Many of you who are reading the news will think that Hillary Clinton came in 3rd in the Iowa state caucuses. After all, that’s what everyone is saying, right? So will you be surprised to know that Hillary actually came in second? Well, it’s true.
What doesn’t get reported in the news media is that the election results from Iowa are as follows:
- Obama – 16 delegates
- Clinton – 15 delegates
- Edwards – 14 delegates
Delegates are the votes that count. Think of them as electoral votes. If the popular vote mattered Al Gore would be president. The news media has it wrong. Clinton came in second, Edwards third. And for the most part Iowa was for all practical purposes a 3 way tie. Then there are the Super Delegates which will make Hillary the winner of Iowa.
In the Republican side the real score was:
- Huckabee – 30 delegates
- Romney – 7 delegates
All the other candidates got zero delegates. Here’s some more interesting numbers.
Total Voter Turnout (approximate) 356,000
Percentage of total vote
24.5% Obama
20.5% Edwards
19.8% Clinton
11.4% Huckabee (R)
Huckabee has a huge win among Republicans.But far more people voted in the Democratic caucuses which allowed Independents and Republicans to vote.
Enlightening. I wonder what the “campaign dollars / delegate” figure for each candidate is?
Link, Please, to back up your assertions.
How about what this official site says:
http://www.iowacaucusresults.com/
Senator Barack Obama : 37.58%
Senator John Edwards : 29.75%
Senator Hillary Clinton : 29.47%
“(Percentages are State Delegate Equivalents.)”
I don’t know what that last phrase means exactly, but it implies to me that Edwards will get at least as many delegates as Clinton, if not one more.
Apparently the delegates are not in proportion to the popular vote.
Obama for president
If he can win in Iowa and do well in New Hampshire with Independent support, Obama will have earned the opportunity for a final appeal to Democrats. As he does so, he will undoubtedly tout his then-proven ability to attract Independents and attract new voters into the process. That is why Clinton’s status as frontrunner will be more vulnerable.
Carlos Menéndez
wow huckabee smoked the other republicans
stick a fork in Clinton
None of the major news sites are reporting this way.
Somehow, I think you’re gonna regret this post tomorrow.
Anyway, I think the big news, that’s being ignored, is that Ron Paul got more votes than Ghouliani and is just behind McCain.
On great, a black muslim president… stick a fork in the nation… it’s done.
#7 Actually, not that it matters, Obama is NOT Muslim…he is a Christian.
7,
Is it just that he’s not white? If so, you are a very sad example of a human being. As for religion, it doesn’t matter what his faith is as long as he’s not a fundamentalist wackjob.
8,
WHy don’t you trust Obama? Try to be specific.
#7 Obama isn’t a Muslim. And the fact that he is black is not important, or at least shouldn’t be.
Why so uptight about third place? No need to defend, in terms of votes cast, she’s in third in Iowa. That doesn’t mean she won’t win in the northeast.
#9
So you propose to vote for Obama just because he is black. How racist is that? Everything matters when electing a leader, and to elect a rookie as president in these dangerous times is national suicide.
#13 – cut the non-sequitur crap! You posted a racist comment and were called on it. What’s new?
#10
Obama is a black separatist with past influences of the Muslim faith. His constant clamor for change seems to strike a positive cord among liberals but did anyone stop to ask what exactly are the changes he has in mind? He has been very vague in this area and to blindly accept Obama’s unknown policies must be questioned.
Its do or die in New Hampshire for Clinton. Bill Clinton lost both states in ’92 but he had the southern black vote to make up the difference. Obama will take at least a part of that away from her this year, and John Edwards will do well in South Carolina too. Going into super tuesday in 3rd place will be fatal to the Clinton campaign.
Skipping Iowa may be fatal to Giuliani. He is spending lots of time in Florida, but it may be too late by then. Republicans are looking for someone who has a chance to win in November, and right now their best hope is McCain. If McCain wins New Hampshire, only Huckabee has a shot at beating him.
Most followers of this election are not seeing the big picture.
This was not only a clear victory for Obama, it was a huge victory for Obama and the overall Democratic party.
Close to three times as many people showed up to vote in the Democratic caucus as did in the republican caucus. This is in a state that has basically a 50-50 divide in registered voters. Just about the only people that showed up to vote in the Republican caucus were the religious fundamentalists.
In the Democratic caucus, Obama won the ‘popular vote’ by over 1/3 as many people as the next candidate, in a state that is 95% white and comparatively conservative.
So what we have is on one side the Republicans showing up to vote in small numbers, and those that show up voting strongly for what clearly is an extreme right wing candidate, while on the other side, the Democrats show up in huge numbers and vote for a candidate whose premise is ‘change’.
Don’t just look at how the candidates performed, look at how the political parties overall performed. The republicans are in deep deep trouble, specially if Huckabee is the frontrunner come Feb 5, when states that really matter and find him utterly unacceptable get to vote.
As for people like “Political Junkie”, he is the first of many desperate racist nutjobs that will show up here. Best ignored because of what he really is: a scared hateful nobody.
Let is not forget that the delegates are free to choose who they vote for. The receive only recommendations.
Does anyone else believe that this early Primary season, access to viral media & funding and a chaotic slate of persons running for President is perfect for a charismatic 3rd party candidate to run and win in November?
Who cares? John Edwards is the only candidate that can carry the general election. The Dems are shooting themselves in the foot.
#9 – One huge reason I distrust him is his stated “distrust of the inherent economic inequalities of capitalism”.
Without inequalities, there can be no freedom. Those who work harder/better deserve the fruits of their labors. If you take the extra away from them to redistribute and equalize and try to tell them that their hard work is lifting all society, what you’re really doing is removing incentive as is detailed in the tragedy of the commons.
Charity comes from individuals, not the government.
#16 – Interesting take on Huckabee. The real reason many on the right don’t like him is because he is NOT right-wing. He’s not even close to conservative. When you really look at it the only two parties we now have are left and far-left. Hell, the modern Republican party is more liberal that even the Democrats were in the 60’s.
#20 – You make a good point. I’ve often noticed that when liberals are called on or can’t justify their position they immediately begin name-calling.
#21 iGlobalWarmer.
Don’t go putting words in my mouth… I never called Huckabee a conservative, I called him a far-right wing candidate. I agree that there is a huge difference, and that is why the Republican leadership is in a panic. It is now becoming clear that Republican no longer means Conservative, it means something very different… now becoming the ‘Religious basis’ party. If there is a need for a third party, it is for a true ‘Conservative’ party that is not religiously based as the Republican party has become.
One correction to my comment earlier… Democrats showed up to the polls in twice the numbers as Republicans, not 3x as I stated. Still a very significant statement.
Also the most significant event last night is the utter repudiation of Guilianni. He is spinning it as “I never campaigned in Iowa anyway”, but his utterly insignificant showing there means that people see him for what he is, and have quickly turned their back. Interesting that McCain is the most meaningful candidate in the Republican slate, and the only thing that makes him a Republican historically is his support for the Iraq fiasco.
#20 PoliticalJunkie.
If you use race as a basis and justification for your arguments, you are a racist, there is no question about that. End of discussion.
22 replies and no one got it right.
The correct response to the topic is as follows:
Perky, you’re missing the mark. Iowa’s function as a popularity contest has an impact on New Hampshire’s, which subsequently has an impact on the Super Tuesday states. Since a large number of voters in these states want to “back the winner”, they’re the ones really putting the convention votes behind the eventual nominee.
Are you technically right? Yes. Practically, however, you’re far, far off. “Obama is the winner” is the story line that the left wants projected: How they got to that point is somewhat meaningless.
Personally, I think the left should be very excited over a Obama/Huckabee race. I’m about as right wing as they come around here, and I’d vote for Obama in that matchup.
#23
That’s a pretty narrow minded attitude. Liberal’s live to toss up race as a factor in every part of life so for you to neglect Obama’s race is very inconsistent.
Sorry but discussing matters of race is not racist and for you to suggest it is offers no hope that the races will ever be able to meet halfway.
Perhaps the real racist is staring at you when you look in the mirror.
This post sounds accurate. The basic deal is that the popular vote is weighted based on the vote in previous elections. So Hillary probably did a little bit better in key counties, edging her ahead of Edwards.
The media isn’t likely to report it that way, since Hillary comes in third is so much a better story. Plus it helps Hillary to have Edwards still in the race competing with Obama for the anti-Hillary vote.
It also helps her to have Obama paired with going nowhere Huckster from Hope.
Hillary will win in the end. Just hearing Rush Limbaugh gloat will get the Dems voting for her. Then there is also the robofeminism vote.
I tired of these Evangelicals. These are the nuttiest of the bunch. Aren’t these the same tools that believe in the man/dinosaur time line and the Earth is only a few thousand years old. One can only hope that their candidate, Hucklefuck, never becomes President. Otherwise this country will really go down the tube.
No more religious wackos in office PLEASE.
#23 – I agree about the religion being too intertwined with the Republican party (The new “religious left” is also disturbing.)
So do we now have Left-wing, Right-wing, Conservative and Liberal all meaning different things?
I don’t think this post is entirely accurate. I am seeing the 30/7 stat for delegates on some web sites, but as far as I understand the process in Iowa they have not decided the national delegates yet.
The way I understand it is that at the individual caucuses they elect delegates on a per precinct level. This is what they did last night. At a later date these precinct level delegates meet to elect county level delegates, who later go on to elect the state level delegates. Here is the quote from Wikipedia:
“Delegates from the precinct caucuses go on to the County Convention, which chooses delegates to the District Convention, which in turn selects delegates to the State Convention. Thus it is the Republican State Convention, not the precinct caucuses, which select the ultimate delegates to the Republican National Convention in Iowa.”
Seeing as how Ron Paul carried Jefferson County, I am almost positive he will end up with a couple of State level delegates.
Let the Clinton SPIN begin!