Hillary Clinton beat Barack Obama to win the Democratic caucuses in Nevada on Saturday, getting 51 percent of the vote compared to Obama's 45 (and John Edwards' dismal 4). The economy was the top concern among Nevada voters surveyed, but the environment may have played a role too. Clinton tried to gain an edge in the state by touting her pledge to shut down the embattled Yucca Mountain nuclear waste storage site, which is under construction 90 miles from Las Vegas. Obama too opposes Yucca Mountain, but Clinton raised questions about his commitment by pointing out that he's gotten a number of campaign donations from employees of Exelon, a major nuclear company that supports the waste dump. (Of course, Clinton's got nuclear industry donors of her own who also want Yucca's doors open.) Now it's on to South Carolina, where the Democratic primary will be held on Jan. 26.
The Republican primary in South Carolina came a week ahead of the Democratic one, and John McCain took the prize, besting second-place finisher Mike Huckabee. In Nevada, Mitt Romney was the decisive victor of the GOP caucuses. The next important Republican contest is the Jan. 29 primary in Florida, where green issues are big with voters (just ask the state's governor, Republican Charlie Crist).
Find out more about the presidential contenders' environmental stances in Grist's special series, "How Green Is Your Candidate?"
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Comments
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inkabinkaboo182 Posted 3:33 pm
19 Jan 2008
Did anyone else notice that Ron Paul came in second in Nevada? No? Only me?
It's like Matt Taibi said - "You can put any s*t up the flag and all these reporters will just f**in' salute!"
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Delay And Deny Posted 4:12 pm
19 Jan 2008
Yes, but Obama won more delegates and is still the front runner for the Democrat Party.
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guade00 Posted 1:15 am
20 Jan 2008
(+/-, depending on the source. Real Clear Politics has it at 236 to 148; CNN counts 210 to 123; AP counts 237 to 135).
Clinton will run particularly strong in New York, California, Florida, and much of the South. Obama probably is stronger in the Midwest. Clinton is the front-runner.
Woe for the best remaining candidates, Edwards and Kucinich.
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Tasermons Partner Posted 1:56 am
20 Jan 2008
At this point, I think I'd be happy with any one of the three.
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Delay And Deny Posted 10:23 am
20 Jan 2008
In fact, Clinton has about 236 delegates to Obama's 136.
Obama has more elected delegates. The superdelegates give Clinton the extra. That's because Bill Clinton has had a lock on the DNC ever since 1992.
But, you may then ask, for a Party that screamed loud and long after the 2000 about fairness, it seems that within its own ranks, it's deprecating the will of the voters with these superdelegates and denying the voters ultimate say in the election.
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Boyscientist Posted 10:31 pm
21 Jan 2008
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