LOUISVILLE — Kentucky voters overwhelmingly picked Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton as their choice for the Democratic presidential nomination, but it wasn’t immediately clear if Gov. Steve Beshear and two other uncommitted superdelegates will follow their lead.
So far, Beshear and Kentucky Democratic Party leaders Jennifer Moore and Nathan Smith haven’t tipped their hands on who they will back for the nomination, even though a record number of Kentucky voters handed Clinton a lopsided victory over Sen. Barack Obama on Tuesday.
That victory, by more than a 2-to-1 margin, is expected to intensify pressure on the three superdelegates to endorse the New York senator. They could choose to ignore the state’s popular vote and back Obama. Or they could bide their time in hopes the issue resolves itself.
Beshear said he will not rush to a decision.
“I’m going to continue to look at how things develop,” he said. “As a superdelegate, I feel it’s my job to try to figure out what’s the best thing to do for the state and the country in terms of deciding on a candidate as our nominee. The fortunate thing is we’ve got two great candidates running for the Democratic nomination. So, no matter what I ultimately decide, I think the Democratic Party will be well represented.”
Moore, chairwoman of the state Democratic Party, and Smith, the vice chairman, said they also will continue to monitor political developments before committing to a candidate. For both, the outcome of Kentucky’s election will weigh heavily in the decision.
“I’m going to look at the results, and then, in the next few days, make a decision,” Moore said. “We want to weigh all the factors, but, to me, the most important factor is the way Kentucky votes.”
Clinton carried 118 of Kentucky’s 120 counties, some by gigantic margins. Obama narrowly won the other two.
Secretary of State Trey Grayson said a record 32 percent of the state’s registered voters turned out for the primary.
Both Clinton and Obama have been courting Kentucky’s superdelegates — elected officials and party activists who are free to support whomever they choose at the party’s national convention in August, regardless of the popular vote.
Three of the state’s superdelegates — Terry McBrayer, JoEtta Wickliffe and Moretta Bosley, who are Democratic National Committee members — have endorsed Clinton. Two others — U.S. Reps. John Yarmuth and Ben Chandler — have committed to Obama.
To get the nomination, Clinton would need to win over nearly all of the remaining uncommitted superdelegates across the country, said University of Louisville political scientist Laurie Rhodebeck.
“Mathematically, I don’t think it’s impossible at this point, but the chances are so slim that it’s nearly impossible,” Rhodebeck said.
Kentucky political strategist Dea Riley, who headed the campaigns for two of the state’s sitting Supreme Court justices, said Beshear, Moore and Smith can’t ignore Tuesday’s popular vote.
“If they just blatantly ignore the popular vote, I would expect a rebellion,” Riley said. “Their political futures belong to Kentucky, not national politics. That weighs heavily on them.”
The issue is clear-cut in the mind of Daviess County tobacco worker Cory Ward, who voted Tuesday afternoon at a school in Owensboro.
“Whoever the people chose would be who I would hope who the superdelegates would consider,” Ward said. “Instead of their own ideas, it would be the people’s ideas.”
To do otherwise, Judy McCrackin said, would be undemocratic.
“The people ought to speak,” said the 59-year-old nurse who voted for Clinton. “That’s what voting and what a democracy is.”
Most voters made up their minds long before election day, according to results from exit polls conducted for The Associated Press and television networks.
Only about 10 percent of voters decided who to vote for in the last three days, and the vast majority decided more than a month ago, according to exit polls.
The exit polls showed the economy weighed heavily on the minds of Kentucky voters. Given a choice of three issues, two-thirds of voters said the economy was the most important issue facing the country.
Nearly nine in 10 Kentucky voters said the current economic slowdown had affected them and their families.
In the state’s impoverished coalfields, Clinton routed Obama, picking up more than 80 percent of the votes cast in counties with the highest unemployment rates. Nearly 93 percent of the Democratic voters in Magoffin County, where the unemployment rate exceeds 10 percent, favored Clinton.
Other counties with double-digit jobless rates also added to Clinton’s win. More than 82 percent of the Democratic voters in Jackson County, which reported the state’s worst unemployment in March, chose Clinton.
Obama carried Fayette and Jefferson counties, home to the state’s two largest cities, Lexington and Louisville, reflecting a political strength among urban voters that he’s shown in other state primaries.
Local News
Clinton win turns up heat on superdelegates
- Local News
-
-
‘She wasn’t just a teacher’ : Lambert retires after 43 years at Berea
Scroll to the bottom of the story to read "Love for Lambert: Berea graduates share memories of their teacher," as well as a list of other Berea retirees this year.
Writer’s Note: Brenda Lambert is the reason I write articles today (Class of 2000).
Years ago, a little blonde-haired girl from Rockcastle County gathered her friends to “play school” in a 10-by-10 foot playhouse her father built.
Even at 12 years old, Brenda Lambert knew she wanted to be a teacher one day.
“I always felt like an old person trapped in a young person's body,” said Lambert, who is retiring after 43 years of service to Berea Community School. -
Special Olympics return for 18th year at EKU
Next weekend, the Special Olympics Kentucky State Summer Games return to Eastern Kentucky University campus. This is the 18th consecutive year EKU has hosted the event.
The games will be Friday through June 2. About 1,300 athletes will compete this year. -
Assault charges reduced, dismissed by grand jury
Two men arrested in connection with serious assaults had their charges reduced, and in one case dismissed, by a Madison grand jury.
Jerry Wayne Edington, 34, of Berea Road, was charged Jan. 19 with second-degree assault after an altercation at the Blue Moon bar on East Irvine Street, according to a Richmond police report. -
Dump of the Day
The Dump of the Day is a recurring series the newspaper publishes to highlight illegal trash piles and push local governments to cite perpetrators and get illegal dumps cleaned up. See Page A7 in Sunday's paper to read a copy of the city’s ordinance related to trash pickup.
-
Paradise Cove open through Labor Day
Opening day of Paradise Cove Family Aquatic Center coincided with a spike in temperatures Friday which reached 90 degrees. The facility, located in Richmond’s Lake Reba Park, will be open through Sept. 3. Regular hours are 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Saturday and 1 to 6 p.m. Sunday.
-
Dump of the Day
An old mattress, a car seat and other debris sit Friday afternoon on North Street between Fourth and Fifth Streets where it was first spotted Thursday. The “Dump of the Day” is a recurring series the Richmond Register publishes to highlight illegal trash piles and push local governments to cite perpetrators and get illegal dumps cleaned up. See Sunday’s Richmond Register to read a copy of the city’s ordinance related to trash pickup.
-
Undefeated academic team brings pride to Madison Middle School
Madison Middle School 6th and 7th grade academic teams have been undefeated for the last two years.
The 8th grade team also has done well, having some students qualify to compete at the state level. -
Woman fends off burglar with knife
A Berea woman used a kitchen knife to fend off an alleged burglar early Wednesday morning, and police say they were able to catch the man in the act.
-
Man is indicted on additional sex charge involving teen in 1998
A man already accused of sex abuse in November 2011 has been indicted on a charge of first-degree rape involving a child in 1998.
Charles W. Peyton, 63, of East Irvine Street, was indicted Wednesday by a Madison grand jury. He used “forcible compulsion” to have sexual intercourse with a 14-year-old girl between March 1 and May 1 in 1998, according to the indictment. -
Woman fends off burglar with knife
A Berea woman used a kitchen knife to fend off an alleged burglar early Wednesday morning, and police say they were able to catch the man in the act.
Officers responded to a call in the 1000 block of Scaffold Cane Road about a man trying to break into a home, according to a release from BPD Public Information Officer Jake Reed. - More Local News Headlines
-
Vatican in Chaos After Butler Arrested for Leaks
Jimmy Carter Endorses Egypt's Election Results
Biden Addresses West Point Graduating Class
Dozens of Children Killed in New Syria Attack
Raw Video: Activists Allege Massacre in Syria
NJ Man Charged With Murder in Death of Patz
Support, Fun for Kids of Fallen Soldiers at Camp
Fugitive Penguin Caught, Returned to Aquarium
50 Years Later, Underground Fire Still Burning
Light Show Transforms Sydney Opera House
Raw Video: Unruly Passenger Restrained in Miami
Raw Video: Robber Uses Drive-thru Window
Raw Video: Dragon Arrives at Space Station
Calif.'s Coronado Named Nation's Best Beach
CEO Salaries Become Sore Issue in Labor Disputes
