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DEL.ICIO.USVoter stats from February primary show a Democratic surge of black and young voters
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Two months after the Feb. 5 presidential primary, we now have the first hard-and-fast statistical take on what a Barack Obama surge in Georgia might mean this November.
The answer is six percentage points. Maybe more. Which is why many Republicans you know are developing worry lines — and praying for Hillary Clinton.
This week, the office of Secretary of State Karen Handel quietly released the race, age and gender breakdowns for the February contest.
Some of these figures you certainly know. Others are new:
— Democrats cast nearly 53 percent of the 2,007,544 ballots counted on Feb. 5.
— Within the Democratic primary, African-Americans cast 55 percent of the vote. This is the first time that’s happened. White voters made up just a tad less than 40 percent of the Democratic vote.
— White voters made up 96 percent of the Republican presidential primary vote.
— African-Americans cast 30 percent of all votes on Feb. 5. In November 2006, with gubernatorial candidate Mark Taylor at the top of the Democratic ticket, black voters cast only 24 percent of all ballots. This is the number causing Republicans to lose sleep.
— In addition to juicing turnout among black voters, the Feb. 5 primary showed signs of a shift in party preference among the state’s youngest voters. You read above that Democratic voters accounted for 53 percent of all ballots.
But 61 percent of voters 24 and under picked up a Democratic ballot.
— Young voters are notoriously unreliable, but young African-American voters — 24 and under — had a voter turnout rate of 26 percent. That’s remarkably strong. Turnout among young white voters was 22 percent — again, not too shabby.
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Comments
By Clarke County Young Dem
April 17, 2008 9:27 AM | Link to this
This cannot bode well for Mr. Martin. There is a reason Vernon Jones is not rolling over for the liberal trial-lawyer backed campaign of Mr. Martin. The reason is that Vernon Jones is going win the primary.
Vernon for President ‘2012!!!
By Clarke County Young Dem
April 17, 2008 9:28 AM | Link to this
This cannot bode well for Mr. Martin. There is a reason Vernon Jones is not rolling over for the liberal trial-lawyer backed campaign of Mr. Martin. The reason is that Vernon Jones is going win the primary.
Vernon for President ‘2012!!!
By GeorgiaValues
April 17, 2008 9:52 AM | Link to this
My Athens friend is partially correct, while I’m not so sure about Vernon Jones’ Presidential chances in 2012, the previous poster correctly identifies Jim Martin as a left wing trial lawyer. Of the 5 candidates in the Democratic primary, Jim is the only true bleeding heart liberal of the bunch.
His message will not resonate with common sense conservative Georgians, be they Republican or Democrat.