By Adam Tanner
SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - If Hillary Clinton wins the Democratic presidential nomination, historians may look to her primary win in California as key.
The reason, beyond the complexities of delegates, may come from the nation's most populous state's status as a trend-setter. A split in victories on "Super Tuesday" between New York Sen. Clinton and Illinois Sen. Barack Obama in the other 21 states voting made her California win all the more dramatic.
"California was very, very critical," said pollster Mervin Field, who has been following presidential elections for more than half a century. "The fact that he didn't win some people might construe as a watershed victory for Hillary Clinton, the fact that the Obama surge somehow got arrested in California."
Clinton, who could become the first woman U.S. president, worked to build on strong support for her husband, former President Bill Clinton, who embraced the state and befriended Hollywood and Silicon Valley leaders.
She won endorsements from top officials in the world's eighth largest economy, from its senior U.S. senator, Dianne Feinstein, to the mayors of Los Angeles and San Francisco. Women and Latinos gave Clinton major support as expected, according to exit polls.
Facing a record 22 states voting on the same primary day, Obama traveled elsewhere in the days leading up to Tuesday, even going to remote Idaho, where he won. Clinton held rallies across California and her husband campaigned here for days.
Obama deployed powerhouse friends, including Sen. Ted Kennedy of Massachusetts. A Sunday Los Angeles rally with Caroline Kennedy, the daughter of President John F. Kennedy, talk show host Oprah Winfrey and Kennedy's niece, Maria Shriver, added high-profile female counterweight to Clinton.
No comments:
Post a Comment