John Edwards Win Seven Percent Of West Virginia Primary

AFP notes a strange trend in the West Virginia primary: the surprising turnout of John Edwards.

Clinton beat Obama by a bruising 67 to 26 percent in West Virginia, with 100 percent of the vote counted. Seven percent voted for former senator John Edwards, who dropped out of the presidential race in late January.

Remarks Steve Benen:

How serious were identity-politics considerations? John Edwards -- who dropped out of the race in January -- got 7% of the vote. That's quite a few West Virginians who seemed to be saying, "We don't like the black guy or the woman from New York."

Comments

[fiona2]

Or it could just be that alot of voters think Edwards is a good guy ...If Obama and Clinton do not form a joint ticket, Edwards is definitely a contender for a great Dem ticket.

[Tom95134]

Or he could be the nominee at the convention after 124 ballots.

[gba]

Gore/Edwards 08 as to excape a total mess?

[pkohan]

Although at this stage of the campaign..­. with Edwards out of the picture for the nomination for a couple of months... I'm thinking those who voted for him really just didn't like the Black guy or the woman and wanted to let everyone know about it.

[readyfornewleadership]

I think it will be Obama/Edwards08. I think the reason Edwards has not endorsed a candidate is because he/they don't want to alienate the Clinton supporters. Then when he is the VP candidate, they won't have a reason to hate him and he appeals to many of the same voters.

[adavis08]

I hope this will be the case. Obama / Edwards 08. The MSM is hyping the "unelectable to working class whites" argument. They also squeezed John Edwards out.

[Raymondf]

7% out of 400,000 votes is not very good to me. 400,000 is almost 1/2 the population of w.v. then you have people of none voting age. 400,000 votes is about 90% of the registered voters in the state. Don't sound very good for Obama in November in a democratic state. with only 4% black population.

[cdavis]

I believe it was closer to 330,000 votes and that the number of registered voters for 2008 WV primary was 1.18 million. Your numbers skewed to make your point.

[Raymondf]

Your wrong that is the population of the whole state. 1.1 million.

[Raymondf]

Besides that Obama didn't even get 95,000 votes Hillary got over 240,000 votes. I left my ballot blank.

[Tariqahmed]

Some must have voted for Nixon.
DEMENTIA rules West West Virginia residents. Thet smoke too much.

[DesertLight]

What do you know about them anyway?

[KBAR]

Thet smoke too much.

You from WVa. too?

[ThirdSection]

Kentucky.

[CheshireCat2]

Hint: Look at the screen name for a clue.

[fudgebuster]

Ihm freem Mortantown.

[Raymondf]

Heck you can't smoke anywhere in W.V. no resturants, bars, buildings of any kind. If you are a smoker you have to smoke 15 ft. from the entrance of any building. We have the strictest no smoking policy in the country Most Businesses you work for if the company pays your insurance you can't smoke anywhere not even at home.

[veteran1964]

I guess if one says the "N" word continuously or play the "race card", the word gets out and everyone that is a follower says the same thing. I thought the Civil War was over....I also thought that the North fought the South to free the slaves and make them a part of America and its freedoms. What Hillary and Bill have done is to ignite the racial attitudes of dumb and immoral people and bring it out into the sunlight. Then, they talk nice to make us feel like they care. I am a sickened white man living in the mountains of N.C. to hear this divide being strengthened by a couple that just wants POWER. The poor people of WVA were suckered into the CLINTON MACHINE with promises and the "I WILL DO THIS FOR YOU" remarks by the thousands. Hillary has said enought of the "I's" to build a fleet of ego boats. She and Bill have brought racial divide into the forefront again and used the poor people as their crutch....­.THIS NEEDS TO END....I thought America was the LAND OF THE FREE! It seems somehow, they don't like people's freedoms anymore and would like to lock up the black communities in S.C., VA., and other states so they can have the POOR WHITE VOTE.
GROW UP HILLARY...­..Your ego is about to blow up America

[Worquie]

Uneducated and un-inform people usually Vote against their own interest!

[Sparklez]

If not Obama, then Edwards wouldve blown her out and i would've been behind him 100%

[IntelligentAmerican01]

If Jesus Christ came tomorrow and he was black, West Virginians would run the other way. Those people hate blacks, women, and anyone who doesn't look like them. They are caught in a time warp and some probably still think Bill Clinton is still president. I would hardly call winning in a state where the majority have not graduated from high school a victory.

[msmaggie]

Ok Intelligen­tAmerican0­1 (and did your mama not give you the advice to let others blow your horn instead of doing it yourself?). If we are to devalue the votes of those who did not finish high school--and I'm guessing you can see where this is going--shall we compare the high school graduation rate of the black population at large to that of West Virginians?

And before I get the hysterical RACIST hurled at me, I am not the one who suggests that education level has any bearing on the voter or the voted upon.

So how's that petard feel?

[dcree77]

The highest rate of graduation among African-American students was 71% in West Virginia. What's your point?

[ChironexFleckeri]

Yesterday, West Virginia confirmed their reputation. They had a chance to show the Democratic party that they had matured, socially and politically. Instead, they reinforced the reason why they'll never be taken seriously.

[Rogue55]

LOL. Because they voted for Clinton over Obama, that means they are socially and politically immature?

[iPolitics]

Despite all of this: Nominee Obama had more votes in West Virginia yesterday than nominee McCain

[DesertLight]

You don't suppose that might be because McCain already has the nomination do you? Or, just maybe the West Virginians crossed over to vote for Hillary ala Operation Chaos? But, never mind keep believing your post. It will be a real asset in the fall.

[hopelessobama]

mccain has gone undefeated since becoming the nominee, obama despite mathematically clinching, was destroyed and humiliated by 40%. worst loss in history for a presumptive nominee. its so funny, barack is a strong dem primary candidate, but in a general election, his historic weak support among whites and hispanics will leave him beaten soundly. silly liberals.

[Tommygun264]

Yes, Barack Obama has received two, three, even seven times more votes than McSame in each of the primaries, even in the red states. But the mainstream corporate media needs to keep the illusion of a close race going so they can rake in the millions in campaign ads and inflate the rates for general advertising during their steady stream of talking head pundit shows and breathless campaign coverage. Just by comparing the number of registered Democrats to the number of registered Republicans who came out to participate in the primaries and caucuses, all signs point to a landslide victory for Barack Obama in the general election. The triple upset in favor of the Democratic candidates in the elections held recently in traditional Republican strongholds appears to support this theory. But don't expect to hear anything about a clear margin for victory, at least not until the post-election analysis. There are hundreds of millions, perhaps billions of dollars to be made between now and November.

[LBM]

Huckabee got 10% of the Republican vote and Ron Paul got 5%. It just shows that all three of these non-candidates have a small but devoted following still and they wanted their chance to vote for their candidate.

[KMKY]

I agree. Primaries should be a chance for party leadership to take notice and strategically figure out who is supporting whom and why. No candidate will ever get 100% of the vote. And these voters, who are turning out in record number for the Democrats, are excited about their chance to participate in this historical race.

[robXdion]

Why is this blog entry or these posts seriously considering what the voters of WV think??? #49 or #50 in the nation for education?

I mean seriously. These people are deeply entrenched in racism and sexism is not too far behind. An imaginary white male on the ticket would gain 7% of the vote if they had a visual picture.

[mhoiles]

Hey - do I need to remind you "we the people"? I thought yours was the candidacy of Unity.... BS!

[Tommygun264]

As a long-time resident of Hawaii, where we are inundated with exit poll projections from the East coast of the mainland from the time we wake up on every general election day, except for 2004, welcome to the "your vote doesn't really count" club and stop being so thin-skinned.

Granted, the reference to West Virginia's ranking with regard to education, whether or not it is accurate, is a bit of a cheap shot. However, West Virginians apparently didn't take offense when Hillary Clinton chose to brag about her support along lines of race and level of education, so why should national education rankings be off limits? The relatively small size of West Virginia's population giving it only 28 delegates as opposed to 115 for neighboring North Carolina coupled with the fact that the primary is among the last held in the nation limits the state's influence on a national level. But let's set all that aside. The historical data from earlier state and local elections and the results of yesterday's primary, indicates that the most important issue in the minds of a majority of West Virginia voters is the candidate's skin color. The fact that any white candidate has a clear advantage over any black candidate by itself is enough to render West Virginia's primary results irrelevant and your snide remark about the "candidacy of Unity" being BS rings hollow.

[msmaggie]

What a fool you are. Everyone gets a vote, "one man, one vote" ring a bell. And if you want to get snotty about education: "visual picture"--how redundant. Really, I don't think your vote should count for as much as mine. LOL

[AshevilleVoice]

One of the most admirable things said during this primary season was John Edwards during his last debate:

"If you wouldn't vote for Barack because he is black, or Hillary because she is a woman, then I don't want your vote."

I am waiting for Mr. Edwards to reaffirm this position now.

I also thought that Hillary should have felt morally compelled to state that if anyone refused to vote for a candidate just because he is black that this goes against the core principles of the Democratic Party. She could have redeemed herself greatly by actively dispelling the myths about Obama, such as that he is a muslim, and asked WVa to put fears and prejudices aside, and vote for her based on the issues and record of each candidate. Instead, she gloated over being able to ride the tide of backwoods racist fears.

[ScandalousCandice]

That's what Hillary could be doing now to totally redeem herself. She should get up and address people who still think he is a Muslim and say I don't respect that after all that has been said and done. I don't respect that even from voters. I have people not voting for me because I am a woman and people not voting for Barack because he is black. Enough is enough. And since when is it a crime or shameful to be a Muslim? Even if he was, which he is not, but even if he was this is America built on religious freedom. She could totally come across great and presidential.

But you know what, she welcomes it. In fact she planted the seeds with the "as far as I know" comments. And it really speaks of her true character. Even if she used it as a cheap ploy to look like a decent human being, she still won't.

[Independent007]

Can't help but agree. Sad but the WV voters not only voted on color(22 percent race was a factor in their decision) but also on the code being espoused by Hillary and Lanny Davis(by the way how many times did Lanny use the term "white" last night on Larry King, to the point that Larry King had to tell Lanny, you already mentioned that, HUFFPO PICK THIS UP) that "white" working voters support her,

Clinton has used the race card many times in this race, and some less informed voters run with it. Too bad for WV. I will never visit that state or spend a dime there, EVER. Maybe someone should start a boycott of WV.

[darcy]

Good grief! The people of WVA had the right to vote for whomever they wanted! Because people prefer Clinton to Obama, they are racists? Maybe they preferred her because she's more experienced and tougher.

[AshevilleVoice]

Independent, that is exactly what troubles me. When Hillary found "her voice", i never in my wildest dreams imagined that it would be the voice of Jim Crow....

[theillusion]

Edwards is populist in rhetoric only. Has anyone bothered to look at his senate record or his campaign speeches a few years ago? Oh, how quickly we forget. I don't think he should be considered as a VP but I would like him in the cabinet. . I appreciate his role in bringing up the issues of poverty, healthcare, etc but I believe he understood what his role was before the first vote was in.

[ohiodem250]

I must say, I don't hold such noble thoughts about the motivations of West Virginia voters after reading that Financial Times article where the one guy says he won't vote for Obama because "he's a Muslim and his wife's an atheist" as well as the other guy saying he'd vote McCain over Obama because he wanted "a full-blooded American" for President. But, since they are Americans, I will give them the benefit of the doubt and say that first, they are entitled to vote for whomever they want for whatever they want and that second, Sen. Edwards had the endorsement of the Mineworkers and he was probably pretty popular in West Virginia.

[ChironexFleckeri]

Is "full-blooded American" code for "white"?

[veteran1964]

I wonder if anyone with balls told this guy that McCain was not born in the U.S. Maybe you could get into a fist fight over this, because the guy wouldn't believe you. SICKENING RHETORIC from the Clintons in this state...I am ashamed to even speak their names. RACIST people....­..THE FRIGGIN CIVIL WAR IS OVER PEOPLE....­... WVA ....Use your brains instead of following someone else's rhetoric.

[cdavis]

I totally agree - WV can vote for whoever they want. So - if they want high poverty and a high uneducated populace their voting record gives it to them. They can vote any way they want that is their right as a US citizen, but it's my right to be unimpressed with their choices and be pretty PO'd since they helped to give us the Bush Admin for 8 YEARS.

[comodiode]

I get that you are PO'd at the uneducated hillbillies that "gave us the Bush Admin for 8 years". Shame on those ignorant white billies. So what excuse does the rest of the country use as an excuse for doing the same...sin­ce they aren't under-educated white-trash. Was it drugs?

[Mogamboguru]

It MUST be something SPECIAL! Let's see: He's male, he's white... Naaaa, this can't be it. Not there, not in West Virginia! Or - can it...?