John Edwards grabbed enough votes for third place in Tuesday’s New York primary, despite dropping out of the race for the Democratic
nomination for president last week.
And Edwards’ die-hard supporters turned out in 21 other states holding Democratic primaries or caucuses Tuesday, refusing to vote for Edwards’ chief rivals, Senators Hillary Rodham Clinton and Barack Obama.
That’s typical of dedicated supporters, says Jeffrey Stonecash, a political scientist at Syracuse University. “A lot of people say ‘I’m going to vote for my candidate, I don’t care what you think,’” said Stonecash. “They don’t care what the pundits say. They want to send their message.”
As of 10:30 p.m., with 77 percent of precincts reporting statewide, Edwards, a former senator from North Carolina, had collected 14,764 votes in New York. That was good for one percent of the vote. In Onondaga County, Edwards received 385 votes for one percent.
Clinton, the senator from New York, easily won her state’s Democratic primary, with 58 percent to Obama’s 39 percent, according to unofficial results as of 10:30 p.m.
Edwards’ name remained on the New York ballot because of state law. On Dec. 31, Edwards had filed a petition with 5,000 state signatures with the New York State Board of Elections to have his name put on the ballot, said Board of Elections spokesman Bob Brehm. After that initial move,
Edwards’ name was on the ballot for good.
“There is not a method to withdraw one’s name from the race,” he said. Edwards, said Brehm, could not have removed his name “short of going to get a court order.”
Edwards has not yet endorsed another candidate, and polls suggest his support was split between Clinton and Obama. According to Gallup’s national daily presidential tracking poll, Clinton led Obama by six percentage points (42-36) the day Edwards dropped out. Tuesday’s poll showed Clinton clinging to a five-point lead.
Stonecash, an expert in political parties, said Edwards could still play a vital role in the future of the campaign by shifting his voters to either Obama or Clinton. “I think his big role could be whether or not he tries to steer his support to one of the other candidates,” he said. “And they’ll be lobbying him like hell.”
Edwards had trouble breaking out in the campaign, which has been tightly fought and heavily focused on Clinton and Obama. Edwards withdrew from the race Wednesday after pleading with Clinton and Obama to make ending poverty — Edwards’ main policy issue — into a central theme in their campaigns.
“Do not turn away from these great struggles before us,” Edwards urged the other candidates and voters as he ended his presidential bid. “Do not give up on the causes that we have fought for. Do not walk away from what’s possible. Because it’s time for all of us, all of us together to make the two Americas one.”
(Heath D. Williams is a junior newspaper major.)
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