Pamela Gentry,  Senior Political Producer

Posted May 14, 2008 – It looks like the former North Carolina senator John Edwards has made his presidential pick – and he’s decided it’s Sen. Barack Obama. 

This endorsement is significant because Edwards will release 19 pledged delegates who could decide to follow the former presidential candidate’s lead.  Edwards is seen as a strong advocate for the poor and working class.  His endorsement could be the help Obama’s needs to increase his appeal and help him woo those voters. 

Obama and Edwards are expected to appear this evening during a campaign event in Grand Rapids, Michigan. 

Just a reminder, Rep. John Conyers (D-Mich) told me Edwards would endorse the Illionis senator, he just didn’t know when.   

 Do you think Obama will select Edwards as his VP?

By Pamela Gentry, Senior Political Producer

Posted May 14, 2008 –Sen. Hillary Clinton won a clear victory in West Virginia Tuesday, and she used the opportunity to tell supporters she has no plans of leaving the race. 

Speaking to a cheering crowd in Charleston, W.V., Clinton said, “This race isn’t over yet. Neither of us has the total delegates it takes to win and both Sen. Obama, and I believe that the delegates from Florida and Michigan should be seated.”

She floated several familiar themes about her appeal in swing states; her ability to beat Sen. John McCain; and she sent out more pleas for campaign contributions.  But she also added a few messages tailor-made for rural, White, working-class voters, like those gathered at the Charleston Civic Center for her speech.

“All of the hard-working men and women who defy the odds to build a better life for themselves and their children, you will never be counted out, and I won’t either. You will never quit, and I won’t, either,” Clinton pledged.

Stressing her image as a “fighter,” Clinton sent a message to those uncommitted super-delegates to give her the edge she needs to land the Democratic nomination. “An enormous decision falls on the shoulders of Democratic voters in these final contests and those Democrats empowered to vote at our convention,” she said

That’s a long shot but Clinton’s 67 percent to 26 percent for Obama was a clear victory and she interrupts it as moving momentum her way.  (Sen. John Edwards, who dropped out of the race in January, was still on the ballot and netted about 7 percent.) But with only 28 delegates at stake in West Virginia, the win isn’t enough for Clinton to chip away at Obama’s significant lead in pledged delegates, super delegates or the popular vote. 

Clinton vowed to stay in the race until the final contest June 3 in South Dakota, which will surely increase her campaign debt, estimated at $20 million.  Following her victory Tuesday night, the campaign sent text messages to supporters’ cell phones asking them to visit the Web site and donate.  Having already loaned her campaign $11 million, she’s banking on an surge of cash.

There is no doubt Clinton tried to make her case for being the nominee, but she also gave the first signs that she might be a team player if she doesn’t win.   “Our nominee will be stronger for having campaigned long and hard, building enthusiasm and excitement,” she said.

“And I will work my heart out for the nominee of the Democratic Party, to make sure we have a Democratic president,” she declared.

7:45 p.m.

Posted May 13, 2008 –  Sen. Hillary Clinton (N.Y.) will claim a easy victory tonight over Illinois Sen. Barack Obama in West Virginia’s presidential primary. 

Shortley after the polls closed at 7:30 p.m., television networks and the Associate Press projected Clinton’s win.

Clinton was favored to win the state because of her extensive campaigning there along with the make-up of voters; older, working class and White.  

The former first lady is expected to win by a large margin but numbers are not available at this time. 

By Pamela Gentry, Senior Political Producer

Posted May 13, 2008 – Today’s Democratic primary in West Virginia will most likely be an anti-climactic victory for Sen. Hillary Clinton.  And her spin machine is churning out reasons why the New York senator should remain in the race until June 3, after the last primary in South Dakota.

On Monday Clinton campaigned in West Virginia and framed her projected win there as the one that will deliver her the White House in November.

“It was West Virginia that made it possible for John Kennedy to become president,” Clinton told a crowd of supporters in Clear Fork, in the southern part of the state.  “John Kennedy didn’t have the number of delegates he needed when he went to the convention in 1960; he had something equally as important – he had West Virginia behind him,” she said.

Surrogates for her campaign were delivering the same message; let the contest continue; don’t leave out Michigan and Florida; and look how “exciting” this contest has been for the Democratic Party.

Really?

Rep. Charles Rangel (D-N.Y.), a fellow New York lawmaker and staunch Clinton supporter, told CNN, “It’s abundantly clear Barack Obama is ahead,” but he maintained that she shouldn’t leave the race.  “It may be more difficult …, but as long as it’s possible,” she should keep going.

But throughout the day, Obama continued picking up super-delegate support, adding an additional two to the six who signed on over the weekend.  Now Clinton’s only remaining options are: to persuade the Democratic Party to change the rules; get pledged delegates to override elected delegates; and to get super-delegates to go back on their word. 

All of those options seem like bad ideas.  I could be wrong but, after all, anything is possible in politics. But is that what Clinton really wants to happen? 

“She’s in the game,” Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee (D-Texas) said.  “We have a saying in Texas, ‘Hold your horses.’  Lee says the longer primary allows voters to cast their vote and be counted and shows “respect for the Democratic process.”

I agree and hope she’ll do just that, “respect the Democratic process” – even if it doesn’t deliver exactly what Hillary wants.
 

By Pamela Gentry, Senior Political Producer

Posted May 12, 2008 – The question now isn’t if, but when and how Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-N.Y.) will leave the race for the Democratic nomination. Her departure will demonstrate how well a seasoned politician can choreograph an exit.

 If Sen. Barack Obama thought she was a formidable challenger during the race, he had better be ready to play hard when it’s time for her to “negotiate” her way out of the race.

 When candidates concede races as high-profile as presidential contests, they have a great deal of bargaining  power, particularly if they’ve attracted an ocean of  core supporters. So far, Clinton has drawn more than 16 million voters.

 So the last candidate standing has to make sure their rival’s exit is done respectfully and allows the defeated candidate some dignity as they depart.

This is going to be tough because the former first lady isn’t going to make it easy for the Democratic Party or  Obama.

My guess is she’ll want some help paying off her campaign debt, some plum jobs for her senior campaign staff; and a way for her die-hard supporters, (not super-delegates) to ease on board the Obama machine.

But will Clinton endorse the Illinois senator outright?  And if so, what will she want in exchange?

I believe Clinton is hinting at a convention floor showdown for the Michigan and Flordia delgates.   The Democratic National Committee’s Rules Committee is meeting later this month, and let’s hope it comes up with a clear and clean stating on how those delegates will be seated in August.  If not, there could be a showdown in Denver. 
 
Terry McAuliffe, Clinton’s campaign  chairman, made a veiled threat on “Face the Nation” Sunday, suggesting his candidate would do just that if super-delegates don’t let remaining races play out.  “The super-delegates will wait until the end … until everybody’s voted,” he said. 

“They understand we’re in a fragile time in our party; let’s let the process finish. People need to be careful not to alienate” the Clinton supporters,” he said.

But alienating voters could be part of  Cllinton’s plan, if political consultant Dick Morris is right.  He maintains that Clinton’s goal is to damage Obama and the party enough to give Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) the victory in 2008, setting herself up for a run in 2012, where she could easily defeat the aging Republican senator.  McCain will be 76 years- old four years from now. 

“She want’s another 30 days to badger Obama,” Morris told Fox News.  Morris says Clinton is setting up “racial poloarizaton” to do so, referring to her comment to USA Today that she is more appealing to White voters.

Over the weekend Obama was able to break the stalemate of Clinton’s super-delegate lead picking up six additional endorsements.  Obama now leads Clinton in the popular vote,  pledged delegates,  and for the first time, super-delegates.

 According to the Bloomberg’s numbers, with these latest endorsements, Obama has 277 super-delegates to Clinton’s 274.5.

The remaining contests -West Virginia, Kentucky, Oregon, Puerto Rico, Montana and South Dakota – will not bring either candidate to a different place, but it could let the Dems know how deep the divide really is in the Democratic Party.     

By Pamela Gentry, Senior Political Producer

Photograph by Otis P. Motley

(Posted May 8, 2008) – Today is the day Sen. Barack Obama will pitch his presidential prowess to super-delegates, telling them he’s the best pick for the Democratic Party. The candidate who has won the most states, the most popular votes and the most pledged delegates shouldn’t have a problem.  Should he?  

The two contests earlier this week in North Carolina and Indiana will make the pitch to  some of the remaining undecided delegates much easier for the 46-year-old freshman senator.  Super-delegates already on board have cited several reasons why Obama’s the candidate to deliver the win in November.

But other super-delegates need to be convinced. And here’s what he’ll most likely tell those undecided super-delegates: He is the front-runner with more pledged delegates and in the largest share of the popular vote; his message is one of unity and bringing the party together; and he has the ability to attract new voters, young voters and Independents.

But that’s not all.

Super-delegates already in the Obama camp are also beginning to acknowledge that Obama is the best pick.  They point to how impressed they were with his handling of the comments by his former pastor, the Rev. Jeremiah Wright.  They also know his appeal to Black voters, a block they can’t alienate and win in November; and overall, they see Obama as a more attractive candidate with fewer negatives than his rival, New York Sen. Hillary Clinton.

Clinton had a similar meeting on Wednesday with super-delegates, hoping to build her case, but she’s in a tougher spot because of the numbers.   Clinton would need to win 70 percent of the vote in all the remaining contests to even come close to besting Obama.  

Carter Eskew, a Democratic consultant not affiliated with either candidate, said, “Unfortunately for her, the math reasserts itself. I don’t think this changes very much of anything.”

Clinton is still pushing for the delegates in Michigan and Florida to be seated. There is still no decision on how to allocate this votes.

The Democratic Party’s Rules and Bylaws Committee will meet in Washington at the end of the month to decide how best to deal fairly with the Michigan and Florida delegations. 

Let’s hope they can come up with something Clinton and Obama will agree on and that it will soon bring the primary season to an end.

By Pamela Gentry, Senior Political Producer 

RALEIGH, N.C. (Posted May 7, 2008) – A nail-bitter into the morning hours ended with Sen. Barack Obama winning a decisive win in North Carolina and losing by the narrowest of margins to Sen. Hillary Clinton in Indiana.  

Obama’s victory in the Tar Heel State was announced seconds after the polls closed.  With 99 percent of the votes counted by midnight, the Illinois senator had defeated the New York senator 58 percent to 42 percent in North Carolina.

But Indiana was a different story.  Tardy vote tallies from one of the largest counties in the state, Lake County, a suburb of Chicago with one of the largest populations in the state, was slow reporting.

The delay required Clinton to give remarks to supporters without a clear check in the win column.  “Tonight we’ve come from behind. We’ve broken the tie and thanks to you, it’s full speed on to the White House,” Clinton told a rally in Indianapolis.

Mayor Rudy Clay, of Gary, Ind., told CNN that the reason for the delays was that the small election staff was dealing with 11,000 absentee and early ballots, and that they had been overwhelmed by the unprecedented number of voters who turned out during the day.

Obama addressed supporters gathered at North Carolina State in the field house after his victory and congratulated Clinton for “what appears to be her victory in the state of Indiana.”

Sticking to his message of change, Obama told a cheering crowd, “There were those who were saying that North Carolina would be a game-changer in this election, but today what North Carolina decided is that the only game that needs changing is the one in Washington, D.C.”

After tonight’s contest, only six primaries are left.  Next Tuesday, West Virginia voters will go the polls, leaving Kentucky and Oregon (May 20), Puerto Rico (June 1) and Montana and South Dakota (June 3) as the last battles for elected delegates.

Howard Dean, the chairman of the Democratic Party, has said that super-delegates will be asked to meet following the final contest in June, in hopes of allowing the party time to mend fences before the August convention.

In Indiana, where Clinton won, the primary was open to Republicans and Independents – but not here in North Carolina.  Only Democratic and Independents can vote in the primary. 

This could have been a factor in how close the race was in Indiana; Obama usually fairs well among Independent voters.

North Carolina reported record turnout of primary voters Tuesday, and it wasn’t really surprising.  This year the state registered 106,000 new Democrats leading up today’s contest.

The North Carolina State Board of Elections showed 471,006 early votes and 24,900 absentee ballots mailed before today’s vote.

“We know what’s coming. We’ve seen it already,” Obama said. “The attempts to play on our fears and exploit our differences to turn us against each other for pure political gain — to slice and dice this country into red states and blue states; blue-collar and white-collar; White and Black, and Brown.”

The theme of party unity was in Obama’s speech to supporters, and he avoided targeting his rival, saving those for the presumptive Republican nominee, Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.)

Clinton’s 51-percent victory, to Obama’s 49 percent, will not give her any significant delegate lead.  These contests offered the largest remaining numbers of delegates. 

Indiana had 72 delegates at stake, North Carolina 115.

 Obama  leads Clinton in total delegates, 1,745 to 1,608, according to The Associated Press. 

It’s not possible for either candidate to reach the 2,025 delegate votes needed to secure the nomination, so they are relying on super-delegates to take them over the threshold.

By Pamela Gentry, Senior Political Producer 

7:06 p.m. 

RALEIGH, N.C. (Posted May 6, 2008) – Sen. Hillary Clinton is leading Illinois Senator Barack Obama in early returns.  With five percent of the prescincts reporting, Clinton is leading with 51 percent to Obama’s 41 percent.
Polls will close here in North Carolina at 7:30 p.m.  The media has set up in a massive filing center in the field house on the campus of  North Carolina State. 
 
7:13 p.m.

Indiana result:  With 10 percent of the prescincts reporting; 58 percent Clinton, 42 percent Obama.
 
7:30 p.m.

 MSNBC is projecting Sen. Barack Obama winning the North Carolina primary. 

8:08 p.m.

Organizers decided to open the doors early for Obama supporters here at North Carolina State.  Having learned their candidate was the projected winner, they entered cheering “Yes we can.” 

Alex, Ronke, 23, is a computer science major at the university and he was happy to hear of Obama’s victory but he wanted to see the final results.  “What I’m interested in is the percentage he wins by because it really comes down to delegates,” he told me.

9:00 p.m.

 The crowd is hyped and festive here at Sen. Barack Obama’s headquarters here at North Carolina State University.  The doors opened early and the space set aside for the public filled so quickly they’ve now opened up more seating in the balconies.

Lines started forming earlier this evening on the campus and organizers have decided to allow more folks into the venue. 

The latest results show Obama with 47 percent of the vote to Sen. Hillary Clinton’s 53 percent with 67 percent of the precincts reporting.

 1:30 a.m.

After hours of waiting for the results from Lake County, Ill., Sen. Hillary Clinton winswith a two percent margin in Indiana defeating Obama 55 percent to 49 percent.

Unconfirmed reports indicate Clinton may have more money problems following her hard fought race in North Carolina and Indiana.   

By Pamela Gentry, Senior Political Producer

DURHAM, N.C. (Posted May 6, 2008) – Just hours before the polls opened in North Carolina this morning, Sen. Barack Obama made his last case before voters at a town hall meeting here in Durham.  

“I want your vote, and I want it bad,” he told the 200 folks gathered during an extended lunch break to hear what he had to say.

The crowd appeared receptive; they were invited by a fellow employee David Jones, who introduced Obama saying, “He understands us.”  

Obama was speaking to employees at CREE LED lighting.  The company is a new business  hoping to make incandescent light bulbs obsolete.  They have designed light bulbs using energy-efficient, environmentally friendly LED lighting.   The event allowed Obama to also talk about creating more “green jobs” and his energy policy.

Obama challenged the undecided voters in the audience, “If you’re undecided, I hope you’ll ask me questions.” 

Richella Bell, 35, of Durham was undecided when she arrived but an Obama supporter by the time she left.  “I thought this was great, and I liked his thoughts on the economy,” she said. “The gas situation has really touched me – and I will cast my vote for him.” While Sen. Hillary Clinton is pushing for a “gas-tax holiday,” which ultimately would save Americans about $28, Bell and others are concerned that the reward is little more than an election-day gimmick with little long-term relief. They contend that it is far more courageous to stand against such a plan while pressing for more sustained efforts to reduce gas prices as well as our reliance on foreign fuel. Obama has proposed such ideas, say Bell and others.

North Carolina and Indiana, who are holding their primaries today,   offer a value-added bounty to the state’s delegate pool because they didn’t move their primaries up to an earlier date. 

North Carolina got an additional 24 delegates for moving its presidential primary from April to May and Indiana got six extra delegates for keeping its primary in May.   North Carolina has 115 pledged delegates at stake; Indiana has 72.

Scott McGrath, 30, of Durham was an Obama supporter when he arrived, and nothing changed during the town hall.   “I was particularly moved by his speech on race,” he told me.  McGrath was initially looking at New Mexico Gov.  Richardson and former Sen. John Edwards, (N.C.). 
“At first I wasn’t sure he would be able to take the challenges from the other side, but I’m positive now he can,” McGrath said.

Of the 4,049 Democratic delegates, Obama has netted 1,491 pledged to Clinton’s 1,339.  Clinton leads Obama with 269super-delegates  to Obama’s 255.  Today’s contests won’t deliver a knock-out punch in the numbers game, but it will stall, stoke or re-start either Clinton’s or Obama’s momentum.   

By Pamela Gentry, Senior Political Producer

Posted May 5, 2008 – Just days before Indiana and North Carolina voters head to the ballot box a new poll gives Sen. Barack Obama(D-Ill.) high marks for how he handled the low blows from his former pastor.  And a political power house likens the reverends damaging comments as “worse than eating your young.”  

In a CBS News/New York Times poll, those surveyed said Obama has done a good job when it comes to responding to the controversial comments by the Rev. Jeremiah Wright. 

In the poll released on Sunday, 60 percent of voters and 68 percent of Dems who voted in the primary said they approved of the way Obama has dealt with the constant onslaught of comments by the retired minister in recent weeks.

This poll was taken on the heels of last Monday’s press conference where Wright called Minister Louis Farrakhan one of the great voices of the 20th century; implied the U.S. government  may have developed the AIDS virus to infect the Black community; and that the U.S. has brought about the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.

The comment also got the attention of House Majority Whip James Clyburn (D-SC).  Clyburn hasn’t publicly backed a candidate but he told National Public Radio, Obama should have a “fair opportunity” to win the Democratic presidential nomination.

He blasted Wright’s outburst telling NPR’s Farai Chideya, “I don’t know why Rev. Wright decided to inject himself into this national debate … On the verge of an African- American getting the nomination of his party for this first time in history, for anybody to engage in conduct to destroy that is worse than eating your young.”

Obama can feel some additional comfort from the poll conducted among a random sample of 671 adults, including 288 Democratic primary voters, because 56 percent said the news media has spent too much time covering whole thing.  And 75 percent of the voters surveyed said Wright’s statements hadn’t changed their opinion about the Illinois senator.

The survey from May 1-3 has a margin of error of plus or minus four percentage points for the whole sample group and five percentage points for the Democrats in the poll.

I’m leaving this morning for North Carolina to chat with voters inside the state and watch Tuesday’s primary results.  I’ll keep you posted.