Obama owns Vermont as primary draws heavy turnout
Toolbox
By Louis Porter Vermont Press Bureau - Published: March 5, 2008
With Vermonters turning out to vote in record numbers Tuesday, Barack Obama swept the state's Democratic nomination for president, defeating Hillary Clinton by 60 percent to 38 percent with four-fifths of the state's districts reporting.
"Turnout was heavy, as predicted," Secretary of State Deborah Markowitz said. But what may be even more interesting is that 13,000 Vermonters registered to vote since the start of January, she said.
"Almost 4,000 of them were voters between the ages of 18 and 24," Markowitz said. "The young people in this country are really getting energized by these campaigns and getting out to vote."
In exit polls and interviews, voters indicated that the war in Iraq and the economy were the most important issues and that Obama won more voters in nearly every demographic category.
On the Republican side there was less excitement. Sen. John McCain, who was winning by about 72 percent in Vermont by late evening, appeared all but certain to clinch his party's nomination after Tuesday's primary.
Vermont's presidential primary, sticking to its March Town Meeting Day date, wasn't supposed to matter in this year of early contests. But in the end, with the Democratic nomination still unclaimed, it did and voters came out to the polls in force.
Many town halls and other polling places reported heavy turnout.
Telephone polls in the days leading up to contest indicated that Obama would likely win by a significant margin in Vermont. But Clinton supporters like former Gov. Madeleine Kunin were working to win at least some of the Vermont delegates for the U.S. Senator from New York.
"Second place in politics usually doesn't matter, but in this case it does," Kunin said.
enate President Pro Tem Peter Shumlin, a Windham Democrat who supports Obama, had visited seven town meetings by late afternoon.
The Democrats cannot afford for the primary contest to go on past today's votes in Vermont, Ohio, Texas and Rhode Island, Shumlin said.
"We have got to get this over with for the sake of the party. It cannot go on after tonight," Shumlin said. "It gives McCain a chance to run a national campaign while the Democrats are scratching each other's eyes out."
There were 370 Democratic delegates up for grabs Tuesday and Obama had the lead in delegates going into Tuesday's contests. Vermont has 16 regular pledged delegates (15 of whom are supposed to follow the popular vote) and seven super delegates. Five of the super delegates were leaning or pledged to Obama, one said she would support Clinton and one, Democratic National Committee head and former Vermont Gov. Howard Dean, was remaining neutral.
In Montpelier, supporters of Clinton and Obama gathered outside City Hall with large banners and signs hoping to woo voters entering the polls without having made up their minds.
But in smaller towns there was little presence of the campaigns, although turnout in those municipalities was still high. In Waterbury, Plainfield, Williamstown and Bethel there were few if any obvious signs of the presidential contests.
"We are hearing from town clerks that the Democratic turnout was strong and it is less so on the Republican side," Markowitz said. "A benefit of this highly competitive primary is that more people will be voting and there will be more voting on local issues."
Of course many voters may be merely casting presidential primary ballots and not voting on local issues, she added.
With McCain poised to claim his party's nomination there was less excitement on the Republican side and it was expected that many voters who would normally participate in the GOP contest might cross over to the Democratic side.
One who did not do that was Gov. James Douglas, who took a break from moderating Middlebury's town meeting to cast a ballot for McCain.
"I am the chairman of the McCain campaign for Vermont so I voted for my candidate," Douglas said. He expects that many Republicans will cross over and vote in the Democratic primary, Douglas said.
"The contest obviously is on the other side and generally people gravitate to where there is action," he said.
"There's no race in the Republican primary," said State Sen. William Doyle, R-Washington, shortly before Waterbury's town meeting began Tuesday morning. He said people casting ballots in the Democratic Party's primary have a chance to help make history by nominating either the first female presidential candidate or the first African American. "Most people are going to focus on the Democratic primary."
Doyle also predicted the largest primary voter turnout in the state's history.
Rob Roper, chairman of the Vermont Republican Party, said he hoped members of his party do not cross over to vote on the Democratic side in large numbers.
"I hope it doesn't happen. I never like that just on principle," he said. But, he added, "I think it might occur."
Roper said that some Republicans he talks to think Clinton might be the easier target for their candidate. But, as in sports, that sort of hope can backfire, Roper said.
"I am a little superstitious about this sort of thing," he said.
The Associated Press contributed to this story.
39