GOP Nominee
Former Candidates
This seems like a big deal to me. Any NC natives/experts know whether this will help Hillary in the state, even if to hold Obama to a mid-low single digit victory?
A person close to North Carolina Gov. Mike Easley tells The Associated Press he will endorse Hillary Rodham Clinton for president.
Easley is a Democratic superdelegate who has served as the state’s governor for two terms. His decision comes despite several recent polls showing Clinton trailing rival Barack Obama ahead of the state’s May 6 primary.
April 28th, 2008 at 5:12 pm
Remember these supposed bombshell endorsements?
“Kennedy and Kerry endorse Obama!”
“Bob Casey endorses Obama!”
Obama got thumped in both MA and PA, proving that endorsements (especially the last-minute variety) don’t swing states. Now it’s Hillary’s turn to get a taste of that dynmaic…as she is probably going to be decimated in NC and will may lose Indiana despite Evan Bayh’s endorsement.
April 28th, 2008 at 5:20 pm
Palin,
Fair enough. I am not optimistic about her chances in NC, but the latest SurveyUSA poll has her +9 in Indiana.
April 28th, 2008 at 5:22 pm
It might not help her much…but it sure won’t hurt her. Easley is liked, especially among Hillary’s typical base of support. But Easley doesn’t cause much excitement in voters, so he won’t affect much (especially as a lame duck). I just wonder if this is just a prelude to Edwards endorsing Hillary.
April 28th, 2008 at 5:24 pm
Well now I’m not sure that endorsements don’t matter. After all - Rendell CLEARLY helped Clinton in Bucks and Montgomery Counties in the Philadelphia suburbs. She was going to win Pennsylvania anyway but Rendell may have turned a 6-point win into a 10-point win. Anyone have any ideas what kind of political machine Easley has in NC?
April 28th, 2008 at 5:30 pm
This is a big deal because unlike most Senators, Governors have extensive contact with their states and control a machine and a GOTV operation. That’s why Rendell and Nutter/Ravenstahl were always a bigger deal than Casey was. Bayh is an exception because he is still the undisputed leader of the Democrats in the state.
April 28th, 2008 at 5:31 pm
I’m sure she’s pretty happy about it. It does seem unlikely that she will win, but NC will probably be closer than anticipated. It is interesting that the NC governor should endorse her. Anyone know why he chose Hillary?
April 28th, 2008 at 6:45 pm
Could there be a feud opening up in the NC Dem party? Easley endorses Hillary but his Lt. Gov and the State Treasurer both went for Obama and they both are running to succeed him.
April 28th, 2008 at 6:49 pm
OK, so if Obama is taking on all this baggage, just why are the Republicans trying to extend this thing with “Operation Chaos”? Seems to me, the best thing to do right now would be to go out in Indy and NC, if possible, and swing the nomination NOW to Obama before Clinton gets back on her feet and while he has the baggage.
April 28th, 2008 at 6:55 pm
Polls show ‘operation chaos’ never amounted to much anyway. I don’t think it will make a difference.
April 28th, 2008 at 7:02 pm
Steve,
Clinton can’t win without it going all the way to the convention. She will always be the underdog. A close finish in NC combined with a win in IN would almost guarantee that this would go the distance.
Sean
April 28th, 2008 at 7:12 pm
The Democrats will still have to deal with the MI and FL delegates. A nasty brawl in the Credentials Committee,a bitter fight on the convention floor. Maybe there will be a walk out. It will be 1968 all over again.
April 28th, 2008 at 7:21 pm
It’s going to be fascinating to see how the next round of primaries plays out. if Clinton wins IN by, say, 7 or 8 points and loses NC by the same margin what will the superdelegates do? What will the media do? If they go into crisis mode and Obama’s numbers start to tank what then? Will the media (NBC News especially) stop shilling for Obama and kiss and make up with Hillary because she is the more pragmatic choice?
Already the new AP/Ipsos poll shows Obama beating McCain by 2 but Hillary winning by 9. The poll is always too Democrat-friendly and was consistently wrong in 2004 by showing Kerry ahead in each iteration of the poll throughout October. But the trends are probably right. What happens if the narrative that Obama is radioactive begins to catch on after he fails again to close the deal in Indiana?
I wonder…
April 28th, 2008 at 7:31 pm
“Operation Chaos” is a joke. It’s nothing more than Limbaugh’s pathetic attempt to try to remain relevant after he utterly failed to derail McCain in the primaries. All kinds of stories appeared in the media suggesting that Limbaugh was losing his influence. So he decided to try to take credit for an already divisive primary on the Democrat side. Talk radio has very little to do with the predicament the Democrats currently find themselves in. It was always close. Clinton would have won in Texas from conservative Democrats and Hispanics regardless of what Rush Limbaugh had to say on the matter. Once it became clear that there was a racial component to the contests it was no wonder that blacks supported Obama 92 percent in Mississippi. It follows that as a result of the bloc voting by blacks, southern whites had their own ideas and voila - Hillary became the unlikely champion of the working class people who love their guns and religion (and Obama ineptly showed her the keys to that car).
Now Limbuagh is trying to make money off of this “Operation Chaos” - which is totally beyond his control. If he isn’t powerful enough to sway the Republicans then he sure as hell isn’t powerful enough to sway the Democrats. He certainly has fooled a lot of people though and he sure knows how to make money. Kind of makes me embarrassed that I used to be a Limbaugh fan.
And Laura Ingraham is even worse.
April 28th, 2008 at 7:49 pm
The day before Puerto Rico’s primary (when Hillary could secure a popular vote victory), the DNC will be meeting in Washington to try to determine how to seat the delegates in Florida and Michigan.
April 28th, 2008 at 7:54 pm
Adam,
Don’t hate on Laura cause she ripped on your man, she just don’t like RINOs.
April 28th, 2008 at 8:01 pm
#15 The term “RINO”’s is grossly unfair. There are very very very few Republicans that the term can be applied to (Chafee and Crist) but that is about it. Remember, Reagan said that a man who agrees with you 70% of the time is an ally, not an enemy.
April 28th, 2008 at 8:19 pm
LJ,
Here is the breakdown by region in the new SurveyUSA poll for Indiana, in which Hillary leads Obama, 52-43 percent:
Northern Indiana: 48-47% Obama (36% of voting sample)
Central Indiana: 53-40% Clinton (17%)
Indianapolis: 53-44% Obama (21%)
Southern Indiana: 63-31% Clinton (26%)(this bodes well for Hillary in Kentucky)
Also of note…Hillary has a 12-point lead over Obama among Democrats, and a 14-point advantage amongst women.
Obama pulls in the 18-34 crowd by a huge 64-34% margin. However, among seniors 65+, Hillary crushes Obama 63-28 percent.
April 28th, 2008 at 8:26 pm
Aron, what does “Northern Indiana” include? Does it include Fort Wayne and South Bend? Those areas should go for Clinton by a decent margin.
April 28th, 2008 at 8:53 pm
Jonathan,
SurveyUSA doesn’t define their regions, but I suspect Obama has at least a 3 to 1 lead over Hillary in Gary.
Here’s the link to the crosstabs:
http://www.surveyusa.com/client/PollReport.aspx?g=fbedb864-ec9d-47ab-87f2-c41203a87585
April 28th, 2008 at 9:03 pm
The tide is turning in a big way.
April 28th, 2008 at 9:35 pm
Does North Carolina have a gubernatorial race this year? It’d nice to get a Republican into the state house in NC.
April 28th, 2008 at 11:33 pm
Yes, NC has a gubernatorial race this year. 2 key Dems running and several interesting Repubs. However, as a conservative, I just don’t see the Dems losing this seat. NC has seen some nasty scandals this year in the State gov, but Dems are still running strong in the state.
April 29th, 2008 at 11:53 am
NC has had a Democratic Governor forever it seems like.
April 29th, 2008 at 1:14 pm
Here in NC we trend blue for the state races and red for the presidential ones. The political map is paint-by-the-numbers, with most urban centers blue, the suburbs light red, and Chapel Hill (The San Fran of the East! Or is that Asheville?) a deep blue. Easley has the lame-duck aura about him, and with his potential Democratic successors pulling for Obama I don’t think his endorsement has much weight for HRC.