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US Presidential campaign: Michigan « Previous | |Next »
January 16, 2008

So the Republican slugfest between Mitt Romney and John McCain in Michigan was resolved in favour of Romney, with Huckabee a distant third. But then it was Romney's home state. Do the Republicans like McCain? The mainstream press sure does.

The race on the Republican side is wide open, as Romney, McCain and Huckabee have now each won a significant primary, and there are no signs that any of them have established a lasting advantage in national polls. Does Romney have the Big Mo? Or are the Republicans heading to a brokered convention?

ThompsonMRomney.jpg Mike Thompson

The focus shifts to South Carolina, where a tough three-way contest is expected in the first Southern state to vote this primary season. This was the state that in 2000 effectively ended McCain's battle against George Bush. Immigration is the big issue here. Stop the illegals is the Republican battle cry.

Huckabee is going for the evangelical vote. Consider this:

I have opponents in this race who do not want to change the Constitution. But I believe it's a lot easier to change the Constitution than it would be to change the word of the living God. And that's what we need to do is amend the Constitution so it's in God's standards rather than trying to change God's standards so it lines up with some contemporary view of how we treat each other and how we treat the family."

It's hard for me take this seriously---constitutional amendments outlawing abortion and same-sex marriage spelt out in starkly religious terms. I find this Christian fundamentalism quite scary, yet Huckabee's a candidate for the President of the US! This is cockroach territory. I need a drink.

| Posted by Gary Sauer-Thompson at 8:52 PM | | Comments (4)
Comments

Comments

Gary,
can we still say that poor Democratic whites are going for Clinton overwhelmingly? Is it blacks and well-off reformers overwhelmingly going for Obama,whilst poor and lower-middle class whites are going overwhelmingly for Hillary?

Pam,
I see that Romney, whose Mormonism has gone down badly among Christian evangelicals in the state, has virtually conceded defeat on Thursday by pulling out of South Carolina and heading for Nevada. Although the western state does not carry the same resonance for Republicans as South Carolina, Romney has a substantial poll lead there.

Huckabee, a Southern Baptist minister before becoming governor of Arkansas, walks a fine line as he tries to fire up his fellow evangelical Christians to vote for one of their own without unnerving more secular-minded voters. Apparently he is able to do it.

Gary,
Romney wins--cleans up-- the Nevada Republican caucuses.He too stands for change in Washington. The rest of the rest of the G.O.P. ---Rudy Giuliani, Mike Huckabee and John McCain — have shown little interest in Nevada and are focused on South Carolina, where McCain and Huckabee have battled for first place. Huckabee has even bought up the confederate flag issue.

Dunno about the Democrats. There seems to be a lot of bitterness in Nevada around casino workers — party insiders and activists who have long been jealous of the influence wielded in the party by organized labor generally and the Culinary Union.The Clinton's campaign used a lawsuit aimed at closing down at-large caucus locations for casino workers. The Culinary Workers Union has been throwing their weight around a lot lately and have endorsed Barack Obama.

Clinton is leading in Nevada, is expected to win, and eventually wins the Nevada caucuses on Saturday, capturing strong support from women voters. Why caucusing, rather than holding primaries in Nevada?

No idea about South Carolina

Nan,
McCain won South Carolina. In Nevada Clinton's victory saw the splintering of base Democratic voters. African Americans solidified behind Obama, 79-18%. Hispanics, behind Clinton, 64-23%. Young voters went heavily for Obama. Old voters heavily for Clinton.