Home > Election Day > Archives > 2008 > February > 05
Tuesday, February 5, 2008
Obama wins big, Huckabee appears headed to close victory
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Illinois U.S. Sen. Barack Obama won an overwhelming victory in Georgia Tuesday with strong support from young and middle-age voters. Meanwhile, Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee won a close Republican primary battle.
Obama led Hillary Clinton big throughout the vote count, even before African-American-heavy DeKalb and Fulton precincts had been counted.
In the Republican presidential primary, Huckabee led John McCain most of the night. While much of Fulton County - which went heavily for Mitt Romney and McCain - had yet to be counted late Tuesday, it appeared Huckabee would hold off his rivals.
In the Democratic primary, it was Obama’s second straight Southern triumph, and like an earlier victory in South Carolina, was built on a wave of black and young voters.
About 77 percent of voters ages 18-29, about 74 percent ages 30-44 voted for Obama, according to exit polls.
The only age group going for Hillary Clinton was voters 60 and older, according to the exit polls.
Obama received more than 60 percent of the vote from both men and women.
Clinton beat Obama among whites, 57 percent to 39 percent, while Obama polled 88 percent of the black vote, according to the poll.
White women voted heavily for Clinton, while the white male vote was split.
Voters were split about the economy, one of the most important issues of the campaign.
About 93 percent of Democrats say the economy is in bad shape, and most Democrats say it is by far the most important issue facing the country, according to the exit polls. Republican voters weren’t as down on the economy, with 41 percent saying it is in good or excellent shape and 58 percent classifying it as not so good or poor.
Huckabee, a Southern Baptist minister, was aided by strong vote by Georgians concerned about religious beliefs and born-again or evangelical Christians.
Exit polls showed 69 percent of Republican primary voters in Georgia say they want a candidate who shares their political beliefs. And 64 percent described themselves as born-again or Evangelical Christians.
Those figures probably didn’t help Mitt Romney, a Mormon running in a state with a tiny Mormon population.
Huckabee also backed the “fair tax” plan to replace federal income and payroll taxes with a federal sales tax, an idea supported by many Republicans.
Huckabee did particularly well among voters under 30, while McCain and Romney were splitting those over 45.
Throughout the campaign, Huckabee has aimed his message at what he calls Walmart Republicans, not Wall Street Republicans. According to the exit polls, Huckabee was having his highest success among those whose family income is than $50,000 a year, and among those voters with no college degree.
The most highly educated among voters, those with college degrees or better, leaned toward Romney.
Of the three candidates, McCain did best among those who expressed negative feelings about the Bush Administration, and worse who had positive thoughts about the current administration.
However, McCain, who has argued that Bush’s push for a surge of U.S. troops has turned the tide in Iraq, did best among those GOP voters who disapprove of the war. Of the three candidates, he did the poorest among those who approved of the war.
Exit polling shows trends
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Here is a snapshot of the exit polling, which helps show what happened in Georgia’s Democratic and Republican presidential primaries.
DEMOCRATS:
About 77 percent of voters ages 18-29, about 74 percent ages 30-44 voted for Barak Obama, according to exit polls.
The only age group going for Hillary Clinton was voters 60 and older, according to the exit polls.
Obama received more than 60 percent of the vote from both men and women.
Clinton beat Obama among whites, 57 percent to 39 percent, while Obama polled 88 percent of the black vote, according to the poll.
White women voted heavily for Clinton, while the white male vote was split.
REPUBLICANS:
Mike Huckabee, Arkansas’ governor and a Southern Baptist minister, was aided by strong vote by Georgians concerned about religious beliefs and born-again or evangelical Christians.
Exit polls showed 69 percent of Republican primary voters in Georgia say they want a candidate who shares their political beliefs. And 64 percent described themselves as born-again or Evangelical Christians.
Huckabee did particularly well among voters under 30, while John McCain and Mitt Romney were splitting those over 45.
Huckabee was having his highest success among those whose family income is than $50,000 a year, and among those voters with no college degree.
The most highly educated among voters, those with college degrees or better, leaned toward Romney.
Of the three candidates, McCain did best among those who expressed negative feelings about the Bush Administration, and worse who had positive thoughts about the current administration.
McCain did best among those GOP voters who disapprove of the war. Of the three candidates, he did the poorest among those who approved of the war.
Permalink | |
Slow going on vote
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
At 7 p.m., more than 120 people circled the inside of Grady High School’s gym waiting to vote. The problem: Just after 6 p.m. the polling station ran out of the forms voters must fill out before they can cast a ballot. Poll workers said they were waiting for more forms to be brought over from another polling place on nearby Ponce de Leon Avenue. They said the voting station would stay open until everyone in line got a chance to vote
CNN also calls for Obama
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
CNN has also called the Democratic presidential primary race in Georgia for Barack Obama, based on exit polls
Permalink | |
Obama wins in Georgia, exit polls show
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Democratic presidential primary exit polls in Georgia are giving the state to Barack Obama. Exit polls were not immediately calling the Republican race. The exit polls showed Georgia Democratic voters were generally happy with their choices. About 78 percent said they’d be satisfied if Obama won the nomination, no matter how they voted today. About 65 percent said they’d be satisfied with Hillary Clinton.
Permalink | |
Democrats say economy in bad shape
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Georgia Democratic presidential primary voters say the economy is in bad shape, and they say it’s the most important issue facing the country, according to exit polls today. About 92 percent of the Georgia Democratic voters in the exit poll said the economy was either in poor shape or not doing well. By comparison, only 57 percent of Republicans gave the economy bad marks. Another 43 percent of Republicans in the exit poll said the economy was in good or excellent shape. About 53 percent of Democrats also said the economy was the most important issue facing the country, followed by health care (22 percent) and the war in Iraq (21 percent)
Permalink | |
Democratic voters made up their minds early
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Most Georgia Democratic voters apparently decided long ago who to vote for, according to exit polls today. About 21 percent decided who to vote for in the past three days, and 29 percent decided in the last week. By contrast, exit polls show 41 percent of Republicans decided in the past week.
Permalink | |
Religious beliefs important to Republican voters
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Exit polls show most Georgia Republican presidential primary voters Tuesday thought it was important that a candidate share their political beliefs. The question may suggest Republican Mitt Romney had an uphill battle in Georgia since he’s a Mormon and the Mormon population in the state is relatively small. In the exit poll of Georgia Republican voters, 70 percent said it was important that a candidate share their religious views. About 75 percent of the Republican voters polled also expressed approval of U.S. war in Iraq. Also, 43 percent declared the state of the economy either excellent or good, while 57 percent declared it is not so good or poor.
Permalink | |
Many voters decided at the last minute
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Exit polls suggest almost a third of Georgia Republican presidential primary voters decided who to vote for in the three days heading up to the election. About 29 percent decided the past three days, and 41 percent decided within the past week. With a hot Democratic Primary contest also on the ballot, exit polls also show very few Democrats crossed over to vote in the Republican primary. Only 5 percent crossed over, according to exit polls, while 95 percent classified themselves as Republican or independent.
Permalink | |
Obama not trying to keep polls open longer
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Earlier media reports that Barack Obama’s campaign had called on state officials to keep polls open in certain precincts are incorrect, his campaign said Tuesday afternoon. Several local media outlets reported that Obama’s campaign had asked state officials to allow polls remain open past 7 p.m. in precincts where delays were caused by malfunctioning machines. But Obama spokeswoman Adora Andy said that was incorrect. The campaign, she said is “considering” such a move, but has not yet made it. Andy said they want to make sure polls are open for 12 full hours, as required by state law. In some precincts, she said, some polls did not open on time. They might ask the Secretary of State to allow those precincts to remain open past 7 p.m., but no decision has been made.
Permalink | |
Services »
