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Obama projected to win Oregon

Posted by Foon Rhee, deputy national political editor May 20, 2008 11:00 PM

By Joseph P. Williams, Globe Staff

Barack Obama was projected the victor in Oregon, adding another state to his column on the night he reached the key milestone of winning a majority of all pledged delegates to be determined by voters in primaries and caucuses.

Oregon was seen as Hillary Clinton's last best chance to mathematically contend for the race and knock Obama off course.

Casting herself as the underdog candidate of the working class, Clinton tried to appeal to Oregon's blue-collar voters, most in the eastern and southwestern parts of the state. In those sparsely-populated regions, residents earn their livings from the land as farmers and ranchers as well as the lumber and fishing industries.

Clinton, former President Clinton, and daughter Chelsea campaigned aggressively in the state. Clinton and her daughter made several visits to Portland and other cities, while the former president canvassed the southwest and the east, where residents hadn't seen a major political campaign in decades.

But Clinton's cash-strapped campaign couldn't counter Obama's sizable advantage in the state's more urban, upscale corner -- home to the state's two largest cities, Portland and Eugene, and high-tech manufacturers like Intel and Hewlett-Packard as well as Nike and the 16,500-student University of Oregon.

He outspent Clinton by a wide margin and his popularity in what many consider the liberal beacon of the nation was hard to ignore: on Sunday, Obama drew an eye-popping 75,000 people to a rally in downtown Portland, the largest crowd of his campaign.

Oregon is the only state to vote entirely by mail, and early returns showed huge turnouts in what were expected to be Obama strongholds.

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3 comments so far...

  1. Senator Barack Obama and his staff have spent the last few days campaigning in Oregon in anticipation of Tuesday's primary. Unfortunately, the road to his probable win in the northwest territory has been plenty difficult for the campaign and its advisors like David Axelrod and David Plouffe.

    How tough is it on the Oregon Trail? 23/6 has obtained this exclusive peek at Senator Obama's perilous journey: http://www.236.com/news/2008/05/20/obamas_struggles_on_the_oregon_6657.php

    Posted by eliana May 20, 08 11:48 PM

  1. Main Stream Media continue to distort the real facts! Hillary's win in West Virginia, Kentucky and some parts of Pennsylvania was a False Victory in part due to Rush Limbaugh's "operation chaos"! This area is heavily populated with Republican conservatives voters who would not plan to vote for Hillary in the general if she was to become the Democratic nominee! Something the cable news stations know due to their exit polls but have failed to point out to the unsuspecting public. Once again they fail to tell the whole truth. I wonder why?

    However, women who are Hillary supporters who choose not to Vote for Barack will be complicit in seeing their sons and daughters, nieces and nephews, husbands and fathers go off to a war that might last a 100 years!

    might be complicit in helping to elect judges that will put an end to Roe. v. Wade....

    might be complicit in not getting the college aid their sons or daughters will need for an affordable higher education... or possibly themselves if they choose to go back to school!

    might be complicit in not finding solutions for global warming... and failing to be a good steward of the Earth...

    all issues women with intelligence and foresight care very deeply about.

    This despite Hillary and her surrogates who continue to fuel a racial and gender divide, something which does nothing to serve the common good!

    Posted by Angellight May 21, 08 09:07 AM

  1. That's funny , he didn't draw the crowd, at least not most of it. I heard the popular band that gave a free concert drew the crowd plus the beautiful day , and most people were outside if they could be. To say Obama was the reason is dishonest and misleading. Typical for the MSM and Obama paid bloggers. Not hard to tell which are which really.

    Posted by AC-n-NC May 21, 08 03:18 PM
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About political intelligence Field reports from Boston Globe reporters and editors covering the 2008 presidential campaign and the national maneuvering of Bay State politicians.

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