2008Maryland Democratic presidential primary

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Candidate Barack Obama Hillary Clinton Home state Illinois New York Delegate count 42 28 Popular vote 532,665 314,211 Percentage 60.66% 35.78%

Primary results by county Obama:     40–50%     50–60%     60–70%     70–80% Clinton:     40–50%     50–60%

The2008 Maryland Democratic presidential primary took place on February 12, 2008. Nicknamed the "Potomac Primary" or the "Chesapeake Primary" because theDistrict of Columbia andVirginia also held their primaries that day (and all three border thePotomac River), a total of 70 delegates were up for grabs in Maryland.^[1] The winner in each ofMaryland's eight congressional districts was awarded all of that district's delegates, totaling 46. Another 24 delegates were awarded to the statewide winner,Barack Obama. The 70 delegates represented Maryland at theDemocratic National Convention inDenver, Colorado. Twenty-nine other unpledged delegates, known assuperdelegates, also attended the convention and cast their votes as well.

By order of ajudge, the polling places in the Maryland Democratic Primary were extended to 9:30 p.m.EST in order to compensate for voters who were delayed in traffic by inclement weather. The same day, an intense ice storm brought .25 inches-1 inch of ice accumulations across Maryland.^[2]

With its significantAfrican American population and high concentration of highly educated and highly affluentwhiteprogressive/liberal professionals, Maryland was a state that was very favorable for Barack Obama coming out ofSuper Tuesday. According to exit polls, 53 percent of voters in the Maryland Democratic Primary were white and they opted for Clinton by a margin of 52-42 compared to the 37 percent of African American voters who backed Obama by a margin of 84-15.Hispanics/Latinos, which comprised 4 percent of the electorate, supported Clinton by a margin of 55-45. Obama swept all age groups, socioeconomic/income classes and educational attainment categories in Maryland as well. Of the 84 percent of self-identified Democrats who voted in the primary, 59 percent backed Obama while 40 percent supported Clinton;Independents, which made up 13 percent of the voters, also backed Obama by a 62-27 margin. Obama also won all ideological groups. Regarding religion, Obama wonProtestants by a margin of 51-44 percent, other Christians by a margin of 74-21, other religions by a margin of 61-39, andatheists/agnostics by a margin of 62-37; Clinton wonRoman Catholics by a margin of 48-45 andJews by a margin of 60-40 percent.

Obama performed extremely well in the moreurban parts of the state in and aroundBaltimore and theWashington, D.C. suburbs while Clinton performed strongly in the morerural parts of the state like the Eastern Shore and Western Maryland, which takes in parts ofAppalachia.

Although Clinton received two big endorsements fromGovernorMartin O’Malley andU.S. SenatorBarbara Mikulski, it was not enough to help her much in the state, as many of the demographics were largely in Barack Obama’s favor. Obama received the endorsement of junior senatorBen Cardin

• 2008 Democratic Party presidential primaries
• 2008 Maryland Republican presidential primary

• 2008 United States Democratic presidential primaries by state
• 2008 Maryland elections
• Maryland Democratic primaries

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