| Hillary Clinton, U.S. Democratic Party presidential hopeful has won the primary in the eastern state of Pennsylvania.
Despite this victory, Clinton is still behind Democratic rival Senator Barack Obama in delegates needed to win the party’s nomination. The Democratic nominee will face the Republican nominee-in waiting, John McCain, in the November 2008 election. |
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She stood victorious in Philadelphia and told her supporters the tide is turning. It would have been difficult for her to continue in case of Pennsylvania loss.
“We were up against a formidable opponent who outspent us three to one. He broke every spending record in this state trying to knock us out of the race. Well the people of Pennsylvania had other ideas today,” she said.
Senator Barack Obama congratulated Clinton on her win. He now had moved on to one of the next two states to vote and pointed out she held a sizable lead in Pennsylvania several weeks ago.
“And now, six weeks later we closed the gap. We rallied people of every age and race and background to the cause,” Obama said.
In the early morning, on primary day, voters lined up in Philadelphia and their enthusiasm mirrored their numbers. The momentum grew as the day passed by and it was confirmed by Election officials saying it was a record turnout for the state’s Democratic primary.
Amy Blum a Pennsylvania voter, says, “Feeling like it actually makes a difference this time. This is what it’s supposed to feel like.”
Pennsylvania is a large state in the eastern part of the country and most of the voters reside in two big cities namely Philadelphia and Pittsburgh.
Philadelphia voted heavily for Obama because of large numbers of African Americans there . And in the suburbs, he also won college-educated and more affluent voters.In contrast Clinton won easily in Pittsburgh which is a working class city . She also drew strong support from women and senior citizens.
Residents of Scranton, where both candidates had campaigned saw Clinton emerging victorious. The mostly working class residents of the area supported Clinton three to one.
According to Scranton residents the two most important issues are the economy and Iraq war. Scranton voter, Perri Lezzoni says, “There was a clip from her speaking on TV about bringing manufacturing jobs back to the United States, and I liked it.”
Some were in the favor of Obama as they wanted change.
Another Scranton resident says, “We do need change but we need enthusiasm. We need a young person, just like John Kennedy was, to get the country going again.”
Obama spoke in the state of Indiana about his differences with the presumptive Republican nominee, John McCain. He is still ahead of Clinton in the delegate count.
Clinton plans to go to Indiana and then to North Carolina to rally support. These two Democratic primaries are scheduled for 6th May 2008.
She says, “We still have a lot of work ahead of us. But if you’re ready, I’m ready.”
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