By Rick Pearson
LOUISVILLE--Touting a victory that "exceeded even our own expectations," Sen. Hillary Clinton's campaign is contending their big win in West Virginia last night has put them ahead of Sen. Barack Obama in the popular vote in their efforts to portray her as the most electable candidate in the fall.
But the Clinton campaign's total includes those famously disputed states--Michigan and Florida--which had their nominating convention delegations nullified for moving their primaries ahead of Feb. 5. Clinton maintains she won the two states even though she was the only major candidate on the ballot in Michigan.
"You now see after the results last night on the popular vote, when you add in all the people who went into a poll this year and voted, Hillary Clinton has now moved ahead in the popular vote," Terry McAuliffe, who chairs the Clinton campaign, told reporters in a conference call.
According to the Clinton campaign, citing media-compiled figures, the New York Democrat holds a margin of about 43,000 votes over Obama out of 33 million votes cast in previous primary states. The popular vote issue has become one factor that Clinton wants superdelegates to consider.
Additionally, with a Clinton-backed May 31 challenge to the national committee rules that stripped Michigan and Florida of their delegates, her campaign maintains the number of delegates needed to win the nomination is 2,210--an increase of one due to the special election victory of Travis Childers in a Mississippi congressional race last night.
Without Florida and Michigan, the commonly accepted total of delegates needed to win the nomination is 2,025 and Obama still holds a significant delegate lead regardless of his defeat in West Virginia.
McAuliffe said Clinton's campaign raised a "seven-figure" amount of money over the Internet following her victory over Obama last night. But Clinton's spokesman, Howard Wolfson, declined to specify exactly how much money was raised for a campaign that is deeply in debt.
McAuliffe said that after a week "when there was a breathless rush to say this race was over," Clinton's 41 percentage-point victory in a record-turnout West Virginia contest shows "we're in this thing."
"We have the resources to forward. We have three weeks to go in this campaign. As you know, we have opened offices now in the remaining states. We're up on television. We have full compliments of staff so, financially, we're in very good shape."
In addition to a series of national television interviews, McAuliffe said Clinton was meeting today with 45 to 50 of her top national fundraisers to "re-energize" their efforts for the remainder of the prolonged campaign.
"We had a night that exceeded even our own expectations," Wolfson said, but he added it was unlikely she would do as well on Tuesday in Kentucky, where she remains favored . He also said anything that would narrow what polls show to be a 20 percentage point deficit to Obama in Oregon, which also holds its primary Tuesday, would be a sufficient showing.
"I think people waking up today, they are looking at the results in West Virginia and saying, 'You know, let's slow this thing down,'" Wolfson said.
Still, Wolfson acknowledged the Clinton campaign was "surprised" that the political arm of the National Abortion Rights Action League endorsed Obama today, saying Clinton's "leadership and advocacy on choice issues is second to none."
Comments
She didn't have a 41 point victory. Her opponents got 34% and she got 66%, that is 32 points.
Posted by: tomj | May 14, 2008 3:38 PM
Clinton supporters, keep sending in your hard earned money to the Clinton campaign, she needs it, she still has to pay off her campaign debt ($20 million) and she still needs to give Mark Penn a big fat paycheck before this over.
Posted by: John E | May 14, 2008 3:56 PM
Delegates PLEASE make your choices NOW! Help the voters decide! She is not going to help Barack! Help would mean stopping your campaign!!! Get rid of her!! PLEASE!
Posted by: Keith Lifetime Southsider | May 14, 2008 4:28 PM
Actually, she won West Virginia with 66% and had only Obama 26%. So it IS a 41 point lead.
www.cnn.com
Posted by: someone | May 14, 2008 4:32 PM
On behalf of the entire Republican Party we would like to thank the delusional Obama supporters and the mainstream media Obama propoganda machine for making a Republican landslide victory in November possible. Keep drinking the Kool-Aid and believing in the media manufactured messiah. If you had any brains you would realize that Hillary Clinton is a winner. But intelligence never was the Democrats forte. Keep convincing yourself that Hillary's a loser and Obama's a winner. That's exactly what Republicans want you to think. When Obama loses in the biggest landslide in history to the weakest candidate the Republicans have run in history there will be a national laugh for at least a weak at the incredibly monumental stupidity of the Democrat Party. Thanks for the laugh!
Posted by: Mark | May 14, 2008 4:52 PM
THe only fair way to resolve Florida and Michigan is to let them vote again but the Obama campaign has fought very hard behind the scenes to keep that from ever happening. I guess the party that said all votes count is now going to nominate someone who does not believe in that philosophy.
Posted by: Vinny | May 14, 2008 4:55 PM
Whether you count the delegates or not, Hillary did get their votes. She didn't think she would need the delegates but her experience showed when she didn't remove her name from the ballot in Michigan. Rookies make rooky mistakes.
In this big bad world Barack may soon learn not everyone plays nice.
Posted by: whatnow | May 14, 2008 5:18 PM
THe only fair way to resolve Florida and Michigan is to let them vote again but the Obama campaign has fought very hard behind the scenes to keep that from ever happening. I guess the party that said all votes count is now going to nominate someone who does not believe in that philosophy.
Posted by: Vinny | May 14, 2008 4:55 PM
Vinny, this is getting boring...
once again: back up your assertions - provide the proof you have of "the Obama campaign has fought very hard behind the scenes to keep that from ever happening."
Any credible evidence so we know that your not just shoveling BS
Posted by: JollyRoger | May 14, 2008 5:34 PM
I'm not a fan of HRC or BHO, however, did BHO give a concession speech for W. Va.? If not, why not?
Posted by: Vivian | May 14, 2008 6:44 PM
Why no concession speech, Vivian? You're asking this about the guy who stepped on Alice Palmer's NECK to get on the ballot in Rezko's S. Side neighborhood that Obama showed so much 'hope' to?
Posted by: Vivian's friend | May 14, 2008 7:45 PM
White on, Hillary! White on!
Posted by: Senator Bird | May 14, 2008 9:52 PM
Yawn...Hillary the coffin is nailed shut. West Virginia was her last gasp. Pack it up girlfriend we ain't buying it.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d-hbPmcMFxU
Posted by: Logic Prisoner | May 14, 2008 10:21 PM
A bunch of white racist hillrods voted for a liar. She isn't one of them, she's the $100 million dollar girl!!!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d-hbPmcMFxU
Posted by: Blacksmith | May 14, 2008 10:42 PM
Actually, she won West Virginia with 66% and had only Obama 26%. So it IS a 41 point lead.
www.cnn.com
Posted by: someone | May 14, 2008 4:32 PM
True. But the night before one of her captains was saying at a rally that she would win by 80 "points" ("90 to 10").
Since she lost by about half that, the EXPECTATIONS weren't met by the EXPERIENCED ONE.
Posted by: Bud McFarlin | May 15, 2008 12:46 AM
She had her big day Tuesday in W VA, Plans are being made to help pay off her debts in conjunction with the NDC fundraising. Pity she could not afford to pay her own staff salaries and health care insurance not to mention vendors who furnished the campaign with other necessary support. What more should America feel obligated to do for her. So today is Obama's day and he deserves it.. He and John Edwards sent her a strong message to quit the race on a high note before she gets into more trouble w/making racists comments that will come back to haunt her.
Posted by: jac66 | May 15, 2008 1:19 AM