. Hillary Clinton — in the North Carolina and Indiana Democratic primaries.

In the latest episode of CNN=Politics Daily, Senior Political Analyst Bill Schneider breaks down exit polling data from Tuesday by age, race, and gender.

Suzanne Malveaux was with the Clinton camp on primary night, and has an inside look at the candidate’s next moves. Will Clinton fight to have the Florida and Michigan delegations seated? How will the New York senator raise the money she needs to continue her battle against Obama and his fundraising juggernaut? What arguments is she readying for her party’s superdelegates? Malveaux has all the answers – straight from sources inside the Clinton campaign.

Despite Clinton’s commitment to soldier on through the remaining contests, the math of the Democratic Party’s proportional pledged delegate allocation is working against her. Chief National Correspondent John King uses CNN’s “Magic Wall” to explain Clinton’s uphill battle to secure the delegates necessary to claim the nomination.

The next Democratic contest is in West Virginia, and CNN’s Jim Acosta is already on the ground there. Acosta takes a look at the demographics and issues in the state before Clinton and Obama face off there.

Finally, in a special post-primary version of his “What if?” series, CNN Special Correspondent Frank Sesno takes a look at what might happen at the Democratic convention if Democrats have not settled on a nominee before the party gathers in August.

Click here to subscribe to CNN=Politics Daily.

Filed under: Barack Obama • CNN=Politics Daily • Hillary Clinton • Indiana • North Carolina


May 6, 2008
Posted: 10:51 PM ET

From
CNN

Watch CNN Political Researcher Alan Silverleib on Tuesday's exit polls.

(CNN) — Watch CNN Political Research Alan Silverleib as he speaks with CNN.com's Melissa Long and gives a historical perspective to Tuesday's exit polling data.

 

Filed under: Barack Obama • Exit Polls • Hillary Clinton • Indiana • North Carolina


Posted: 08:00 PM ET

From
CNN

Schneider: Obama got 36 percent of white voters in North Carolina's Democratic primary.

(CNN) — In this clip, Senior Political Analyst Bill Schneider explains the racial break-down of North Carolina voters who supported Sen. Barack Obama in Tuesday's primary.

Filed under: Barack Obama • Bill Schneider • Exit Polls • North Carolina


Posted: 07:30 PM ET

CNN projects that Obama wins North Carolina primary.

Track county-by-county results here.

Related video: Obama camp: Big victory in N.C.

Filed under: North Carolina


Posted: 06:56 PM ET

From
CNN

Watch Bill Schneider on Tuesday night's exit polling data.

(CNN) — Watch CNN Senior Political Analyst Bill Schneider break down exit polling data about whether supporters of Sen. Hillary Clinton would support Sen. Barack Obama if he wins the Democratic nomination and vice versa.

Filed under: Barack Obama • Bill Schneider • Hillary Clinton • Indiana • John McCain • North Carolina


Posted: 10:45 AM ET

From
CNN

Watch John King break down different regions of Indiana and North Carolina.

(CNN) – Watch Chief National Correspondent John King use CNN’s Magic Wall to explain how the demographics in certain parts of Indiana and North Carolina may favor Sen. Hillary Clinton or her rival Sen. Barack Obama in Tuesday’s primaries.

Filed under: Barack Obama • Hillary Clinton • Indiana • North Carolina


May 2, 2008
Posted: 03:58 PM ET

From , , ,
Sen. Hillary Clinton makes a campaign stop in Kinston, North Carolina, on Friday
Sen. Hillary Clinton makes a campaign stop in Kinston, North Carolina, on Friday

WASHINGTON (CNN) — Sens. Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama stumped for last-minute votes in Indiana and North Carolina Friday ahead of the states' Tuesday primaries.

New polls show Clinton narrowing Obama's lead in North Carolina, once seen as an easy win for Obama.

Polling in Indiana shows the two candidates running dead even.

"We are seeing terrific support all across Indiana and all across North Carolina … I have no doubt these are going to be tight races. This campaign has been tight throughout," Obama said in Indianapolis, Indiana, Friday morning.

"But I am very confident the American people are looking for the kind of truth telling and serious policy making that is going to have an affect on heir lives, and as long as I'm talking about the issues."

Read the rest of the story

Filed under: Barack Obama • Hillary Clinton • Indiana • North Carolina


April 26, 2008
Posted: 03:05 PM ET

From
Sen. Obama campaigned in Marion, Indiana Saturday.
Sen. Obama campaigned in Marion, Indiana Saturday.

ANDERSON, Indiana (CNN) – Sen. Barack Obama flat out denied any possibility that he would accept a debate with rival Sen. Hillary Clinton prior to the next big round of primaries.

Shortly after maintaining he isn't "ducking" debates, the Illinois senator admitted the two Democratic rivals are "not going to have debates between now and Indiana."

Voters in both Indiana and North Carolina will head to the polls May 6.

Obama's comments came in an interview with FOX News' Chris Wallace set to air Sunday. Wallace first asked Obama why he was ducking another one-on-one meeting.

"I'm not ducking one. We've had 21," Obama said. "We want to make sure we're talking to as many folks possible on the ground taking questions from voters."

Clinton has repeatedly called on Obama to meet for another debate since their last meeting in Philadelphia on April 16.

Filed under: Barack Obama • Hillary Clinton • Indiana • North Carolina


April 23, 2008
Posted: 12:00 PM ET

From
CNN

Watch a North Carolina superdelegate explain some of the factors he is considering in deciding between Clinton and Obama.

(CNN) – Even though less than ten Democratic primary contests remain, 308 superdelegates have yet to reveal which of the party’s two remaining major presidential candidates they intend to support. David Parker of North Carolina is one such superdelegate.

“I have changed my mind several times just like the American public seems to be moving around,” Parker told CNN’s John Roberts on American Morning.

Polling results of head-to-head match-ups between Sen. John McCain, the Republican Party’s presumptive nominee, and Sens. Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama will be a factor in Parker’s decision.

“I’m also looking at the impact down-ballot in North Carolina,” Parker said Wednesday. “And, across the South were I think Democrats need to come back."

Although Parker confessed to feeling pressure to make a decision, he also told Roberts that the long Democratic nomination fight is likely good for his party’s eventual nominee – especially if the nominee is Obama.

“Doing a little sparring with Hillary Clinton — who is an incredibly tough competitor and may, in fact, knock him out — is good training for him in the fall,” said Parker. “John McCain is not going to pull any punches and those gloves are going to come off quickly."

Filed under: Barack Obama • Delegates • Hillary Clinton • North Carolina


April 22, 2008
Posted: 06:50 PM ET

From
CNN

Watch Sen. McCaskill's interview with Wolf Blitzer.

(CNN) – Sen. Claire McCaskill, a supporter of Sen. Barack Obama defended Obama’s decision not to participate in a previously scheduled debate in North Carolina.

“What he wants to do is make sure the people of Indiana and North Carolina get a chance to know him,” McCaskill told CNN’s Wolf Blitzer Tuesday on The Situation Room. “So, I think he really wants to stay on the ground and make people understand that he gets it.”

Earlier in the broadcast, the Clinton campaign’s communications director, Howard Wolfson, said Obama had cancelled the North Carolina debate because of a poor performance at last week’s debate. “Sen. Obama basically said, boy, I don’t want to debate anymore,” Wolfson told Blitzer.

Indiana and North Carolina will both hold their primaries on May 6.

Related video: Watch Howard Wolfson on the Democratic race

Filed under: Barack Obama • Hillary Clinton • Indiana • North Carolina


April 18, 2008
Posted: 07:05 PM ET

From
Clinton aides are saying Obama has a major advantage in the state.
Clinton aides are saying Obama has a major advantage in the state.

WINSTON-SALEM, North Carolina (CNN) – Hillary Clinton's campaign Friday looked to lower expectations for the upcoming North Carolina primary, telling reporters that a Clinton win here on May 6 would be "the biggest upset of the century."

Ace Smith, the campaign's North Carolina state director, told a group of reporters at Wake Forest University that Obama "starts very strong here," an advantage owed to the state's Democratic cocktail of African-American voters and affluent, educated professionals concentrated around the Raleigh-Durham area.

With the heightened attention being paid to the primary, the state's Democratic voter rolls are swelling. Since January 1, nearly 110,000 North Carolinians have signed up to vote as Democrats in the semi-open primary, and nearly 69,000 have signed up as unaffiliated voters, according to the state board of elections.

In addition, more than 19,000 Republicans have switched parties and registered as either Democrat or unaffiliated in order to participate in the contest since the beginning of the year. Over 67,000 new African-American voters in North Carolina have registered over the same time period.

"Our measure of success is knocking this down to single digits," Smith said of the race, estimating that as many as 1.5 million people could vote in the contest, which will award 115 pledged delegates.

Asked if Clinton can win the primary, Smith said, "No, that would be the biggest upset of the century."

Read the rest of this entry »

Filed under: Hillary Clinton • North Carolina


April 16, 2008
Posted: 01:20 PM ET

From


(CNN) —
Rep. Mel Watt, who endorsed Barack Obama Wednesday, said that the current presidential contest reminds him of Harvey Gantt’s Senate bid.

Watt served as campaign manager for the Democrat’s unsuccessful run against the-Sen. Jesse Helms in 1990. He told reporters on a conference call Wednesday that Gantt almost came out on top that year.

"This campaign has some of those same racial dynamics, those same kind of interesting dynamics that don't coincide with every single campaign that we've had," he said.

He added that "to stick our head in the sand and not acknowledge that would be to ignore the obvious." Earlier, Watt had said that he did not think the country was ready for a black president.

He said that he has been surprised at how much Obama has continued to build support as the campaign has progressed, one reason why he changed his mind after earlier stating that he did not think America was ready for a black president.

The congressman said he believed the racial climate had improved since the Gantt-Helms race: “it’s a new day in America,” he said.

Filed under: Barack Obama • North Carolina


Posted: 01:15 PM ET

From


(CNN) —
Two superdelegates — Reps. David Price and Mel Watt — announced their endorsement of Barack Obama on a conference call in advance of the White House hopeful’s visit to the state tomorrow. Watt had previously backed John Edwards.

Obama now has received endorsements from six North Carolina superdelegates, including party vice chair Dannie Montgomery, Rep. G.K. Butterfield, former Democratic Party director Everett Ward, and former Watt staffer Joyce Brayboy, a lobbyist.

Hillary Clinton has the backing of superdelegate Susan Burgess, a Charlotte city councilwoman.

Filed under: North Carolina


April 15, 2008
Posted: 03:45 PM ET

(CNN) — Hillary Clinton’s campaign released a list of 100 North Carolina “Women for Hillary” Tuesday, featuring 98 of the state’s most prominent Democratic women – and two men with gender-neutral names.

North Carolina Public Radio and the Raleigh News and Observer report that Dana Cope — president of the State Employees’ Association of North Carolina – was inadvertently included in the press release of women backing the New York senator.

Also on the list: Ashley Thrift, a Winston-Salem lawyer and chief of staff to former North Carolina Sen. Ernest Hollings.

The Clinton campaign told the News and Observer: "We are proud of the broad support Senator Clinton has from women… and men across North Carolina."

Filed under: Hillary Clinton • North Carolina


April 12, 2008
Posted: 04:00 PM ET

From

(CNN) – Former President Bill Clinton didn’t touch the subject, but the Clinton campaign used his appearances in rural North Carolina Saturday to hammer at Barack Obama’s “bitter” comment on small town voters.

Speaking before Clinton came to the stage Saturday in Winterville, the former chairman of the North Carolina Democratic Party laid into Obama’s remarks. Tom Hendrickson told the crowd, “My message to Senator Obama is, we are not frustrated. We are not bitter. We turn to our faith because we believe. Amen. We hunt and fish because it's a part of our culture and we enjoy it. So, Senator Obama, don't pity us and think that we're bitter and frustrated. We're hard working family folks who are smart and we get it.

The Clinton backer said, “We don't need the pundits to tell us what we think. In the words of that old Hank Williams song, 'We're country folks and we will survive.”

The former President left the issue alone in his remarks at Winterville, one of six stops he’s making Saturday in the eastern part of the state.

–CNN's Steve Brusk

Filed under: Barack Obama • Bill Clinton • North Carolina


March 27, 2008
Posted: 08:55 AM ET
Clinton faces a tough fight in North Carolina.
Clinton faces a tough fight in North Carolina.

RALEIGH, North Carolina (CNN) – Hillary Clinton is taking her campaign to Tobacco Road for the first time Thursday, scheduling three campaign events in a state her staff sees as “uphill battle.”

Clinton is scheduled to make stops in Raleigh, Fayetteville and Winston-Salem, a campaign swing billed as the kick-off to a six-day “Solutions for the American Economy” tour across several states.

In Raleigh, Clinton will give an economic speech tailored to the issue of job training. She will propose a five-year, $12.5 billion program to make job re-training universally available to displaced workers, provide new Pell grants and support on-the-job training programs.

North Carolina has yet to vote –- 115 delegates are at stake on May 6 -– but it’s a state that’s already become familiar with the presidential race. Barack Obama has campaigned there several times already, as has Bill Clinton, appearing on behalf of his wife.

But North Carolina has been getting a first-hand glimpse of the race throughout this election cycle. Former North Carolina Sen. John Edwards made his home in Raleigh his campaign headquarters during his presidential campaign. The state is also sandwiched between two states that have already voted, Virginia and South Carolina, exposing parts of North Carolina to TV advertising and news coverage form those two contests.

Read the rest of this entry »

Filed under: Barack Obama • Hillary Clinton • North Carolina


March 26, 2008
Posted: 04:00 PM ET

WASHINGTON (CNN) – Pennsylvania isn't the only state seeing a surge in newly-minted Democrats. North Carolina, which votes on May 6, has also seen its voter rolls expanding.

Republicans and Independents in Pennsylvania are signing up in droves to vote in the April 22 Democratic primary. Last week alone, more than 29,000 Pennsylvanians registered to vote as Democrats. More than four million Pennsylvanians are now registered as Democrats – a new state record.

Almost 90,000 new voters have signed up to vote in the North Carolina Democratic primary, which is semi-closed — meaning Democrats and unaffiliated voters can participate, but not Republicans.

Since the beginning of January, the number of registered Democrats in North Carolina has grown by over 40,000 voters, bringing the total number of Democrats in the state to 2,552,674. Almost half of those registered Democrats are African-American.

The tally of unaffiliated voters grew by more than 30,000. There are now 1.2 million unaffiliated voters in the state who can participate in either party’s primary.

Read the rest of this entry »

Filed under: North Carolina



CNN Comment Policy: CNN encourages you to add a comment to this discussion. You may not post any unlawful, threatening, libelous, defamatory, obscene, pornographic or other material that would violate the law. Please note that CNN makes reasonable efforts to review all comments prior to posting and CNN may edit comments for clarity or to keep out questionable or off-topic material. All comments should be relevant to the post and remain respectful of other authors and commenters. By submitting your comment, you hereby give CNN the right, but not the obligation, to post, air, edit, exhibit, telecast, cablecast, webcast, re-use, publish, reproduce, use, license, print, distribute or otherwise use your comment(s) and accompanying personal identifying information via all forms of media now known or hereafter devised, worldwide, in perpetuity. CNN Privacy Statement.
Home  |  World  |  U.S.  |  Politics  |  Entertainment  |  Health  |  Tech  |  Travel  |  Living  |  Business  |  Sports  |  Time.com
Podcasts  |  Blogs  |  CNN Mobile  |  Preferences |  Email Alerts  |  CNN Radio  |  CNN Shop  |  Site Map
© 2007 Cable News Network LP, LLLP. A Time Warner Company. All Rights Reserved.
Powered by WordPress.com