Obama Sweeps North Carolina; Clinton Takes Indiana

We didn’t know the final results until after midnight, and it was a squeaker, but with 99% of the votes in, CNN finally projected Hillary Clinton the winner of Indiana by two percentage points. The holdup was the tally from Lake County, which is near Chicago. As the mayor of Hammond noted, he is only about 15 minutes from Obama’s house, and Hillary Clinton more or less campaigned in his backyard and won.

Obama was projected the winner of North Carolina shortly after the polls closed and when the votes were counted, he won by 14 percentage points.

May 5 polls: Clinton Leads in IN; Obama Ahead in NC

INDIANA PRIMARY

SurveyUSA:
Hillary Clinton: 54%
Barack Obama: 42%
Undecided: 1%


American Research Group:
Hillary Clinton: 53%
Barack Obama: 45%

Suffolk University:
Hillary Clinton: 49%
Barack Obama: 43%
Undecided: 6%

Zogby:
Barack Obama: 44%
Hillary Clinton: 42%
Undecideds: 15%

NORTH CAROLINA

Insider Advantage
Hillary Clinton 45%
Barack Obama 48%

Zogby Tracking
Hillary Clinton 40%
Barack Obama 48%

PPD
Hillary Clinton 43%
Barack Obama 53%

DEMOCRATIC PRESIDENTIAL NOMINATION

Gallup Tracking
Hillary Clinton 45%
Barack Obama 50%

USA Today/Gallup
Hillary Clinton 51%
Barack Obama 44%

CBS News/NY Times
Hillary Clinton 38%
Barack Obama 50%

Rasmussen Tracking
Hillary Clinton 45%
Barack Obama 46%

Despite Pro-Obama Media Bias, Polls Show Clinton Surge

Photo credits: AP

As I mentioned in my coverage of the Pennsylvania primary, no one should have been surprised that most of the state’s newspapers endorsed Obama; we’ve all been well aware of the media’s pro-Obama bias for months. Fortunately for Sen. Clinton, working class people in the Keystone state outnumbered the press, helping her trounce Obama.

Evidently, not much has changed the weekend before the Indiana and North Carolina primaries: the headline for campaign news at PoliticalBulletin (U.S.News.com) reads: “Obama Wins The Media While Clinton Moves Up In The Polls.”

Here’s the PoliticalBulletin’s take on current trends in campaign coverage:

“There is an odd dichotomy emerging in the media coverage of the Democratic presidential race emerging this morning. On one hand, the media is seeing former Democratic National Committee Chairman Joe Andrew's defection to Barack Obama's camp as a sign that superdelegates are beginning to move towards his candidacy, and give the move extensive coverage. On the other, there are a number of items of good news for Hillary Clinton polls showing her in a dead heat in Indiana and one showing her competitive in North Carolina, which was expected to be an Obama stronghold. In addition, she picked up the endorsement of the Indianapolis Star, and a group of swing state polls show her far stronger in the general election in key states than Obama.”

Pennsylvania Win Propels Clinton in Latest Polls

Posting at Political Intelligence (Boston Globe), Foon Rhee suggests the latest polls hint at a Clinton surge:

“A bevy of new national polls, plus surveys in Indiana and North Carolina -- which hold key primaries on Tuesday -- suggest that Hillary Clinton is closing the gap since her campaign-saving victory in Pennsylvania last week, and that the controversies dogging Barack Obama are having an impact.”

After analyzing results from Fox News/Opinion Dynamics poll, NBC/Wall Street Journal survey, New York Times/CBS poll, and Quinnipiac University poll, Rhee comments:

“The polls were being conducted as Obama's former pastor, the Rev. Jeremiah A. Wright Jr., was making a series of highly publicized speeches and as Obama repudiated him."



Rhee adds:

“In North Carolina, a new WRAL-TV poll says that Obama's lead has narrowed to 49 percent to 42 percent, down from double digits in most prior polling.

“In Indiana, where the race had been a toss-up in surveys last week, Clinton now leads in the three most recent polls. She is ahead 46 percent to 41 percent in a Rasmussen survey, 50 percent to 42 percent in Public Polling Policy survey, and 52 percent to 43 percent in a SurveyUSA poll.”

AP: N.C. Gov. Easley to endorse Clinton

Just as the latest results from Public Policy Polling show Hillary Clinton gaining ground on Barack Obama in North Carolina, the AP reports that Gov. Mike Easley will endorse Hillary Rodham Clinton for president.

According to the AP:

“Easley was expected to announce the endorsement Tuesday morning in Raleigh, the state capital, one week before North Carolina's primary on May 6, according to persons close to the governor and to Clinton. The individuals spoke on condition of anonymity because a formal announcement had not yet been made.

“The endorsement is a major boost for the former first lady. Besides being a respected figure among Democrats in the state, Easley is one of the all-important superdelegates likely to choose the party's presidential nominee.”

A 91-year-old Woman’s Support for Hillary Clinton

In this new North Carolina ad, Jewel Hodges, a 91-year old woman, explains why she supports Hillary Clinton. It's one of Hillary's best ads. You owe it to yourself to check it out; it will bring tears to your eyes. Here's the link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LnaK4a2GU8o