Obama Struggles With Working Class Whites, Dems Emotionally Divided

Coming into the North Carolina and Indiana primaries, an emphasis was placed on two questions: Could Barack Obama win over the small town vote and, to a lesser extent, had the Democratic Party fissured irrevocably over the fight between the two candidates?

A set of exit polls (subject to change) obtained by the Huffington Post suggest that the Illinois Democrat is still struggling among the working class constituency and that the Democratic Party is emotionally divided.

In Indiana, Obama scored only 34 percent of the "working class" white vote, compared to Clinton's 65 percent. Overall the New York Democrat bested her Illinois counterpart 61 to 39 percent among all white voters. Those numbers were even further divided in North Carolina, where Obama picked up 24 percent of working class whites and 35 percent of whites in general.

And yet, for those who argue that Obama is out of touch, 65 percent of Indiana voters said he shared their values, compared to Clinton's 62 percent, while in North Carolina 69 percent of voters said he shared their values compared to 61 percent for Clinton.

Again, the numbers were mixed when it came to the economy. Sixty-five percent of the Indiana Democratic primary electorate cited economic concerns as the most important issue. And among that group 54 percent went to Clinton, 45 percent to Obama. However, those numbers were almost reversed in North Carolina, where Obama picked up 52 percent of that group's vote to Clinton's 44.

So where did Obama make up his vote? With the usual coalitions. Eighteen-percent of Indiana primary goers were first time voters. And they supported the Senator by a 60 to 40 margin. In North Carolina, meanwhile, Obama beat Clinton 71 percent to 24 percent among those under 30 years of age.

As for the final of the two questions: the Democratic race does seem to have emotions flaring. Fifteen percent of North Carolina respondents say they would vote for Sen. John McCain should he and Clinton end up the two nominees. That number rose to 19 percent if it were McCain v. Obama. In Indiana, meanwhile, 17 percent of voters said they would support McCain if he were facing Clinton, while 20 percent said they would back the Arizona Republican if he battled Obama.

Comments

[PioneerKing]

SAM:

Keep believing that Obama is not reaching working class whites.
Ask a working class white if they want America's sons and daughters to continue to fight n Iraq or to be brought home as soon as possible.
Ask them if they want the Bush/Cheney/McCain tax cuts for the rich to continue; while the government bails out Wall Street while working class folks are getting their homes foreclosed on at record numbers?
Ask those good old boys is they like the way credit card companies bait and switch and are able to charge interest rates nearly 30% and all kinds of fees the crush families.
Ask those bigots if they want to continue supporting Bush/Cheney/McCain who says the 1991 Gulf war and the current war in Iraq are all about oil while the cost of oil just hit $123 per barrel and Halliburton and the oil companies are making record profits.
Ask those agents of intolerance if they think that it's OK that China can sell us crap, grab their jobs and not be held accountable for trade violations while America goes further into debt with China.
In November Obama may not win over the bigots and racists but Obama will get greater numbers of the working class white voters because they are sick and tired of being sick and tired, they want to see their quality of life and standard of living improve and most of all they care about America.

[Gma11]

Exactly, PioneerKing. The media, in cahoots with Hillary and the Republicans, intend to push, push, push this meme until it finally implants in the unconscious of the voters.

[Bluesue]

So much for feminism and electing the first female president. Hillary didn't start making inroads until she started to emulate men - from shooting to throwing back a few. And now the men have given her their most prized possession - balls. She's now officially one of the boys.

Maybe we'll elect a woman in a another 8 years - a woman who runs as a woman and as a democrat.

[ZimboChick]

yeah....se­eing this specimen has cajone - Carville's words not mine.

[KMan1]

Can't wait to see the headline- "Clinton struggles with African American, The Educated, and The Youth votes"

I'll just wait..…..r­ight here waiting...­....I just know it's coming....­..

[Gma11]

Yeah, I'd like to see that one as well, KMan1.

Unfortunately, the media only seems concerned about the white working-class.

[biglover]

CNN just called North Carolina for Obama

[noliberals]

Thats so surprise, the collapse of the anti-American party goes on.

[OpusIsUnderTheBed]

"Dems Divided." Republicans delighted.

[whiteboyblues]

You guys are going to need all the help you can get in the Fall

[noliberals]

I believe a electing Muslim President like Obama may not be in the best interest of America.

[OpusIsUnderTheBed]

Breathe deeply. Your brain's not getting enough oxygen.

[noliberals]

You right about one thing, Republicans delighted.

[robXdion]

Get over it!! Working class whites have issues with race and anyone doing better than them, OK. jeeeeezzzz Now let's move on because they won't vote for the Dem candidate in the GE anyway.

[KO1583]

thank you! finally someone said it.

let's start talking about Hillary losing the AA vote by 80 point margins and above.

[SouthpawSass]

According to some in the media, Clinton is winning among those over the age of 65... I personally believe it has more to do with their closer ties to racist attitudes than how they related to Clinton's struggles.­..

With that said, don't let the media have you believe that blue collar workers are the same as ignorant white men... Again, they are not the same as the media likes to apply a blanket label over those they have little respect for...

[SouthpawSass]

I'm a white college educated woman, who happens to be married to a white, working class, blue collar, gun owning hunter guy... And according to him, it's not blue collar white males who are Obama's problem, but ignorant white men... The two are not the same as the media would have you believe...

Obama 2008!