The 2008 North Carolina Democratic presidential primary took place on May 6, 2008, one of the last primary elections in the long race for nomination between Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton. Obama won the primary.
North Carolina sent 134 delegates to the 2008 Democratic National Convention. 115 delegates were tied to the results of the primary, with the remainder being unelected superdelegates not pledged to any candidate. Registered Democrats and unaffiliated voters (but not registered Republicans) were allowed to participate. The polls were open from 6:30 AM to 7:30 PM, Eastern daylight time (UTC-4). North Carolina had 5,811,778 registered voters in 2,817 precincts, with turnout at 36.42%.
Polls
Public opinion polling from early January 2008 through mid-February 2008 generally gave Senator Hillary Clinton a single digit lead over Senator Barack Obama. From then on, Obama had the lead in almost every poll, and on May 5, was up by 3%, holding 48% to her 45%. 7% were undecided, with a margin of error of 3%. The new polls gave "fresh hope" to Clinton.
Robocalls The North Carolina state board of elections reported that misleading robocalls were made to African-American voters in the days leading up to the primary in late April 2008,"Elections board hunting robocaller ," The News & Observer, April 28, 2008. Accessed April 29, 2008. which essentially told registered voters that they were not registered.Daily Kos Blog. Accessed April 29, 2008. According to NPR and Facing South, these calls were made by the organization "Women's Voices Women Vote."Murray, Shailagh, "Women's Voices, Women Vote: Did the Outreach Overreach?", Washington Post, Sunday, May 4, 2008; Page A10, found at Washington Post article on Women's Voices Women Vote. Accessed May 5, 2008.
"Women's Voices Women Vote" included members such as former White House chief of staff John Podesta, Maggie Williams, and Page Gardner, all of whom have close ties to the Clintons. Voters and watchdog groups complained that it was a turnout-suppression effort, and the state Attorney General Roy Cooper ordered them to stop making the calls.
Results
Primary date: May 6, 2008
National pledged delegates determined: 115
Key: Withdrewprior to contest North Carolina Democratic presidential primary, 2008Official Results CandidateVotesPercentageEstimated national delegates Barack Obama 887,391 56.14% 67 Hillary Clinton 657,669 41.61% 48 Mike Gravel 12,452 0.79% 0 No Preference 23,214 1.47% 0 Totals 1,580,726 100.00% 115
The day that the North Carolina primary was held was known as Super Tuesday III. Along with Indiana which held its primary on the same day, this was largely considered the "Waterloo" of the Democratic primaries. Obama had been under fire for controversial remarks made by Jeremiah Wright, and his lead in North Carolina polls had been reduced to single digits, so Clinton's double-digit loss in that state was a major disappointment. Further hurting Clinton's campaign was the time-zone differences, as the defeat was reported in prime time, and the news of the narrow victory in Indiana had come too late. MSNBC's Tim Russert was quoted as saying "She did not get the game-changer she wanted tonight."
Analysis 2008 North Carolina Democratic presidential primaryDemographic subgroupObamaClinton% of total voteTotal vote5642100SexMale564043Female544257Sex by raceWhite men405428White women336335Black men91713Black women91520Age17–64 years old59377765 and older415423Family incomeLess than $50,000593646$50,000 or more524554ReligionProtestant/Other Christian534470Catholic45529Something else69247None682912EducationDid not complete high school57386High school graduate563924Some college or associate degree534226College graduate544325Postgraduate study574119Political philosophyLiberal623640Moderate554138Conservative425122Which issue is the most important facing the country?The economy524460The war in Iraq603622Health care593615Candidate quality that matters mostCan bring about needed change772150Cares about people like me563714Has the right experience108522Has the best chance to win485011
See also Democratic Party (United States) presidential primaries, 2008 North Carolina Republican primary, 2008
References
External links NC Board of Elections