Organizing for America | Sam Graham-Felsen's Blog: Obama leads pledged delegate count by 136 delegates

Obama leads pledged delegate count by 136 delegates

By Sam Graham-Felsen - Feb 13th, 2008 at 1:20 pm EST

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Obama currently leads the pledged delegate count by 136 delegates - 1139 for Obama – 1003 for Clinton...

After sweeping the past eight contests by large margins, it now appears that Senator Obama has an insurmountable lead in pledged delegates. Senator Clinton would have to get 56% of all the remaining delegates in all contests in order to take a pledged delegate lead. This appears extraordinarily unlikely given the history of contests so far.

From February 5th through today, there have been 30 primaries and caucuses and the results are clear. Barack Obama has won 21 of those elections while Senator Clinton has won 8 with New Mexico still undetermined. In total, there have been 34 elections and Senator Obama has won 23, winning more than two out of every three contests. Obama is also ahead in the popular vote by 52-48%.

Senator Obama has won landslide victories from Maine to Washington State, and from Maryland to Nebraska. In Virginia, Kansas, and North Dakota, Senator Obama won more votes than all the Republicans on the ballot combined, demonstrating the grassroots excitement of his candidacy and his ability to appeal to Republicans and Independents.

Barack Obama continues to dominate among Independent voters. Continuing a trend, Senator Obama won 2-1 among Independents in Virginia (66-33%) and Maryland (68-24%), which is driving his lead over John McCain in general election polls. Senator Clinton’s weakness among Independents is her critical weakness versus Senator McCain in the general election.

Senator Obama has won big states and small states, red states, blue states, and swing states. Senator Obama has won 12 primaries, while Senator Clinton has won 9. Senator Obama has won 11 caucuses to Senator Clinton’s 2.

Senator Obama has won states across this country by appealing to Americans of all races, religions, and education and income levels. He has won the Hispanic vote in 5 states (CT, VA, MD, IL IA). Senator Obama has also won the women’s vote in 16 contests (IA, SC, AL, DE, GA, IL, MO, UT, LA, MD, VA, KS, AK, ID, Virgin Islands and the District of Columbia), while Senator Clinton has won the women’s vote in 11.
On Monday, two polls confirmed what a Time poll recently showed – Senator Obama is the candidate best suited to win Independents, play well in Red States, and beat John McCain in November. A USA Today/Gallup poll showed Senator Obama defeating Senator McCain, and Senator Clinton losing to Senator McCain; and an AP/IPSOS poll showed Senator Obama beating Senator McCain by a wide margin and Senator Clinton edging out Senator McCain by a razor-thin margin.

Click here for a detailed breakdown of pledged delegates.

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