 | |||||||||||||||||||
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 County and independent city results Obama: 40–50% 50–60% 60–70% 70–80% 80–90% Clinton: 40–50% 50–60% 60–70% 70–80% 80–90% | |||||||||||||||||||
The2008 Virginia Democratic presidential primary took place on February 12, 2008, an election day nicknamed the "Potomac Primary" because theDistrict of Columbia andMaryland also held Democratic primaries.[1] The Virginia Democratic primary was anopen primary, and was competitive for the first timesince 1988.[2]Barack Obama won the primary, as he did the other Potomac contests that day.[3]
Six national candidates appeared on the ballot in the Virginia primary. However, all but Obama andHillary Clinton had withdrawn prior to the primary on February 12.
The prior week, Barack Obama had beaten Hillary Clinton inNebraska (68%-32%),[7] inWashington (68%-31%)[8] and inLouisiana (57%-36%)[9] by large margins.
TheClinton Campaign looked towards the primary in Virginia as well as those inMaryland andWashington, D.C. which were held on the same day. Though Hillary Clinton spent more resources in theMaryland Primary, she also campaigned in Virginia, particularly in Northern Virginia.
TheBarack Obama campaign divided Virginia into 4 regions in which to campaign:Northern Virginia,Richmond,Charlottesville, and theTidewater region in the southeast. He was expected to do well with affluent and independent voters, as well as with African-American voters, who could total 25% of the vote on primary day.[2]
TheHillary Clinton campaign said it would focus its efforts onPrince William andLoudoun counties, especially older white professional women, and also in the unemployment plaguedSouthwest Virginia.[2]
Barack Obama had a significant lead over Hillary Clinton in final polling throughout the state.
| Final Polling | ||
|---|---|---|
| Pollster | Barack Obama | Hillary Clinton |
| Survey USA | 60% | 38% |
| Mason Dixon | 53% | 37% |
| InsiderAdvantage | 52% | 37% |
| Rasmussen | 55% | 37% |
| Key: | Withdrew prior to contest |
| Virginia Democratic presidential primary, 2008 99.95% of precincts reporting[10] | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Votes | Percentage | National delegates[11] |
| Barack Obama | 627,820 | 63.66% | 54 |
| Hillary Clinton | 349,766 | 35.46% | 29 |
| John Edwards | 5,206 | 0.52% | 0 |
| Dennis Kucinich | 1,625 | 0.16% | 0 |
| Bill Richardson | 991 | 0.10% | 0 |
| Joe Biden | 795 | 0.08% | 0 |
| Totals | 986,203 | 100.00% | 83 |
| 2008 Virginia Democratic presidential primary[12] | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Demographic subgroup | Obama | Clinton | % of total vote |
| White men | 56 | 42 | 27 |
| White women | 45 | 54 | 35 |
| Black men | 93 | 7 | 13 |
| Black women | 85 | 15 | 17 |
