Nevada - early lead for Hillary holds! She wins again!
Submitted by Nick Kelly on January 19, 2008 - 4:06pm.
Hillary Clinton
"As of 12:50 PM, Hillary Clinton has opened up a wide lead over Senator Obama, but it's still early and precincts are still reporting."
http://www.nwprogressive.org/weblog/2008/01/obama-clinton-trading-lead-in-nevada.html
"With 11 percent of precincts reporting, Clinton had 47.8 percent of the vote to 45.4 percent for Obama. John Edwards was third with 5.8 percent, according to figures from the Nevada Democratic Party."
http://afp.google.com/article/ALeqM5gew72GFo3pVWjPCO1EQkfcEAuOaw
"With 45 percent of precincts reporting, Clinton had 50 percent to Obama's 45 percent support, according to the Nevada Democratic Party."
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=aySvO.GYzsIM&refer=home
"Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-N.Y.) is projected to hold off rival Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) in the Nevada caucuses Saturday, giving her a second win in a row after the victory in the New Hampshire primary last week."
http://thehill.com/campaign-2008/clinton-projected-to-win-nevada-2008-01-19.html
Sen. Hillary Clinton is the projected winner of today's Nevada Caucuses besting rival Democrats Sen. Barack Obama and former Sen. John Edwards. With 52 percent of precincts reporting, Clinton has 52 percent of the vote, Obama 44 percent, and Edwards 4 percent.
Heading into South Carolina's Democratic contest next week, Nevada is a critical win for Sen. Clinton -- her second in a row.
http://www.campaignsandelections.com/webedition/page.cfm?pageid=1504&navid=51
CHARLESTON, S.C. - Senator Hillary Clinton was the projected winner Saturday of the Democratic presidential caucuses in Nevada, narrowly defeating rival Barack Obama.
Clinton, seeking to become the first woman elected U.S. president, led with 50 per cent support among caucus goers, with Obama finishing second with about 45 per cent support.
The win gives Clinton a new shot of momentum ahead of next Saturday's influential Democratic primaries in South Carolina, where about half of the voters are African-American.
Obama has led Clinton in recent polls in South Carolina in what is sometimes referred to as the nation's first black primary.
While Clinton has a strong campaign organization in South Carolina, she triggered anger among many black political activists last week by suggesting former president Lyndon B. Johnson was more responsible for civil rights victories in the U.S. than Martin Luther King Jr.
Obama and Clinton go head-to-head in a Democratic candidates' debate in South Carolina on Monday, the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday in the United States.
http://www.canada.com/theprovince/news/story.html?id=1a3e0efa-a8ab-4dbd-a912-6119fa21cee2&k=31790
she's up 50.3 to 45.24 with just over 77% in.
Edwards had an awfully poor showing though, huh? I didn't expect him to do that badly...He's not even breaking 5% at this point.
"The mark of leadership is not to standup when everybody is standing, but rather to actually stand up when no one else is standing" - Pulitzer Prize winning author Samantha Power, introducing Gen Clark
Poor little Eddie. :)
"The mark of leadership is not to standup when everybody is standing, but rather to actually stand up when no one else is standing" - Pulitzer Prize winning author Samantha Power, introducing Gen Clark
he came in "almost second place" or something stupid like that. I don't expect him to give up on the fantasy of the three person race just yet...
"The mark of leadership is not to standup when everybody is standing, but rather to actually stand up when no one else is standing" - Pulitzer Prize winning author Samantha Power, introducing Gen Clark
Obama very close second, Edwards barely on the radar screen.
Proud to be an American.
Hillary came up aces at the Bellagio!
Only the Clinton and Obama camps were viable after the first sort. Clinton had 271 votes; Obama 191. It's a huge victory for her here.
If Obama was going to win Nevada, he needed to have a strong performance in the at-large sites where the muscle from his Culinary Union Workers endorsement could create support. Clinton's big win at the Bellagio, a union stronghold, suggests that she may do very well when the final totals are put together later this afternoon.
http://www.weeklystandard.com/Content/Public/Articles/000/000/014/626vunsp.asp
At the Flamingo:
Inside the Flamingo hotel, one of the at-large caucus sites on the Las Vegas Strip, it was a chaotic scene. Instead the Sunset Ballroom, 245 voters registered their attendance before breaking off into their preference groups.
Maids and cooks, bellmen and bartenders – nearly all of whom wore their uniforms and matching nametags – were standing more than 20 deep. To attend the caucus, they took an hour lunch break, but as the proceedings stretched beyond the allotted time, some of the voters asked if they could leave.
A boxed lunch was served and the proceedings were translated into Spanish.
“No matter what happens at the end of this, we will leave as friends and Democrats will be working together,” the temporary chairwoman of the caucus said, standing at the front of the ballroom. “We want everyone to feel they can choose their own candidate without intimidation.”
Brenda Santiago, a housekeeper at nearby Harrah’s hotel and casino, arrived shortly before Noon. Although she is a member of the Culinary Workers Union, which supported Mr. Obama, she said she had been determined to choose her favorite candidate on her own.
And that, she said, was Senator Clinton.
“I have my own opinions,” said Ms. Santiago, 46. “Hillary has more experience – and she has Bill!”
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/19/us/politics/19cnd-dems.html?hp
Nick Kelly
Wes Clark still could be the national security candidate.
Sweet- musta had something to do with that General guy she was out stumping with! :)
WE WON IT!!! Tough battle, Obama did well, but not well enough!
YIPPEE!!! I had everything crossed.
Dern Media...they got it WRONG again!!!
CLARK County and WES Clark won it for her!!! WTG
Not only fighting Obama, but the Media...I am so happy!
Anyone know where to find the post-Nevada delegate count?
Proud to be an American.
On the Democratic side, Sens. Hillary Rodham Clinton and Barack Obama have each won at least seven delegates in the Nevada caucuses, with 17 still to be awarded.
Clinton leads the overall race for delegates with at least 231, including separately chosen party and elected officials known as superdelegates. She is followed by Obama with at least 130 and former Sen. John Edwards with at least 50.
Nick Kelly
Wes Clark still could be the national security candidate.
http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5hUPSXLSf9BMjfyPSCc2sdK8RtV8QD8U96LG00
Women broke for Hillary 52% to 35%
"As long as war is regarded as wicked, it will always have its fascination. When it is looked upon as vulgar, it will cease to be popular." - Oscar Wilde
on her blog...Just click on blogHillary from the blog roll...
"The mark of leadership is not to standup when everybody is standing, but rather to actually stand up when no one else is standing" - Pulitzer Prize winning author Samantha Power, introducing Gen Clark
The vote totals seem quite low, or maybe it's just Nevada with its small population.
Anyway, is Edwards now toast? What was the last poll, 27% for him? And he's at 4% after 79% of the vote is in? Maybe SOMW means Shit Out of Meaningful Wallop!
Stan Davis
Lakewood, CO
Wes Clark -- Make America All It Can Be!
"The Nevada Democratic Party is reporting a record turnout with more than 107,000 caucus attendees, and that with only 84 percent of precincts reporting just now."
http://www.nevadaappeal.com/article/20080119/NEWS01/740553902
I may not be remembering this correctly, but I think I saw somewhere that the turnout at the Nevada Dem caucuses in 2004 was only around 9,000 in total.
Nick Kelly
Wes Clark still could be the national security candidate.
http://www.nevadaappeal.com/article/20080119/NEWS01/686079578
With 88 percent of the precincts reporting, the Nevada Democratic Party said in a statement that it's "seeing record turnout with more than 114,000 caucus attendees."
Senate Majority Leader Harry M. Reid (Nev.) was one of the only people to predict turnout around 100,000. Others had projected a more modest 45,000 tally.
http://blog.washingtonpost.com/the-trail/2008/01/19/overall_turnout_high_for_nev_c.html
Nick Kelly
Wes Clark still could be the national security candidate.
The numbers we're seeing are numbers of county delegates. Click here.
Stan Davis
Lakewood, CO
Wes Clark -- Make America All It Can Be!
Clinton won 13 delegates in Nevada on Saturday, compared to 12 for Obama, an AP analysis of caucus results showed. All of Nevada's 25 Democratic delegates have been awarded.
Clinton leads the overall race for delegates with 237, including separately chosen party and elected officials known as superdelegates. She is followed by Obama with 135 and former Sen. John Edwards with 50.
A total of 2,025 delegates are needed to secure the Democratic nomination.
http://www.forbes.com/feeds/ap/2008/01/19/ap4551735.html
Nick Kelly
Wes Clark still could be the national security candidate.
By Sun Staff · January 19, 2008 · 1:03 PM
Hillary Clinton has carried five of the nine at-large casino sites on the Strip, despite the influence of the Culinary Union. Clinton has carried at sites in the Flamingo, the Rio, Paris Las Vegas, the Bellagio, and Wynn Las Vegas. Only the site at Caesars has gone for Obama so far. First vote at the Mirage was 178 for Clinton and 153 for Obama and 3 for Edwards and three uncommitted. So on second round, that site, too, apparently will go for Clinton. The Luxor site is closely divided and voting again. No word from New York New York.
http://lasvegassun.com/blogs/early-line/2008/jan/19/clinton-carries-strip/
Looks like a majority of the Culinary workers gave a big FU to their union.....and the media. Well....good for them.....and democracy.
On to SC. Steady as she goes. :D
New York New York?
I don't know, but she will definitely carry New York, NY next November!
:)
Nick Kelly
Wes Clark still could be the national security candidate.
From the Financial Times:
Hillary Clinton was projected to win the Nevada Democratic caucus on Saturday, re-establishing her credentials as frontrunner in the race for the Democratic presidential nomination and dealing a blow to Barack Obama....
But her victory comes amid deteriorating relations with Mr Obama, with the pair trading blows over comments he made about the Republican party.
In the interview with the Reno Gazette-Journal Mr Obama said Republicans had been “the party of ideas for a pretty long chunk of time there over the last ten to 15 years in the sense that they were challenging conventional wisdom”.
At a rally ahead of Saturday’s caucus, Mrs Clinton said: “That’s not the way I remember the last ten to 15 years.”
She also accused Mr Obama’s supporters of intimidating caucus participants in Las Vegas. Mr Obama won the endorsement of the 60,000 member Culinary Workers Union, which dominated caucus locations in and around the Las Vegas Strip.
Mrs Clinton’s advisers had argued that locating the sites in casinos discriminated against other workers who could not get time off to caucus. A legal challenge by her campaign to move the sites ended in failure, however.
On the day before the caucus Mrs Clinton said some members of the Culinary Workers Union had been intimidated into backing Mr Obama.
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/ed602dc4-c6d4-11dc-bd9c-0000779fd2ac.html
From The Citizen:
The Nevada caucuses were modeled on Iowa's, where Obama was the winner. But unlike mild-mannered Iowa, caucuses in Las Vegas casinos resembled ringside on boxing night as raucous Clinton and Obama backers chanted for their candidate.
New York Senator Clinton and Illinois Senator Obama had engaged in frenzied campaigning across Nevada, notable for its large Hispanic community and heavily unionized labor force.
The Nevada campaign had been marked by a feud over plans to set up massive voting centers inside Las Vegas Strip casinos in order to encourage participation by shift workers.
Obama had won the backing of the 60,000-member culinary workers union, which dominates the casinos, but many in the casinos and other grass-roots Democratic voters appeared to prefer Clinton.
http://www.citizen.co.za/index/Article.aspx?pDesc=1,1,22&Type=top&File=080119220603.t7h1ntxf.xml
From the Press Association:
Mrs Clinton's victory marked a second-straight campaign triumph for the former First Lady as her campaign aimed to build momentum ahead of next month's Super Tuesday when more than 20 states go to the polls.
Mrs Clinton, 60, is the first wife of an American president to run for the office and no woman has ever been nominated as a presidential candidate by a major party.
After moving out of the White House and to New York, Mrs Clinton became the first First Lady to be elected to public office and the first female senator from the state in 2000.
She initially supported the Bush administration's stance on a number of foreign policy issues and voted for the Iraq War resolution.
But she now supports US troops while wanting to pull them out of Iraq and criticising the Bush administrations handling of the war, saying the President has "squandered the respect, trust, and confidence of even our closest allies and friends" over the past six years.
She also opposes the administration on most domestic issues. Re-elected to the Senate by a wide margin last year, she received a boost for her bid to become US President when she was named as the world's most admired powerful woman in a study compiled for Harper's Bazaar magazine in February 2007.
From SwissInfo:
Clinton and Obama, an Illinois senator, traded charges of voter suppression and harassment in the final hours before the vote in Nevada, where workers at Las Vegas's casino hotels participated at nine locations on the city's famed strip.
Clinton led polls in the state for months heading into the contest, but Obama was lifted by the endorsement of a powerful labour union that represents about 60,000 workers in the state's tourist hotels.
The Nevada Democratic race, the first test of strength in a state with a large Hispanic population, was complicated by uncertainties about turnout. Only 9,000 Democrats took part in Nevada's caucuses in 2004 but turnout was reported to be much heavier this time.
Nick Kelly
Wes Clark still could be the national security candidate.
http://securingamerica.com/ccn/node/14453
I put this up last night, in case any of you were interested...
And Edwards? Wha happened? Steamrolled after the first ballot?
Huh.
Dear Carol,
Have you heard? We just won the Democratic caucuses in Nevada. You have done so much to make winning moments like this possible. Thank you!
People across the country are placing their faith in our campaign, especially those hardest hit by the recent downturn in the economy. We can't let them down. We're working together to bring about change, and America is responding to our efforts.
Thanks so much for sharing this remarkable journey with me!
All the best,
Hillary
Nice.
"The mark of leadership is not to standup when everybody is standing, but rather to actually stand up when no one else is standing" - Pulitzer Prize winning author Samantha Power, introducing Gen Clark
Today we won a huge victory by overcoming institutional hurdles and one of the worst negative ads in recent memory.
This was a victory for all those who work hard and caucused on behalf of Hillary to revive our struggling economy.
The day after our victory in New Hampshire, the Culinary workers endorsed Sen. Obama. The Chicago Tribune noted at the time that the endorsement gave Sen. Obama a “significant advantage” because it is the largest and best organized labor group in the state.
With nine caucus sites essentially set up for members of the culinary union, it’s no wonder why Jon Ralston, Nevada’s leading political analyst, noted that the culinary workers’ “impact is going to be significant.”
In fact, the endorsement was so coveted that the Obama campaign’s national field director, Temo Figueroa, said over the summer that "the Nevada election is going to come down to: Whoever gets the endorsement of the Culinary Workers Union, more than likely, is going to win Nevada."
Our campaign also received numerous reports of strong arm tactics designed to discourage our voters from caucusing and found itself on the receiving end of one of the most scurrilous smear efforts in recent memory.
Additionally, Sen. Obama's allies spent tens of thousands of dollars on a radio ad to attack Sen. Clinton’s commitment to the Latino community.
"Hillary Clinton does not respect our people," the ad said in Spanish. "Hillary Clinton is shameless."
Yet the exit polls are showing that the supporters of Hillary Clinton rejected these tactics.
Exit polls show she won the union vote, won across all income groups and won heavily among those around Las Vegas, sweeping Clark County. The Latino vote backed Hillary by over 3 to 1, and Democrats voted for her by a wide margin.
Even among the hotel caucuses that were set up and worked extensively by the Culinary workers, Hillary competed closely or won in all of them.
So as we said yesterday, this was a test of whether the voters would win out through a process that gave significant institutional advantages to Hillary’s opponent.
Today, Nevadans won and made their voices heard.
http://www.nevadaappeal.com/article/20080119/NEWS01/139584758
Nick Kelly
Wes Clark still could be the national security candidate.
and thanks - to General Clark and all his supporters who went to Nevada or made phone calls to help Hillary.
Edit: Also thanks to those who wrote letters in favor of Hillary.
Proud to be an American.
http://www.cnn.com/ELECTION/2008/primaries/results/scorecard/
Clinton - 198
Obama - 110
Edwards - 52
Kucinich - 1
2025 needed for a majority.
http://www.cnn.com/ELECTION/2008/primaries/results/scorecard/
CNN reporting in Nevada
Clinton - 15
Obama - 13
Clinton - 211
Obama - 122
Edwards - 52
Kucinich - 1
.
2025 needed for a majority from 4049 total delegates
I had to get really psyched up to make those calls to Nevada. Now, I've gotta help out with Missouri.
easier for me, when compared to the old-fashioned dial it yourself and hand record your results on a computer printout.
Nick Kelly
Wes Clark still could be the national security candidate.
I like the comment by the woman who said she supported Hillary, because she has more experience. She also noted "She has Bill."
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/19/us/politics/19cnd-dems.html?_r=1&hp&oref=slogin
For all the hype from the media about Bill out in Nevada, it backfired. Women came out in support of Hillary.
told me she was for Hillary in part because she wanted "Jefferson" back in the WH. She likes Hillary and apparently thinks "Jefferson" is a really big bonus.
Nick Kelly
Wes Clark still could be the national security candidate.
We did it!!!
We took Nevada!! WooHoo!!!
In my Village, as in my County -- Washoe County -- Obama won. (33% Clinton, 12% JE, 3% Kucinich, 47% Obama)
Our caucus was literally flooded -- no exaggeration -- with Republics and Indys who came to re-register and the bulk of them went to Obama. We had amazing turnout in this RED town! I know of one man -- a Republic -- who told his wife (a Clinton supporter and fellow precinct captain) that he was going to caucus for Obama because he hated Clinton so much. He told her in the GE he wouldn't vote for any of the Dems, but he would do anything he could to stop Clinton. One has to wonder how many of the Republics and Indys who came, came with that purpose.
Caucus's really do suck. It worked out to Clinton's advantage as far as delegates, but I would have been disappointed had I been an Obama supporter that she got nearly the same number of delegates, due to the "math" they use.
Example. One precinct (not mine) had 104 total attendees. After re-alignment, it ended up with Obama 68, Clinton 36. Because of the way they do the math, the end numbers came out to Obama at 4.31 and Clinton at 2.43. They take the whole # first, so that gave Obama 4 delegates and Clinton 2. Since that precinct had a total of 7 delegates, that left one delegate. So to assign that extra delegate they take the percentages. Since Obama had .31 and Clinton had .43, she got the extra delegate. So in the end, that precinct, Obama got 4 delegates and Clinton got 3.
In my precinct, we had 53 total attendees. We had 37 Obama, 13 Clinton, 3 Edwards, 1 Kucinich and 1 undecided. The Edwards people were so pissed, and couldn't believe they weren't even viable. None of them were willing to go to anyone else, and they ended up leaving. The Edwards woman was literally screaming that we (Obama and Clinton supporters) were handing the election to the Republics. No way, she said, would this country elect either Hillary Clinton, or a black man. She was hopping mad. I tried to reason with her, but she just did not want to hear any of it. An Obama supporter also tried, but she screamed at her as well.
The Kucinich guy and the undecided both went to Obama. My precinct had 4 delegates -- 3 went to Obama and 1 to Clinton. Other precincts were much like the 1st one I described -- many more attendees than my precinct, and almost double Obama supporters, but due to the math, in some cases Clinton got 1 less delegate than Obama and in some cases the same number. Edwards was only viable in a couple precincts, and ended up with only a few delegates.
In Clark County (Las Vegas) where they had the culinary workers caucusing in their workplace, and had endorsed Obama, Clinton won 53% to Obama 39%. JE got 6%.
CNN, NV results broken down by demographics:
http://www.cnn.com/ELECTION/2008/primaries/results/epolls/#NVDEM
CNN, NV results general:
http://www.cnn.com/ELECTION/2008/primaries/results/state/#NV
Once in a while you get shown the light, In the strangest of places if you look at it right.
that the consensus of the Clinton precinct captains and temp chairs that I spoke with after the caucus was that the Obama supporters -- perhaps due to their majority at our 2 locations -- were much more aggressive, and yes -- arrogant -- than other supporters.
When it was time for the re-alignment, the viable groups were to send 2 "ambassadors" over to the undecided or non-viable groups to try and convince them to join their group. The Obama supporters were literally surrounding the non-viable or undecideds, not letting anyone else get through to them.
This being my first caucus, maybe this is the way it is supposed to be? but we were told at our training to send one or two people from our group over to the non-viable groups or individuals and try to persuade them to come to our group. We did this, but the Obama supporters had a different approach. Like I said, it was my first caucus so maybe that's just the way it's done and we were misinformed?
Talking with the other precinct captains afterwards, at a gathering at someone's house, it sounds like in most precincts here, the non-viable and undecideds split pretty evenly between Clinton and Obama.
Oh! and when we got to the caucus site this morning, there was a pile of nails, screws and broken glass placed in the driveway entrance! Our location -- the middle school -- didn't have a Republic caucus today. The other location -- the high school did. Nice, eh? :/
Once in a while you get shown the light, In the strangest of places if you look at it right.
In Colorado, the different groups aren't kept apart from each other. We sit around a table or in a classroom and simply vote. The caucus secretary notes who voted for whom on the precinct roster. When a candidate becoms non-viable, then people from the viable groups simply raise their hands to speak and persuade. No hot-boxing. (I haven't used that term since my frat days.)
Stan Davis
Lakewood, CO
Wes Clark -- Make America All It Can Be!
for your report, jen. Been looking forward to it all day.
No...that's not how it's supposed to be at a caucus. My experience is more like what Stan described. Yours sounds alot like the blogosphere, tho. Haha. :o
This next week is going to be really rough....and the media will fan the flames. As you said, below, yes....need to be prepared.
Just heard a little while ago on MSNBC....Bill was out this AM going from casino to casino along The Strip shaking hands, taking pics and schmoozing with the caucus goers. Haha. That mustabeen a sight to behold! Guess they liked him. ;) That's a tiring trip too...those casinos are HUGE! Good for Bill.
Waytago, HRC and WKC!!
The General gets it right.
Competence--What a concept!
Stephanie Tubbs Jones told me!
I was at an Ohio state organizational meeting for Hillary today from 3-5. While we were there wondering about Nevada, Stephanie Tubbs Jones called in from South Carolina and asked us all if we had heard the good news. Then she told us that Hillary was projected to win Nevada. The place went berserk!
We Hil(l)arys know what we are talking about...wanna make something of it? ;-)
The word momentum comes to mind. Hmm......
for an Obama win in SC. Blacks voted Obama over Clinton 83% to 14% with Edwards at 1%.
Latinos voted Clinton over Obama 64% to 26%.
Clinton beat Obama with Democrats 51% to 39%.
Obama beat Clinton with Indys 47% to 33%.
Very Liberal - Clinton 52% to Obama 36%
Somewhat Liberal - Clinton 46%, Obama 42%
Moderate - Clinton 46%, Obama 43%
Clinton won in both union and non-union households:
Union: 45% to 44%
Non-Union: 49% to 40%
Once in a while you get shown the light, In the strangest of places if you look at it right.
They are the deep south, where the MLK memories are still relivent and many loved Bill Clinton. Obama wins with the young voters, but the doubt with older folks about Obama may still be that he is tied to the Whites, will be an important factor. SC black population is not like Nevadas. Also, the fact that many young people do not vote, will play also. The deep South, is different then in the West. I think she will do fine. Plus, many Whites still hold prejudice feelings, and since its a voting primary should show a different outcome...we will see.
...he will probably win SC.
But he needs to figure out how to attract Democrats and Latinos in order to win elsewhere.
"The Right always knows who its enemies are" Lance Mannion
Don't forget about the women. ;)
Once in a while you get shown the light, In the strangest of places if you look at it right.
Regular, liberal to moderate actual voters
have been really listening to the candidates
and have decided that Hillary sounds more
like a Democrat to them. Yeh!
...to General Clark, Hillary, and all of you who have stood with them.
Since the delegate allocation is close, we'll soon know if either Senator Clinton or Senator Obama achieved a Pyrrhic victory.
But the Pyrrhic victory analogy doesn't really apply to the Nevada situation. Neither candidate expended so much there to win that they will necessarily lose the nomination.
Maybe you meant a gorehic victory for H, or a bushhic victory for O? ;)
Nick Kelly
Wes Clark still could be the national security candidate.
We'll see.
Right now I am in ecstacy with the Giants headed to the Superbowl, and tomorrow I'll be at an ecumenical gathering to celebrate the memory and accomplishments of Martin Luther King, whereafter I leave for the midwest for three college and pro basketball games in four days.
In between the games, I am advised there is a primary in South Carolina.
Games. Games. I love games.
http://www.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/01/19/nevada.sc.main/index.html
updated 1 minute ago
Clinton projected to win Nevada Democratic caucuses
CNN) -- "Sen. Hillary Clinton will win the Nevada Democratic caucuses, CNN projects.
The New York senator led rival Barack Obama by 8 percentage points with about half of the precincts reporting.
Former North Carolina Sen. John Edwards was a distant third..."