Virginia Votes

Outside my Polling Station

Barack Obama’s victory speech delivered at Madison, Wisconsin after winning Virginia, Maryland and DC:

Virginia County-by-County results (as of 2/13/2008 1:00 AM):

The map below shows how total Barack Obama’s victory over Hillary Clinton is shaping up to be. Obama (counties in dark blue) has taken most of the heavily populated regions of Virginia. Hillary Clinton has taken the sparsely populated rural southwestern parts of Virginia.

Virginia Results (Obama - dark blue, Clinton - light blue)

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Virginia is at the polls today along with Maryland and DC. Polls in Virginia close at 7pm, about half an hour from now.

I cast my ballot this morning at my local polling station. I received 4 email reminders from the Obama campaign between yesterday and this morning to go and vote today. I received no calls or emails from the Clinton campaign. The Obama emails contained helpful links to look up my polling place. At the polling station in Northern Virginia there was one Hillary Clinton sign and multiple Obama signs. There were also Obama signs all over the neighborhood. Of special note was the enthusiastic and friendly Ron Paul volunteer (in the picture above) who greeted voters as they headed toward the polling station.

There was a steady stream of voters at my station. It appeared that the turnout was heavier than normal for my neighborhood. However, the weather in Northern Virginia has turned icy for the afternoon rush hour. Its not clear how much it will impact the late voter turnout. At my work place, most of my co-workers who had not voted in the morning left early today and were headed for their respective polling stations. CNN is reporting that turnout is high in Northern Virginia, Richmond and the Charlottesville area – all areas that are strongholds for Obama voters. Richmond turnout is reported to be record-breaking.

If the pre-voting polls hold, this could be a big night for Barack Obama in Virginia.

Updates to follow as the results come in…

UPDATE (2/12/2008 7:08 PM): CNN and NBC have already projected that Barack Obama will win the Democratic primary in Virginia. Now it remains to be seen how wide the margin of victory will be and how many delegates Obama will pick up from Virginia.

UPDATE (2/12/2008 8:36 PM): Barack Obama is the projected winner in the District of Columbia. Maryland poll closing has been extended to 9:30PM due to traffic delays voters are encountering on the icy roads. Hillary Clinton’s deputy campaign manager just resigned.

The Virginia primary is shaping up to be a landslide. Currently with 61% of the precincts reporting Barack Obama leads Hillary Clinton 62% to 37%. The exit polls from Virginia is also shaping up to be bad news for Hillary Clinton. Obama took the Black vote 90% to 10%. Obama and Clinton split the White vote. Obama won amongst men and women. Clinton won amongst White women only. Obama won two to one amongst independents. Obama also won the Latino vote in Virginia. As was predicted Obama won everywhere in Virginia except rural Southwestern Virginia. This was an overwhelming victory for Barack Obama in Virginia.

UPDATE (2/12/2008 9:30PM): The networks are reporting that as the polls close in Maryland Barack Obama will win by a "significant" margin. This is shaping up to be a huge night for Barack Obama.

UPDATE (2/12/2008 9:54 PM): With 87% of the precincts in Virginia reporting Barack Obama’s victory is turning out to be a landslide. He is now ahead of Hillary Clinton 63% to 36%.

 UPDATE (2/13/2008 1:00 AM): A genuine thumping:

  • Virginia: Barack Obama 64%, Hillary Clinton 35% (99% precincts reporting). Obama picks up 28 more delegates than Clinton.
  • Maryland: Barack Obama 60%, Hillary Clinton 37% (69% precincts reporting). Obama picks up 4 more delegates than Clinton.
  • District of Columbia: Obama 75%, Hillary Clinton 24% (98% precincts reporting). Obama picks up 5 more delegates than Clinton.

 

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5 Responses to Virginia Votes

  1. Robbie says:

    O-ba-ma! O-ba-ma! o-ba-ma!

    What a whoppin’ Obama laid on Hillary. I didn’t expect his lead in VA to be that big.

  2. Mash says:

    Robbie, I had been saying that if Obama takes Virginia, its all over for Clinton. I think already Clinton is in Texas tonight. But trying to hold the line at Texas and Ohio wont work because, even if she wins, she wont be able to generate enough margins to win this thing. I would now expect the superdelegates to abandon her.

    Having said all that, I think Virginia is going to end up being a bigger landslide than the polls suggested. Hillary is getting trounced in Northern Virginia and Richmond – and all the votes there have not been counted yet. So when this is over, it will be a major victory.

  3. ZaFa says:

    Obama has won all 3 – MD, VA and DC.
    OMG!! What a triumph!
    What a remarkable night in American history.

  4. Mash says:

    Zafa, I cant actually remember another primary where Virginians actually had a say in who would become President of the United States. So this one is extra special. I do think Virginia today chose the next President of the United States. A lot of work remains between now and November, but Barack Obama is now well on his way.

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