New York was good to Sen. Hillary Clinton in Tuesday’s Democratic primary.
In her home state, Clinton won big, bringing in 57 percent of the statewide unofficial vote, compared to 40 percent for Sen. Barack Obama of Illinois.
Onondaga County was even kinder to her. Her unofficial tally here was 62 percent compared to Obama’s 36 percent, with all precincts reporting.
“Tonight though is your night,” said Clinton to supporters at a rally in New York. “Tonight is Americas night. I hope that all of you will join our campaign because you know politics isn’t a game. It’s about your lives, your families and your futures.”
Across the rest of the country, Clinton and Obama traded victories. Clinton won 18 delegates in New Jersey and another 14 in Massachusetts, giving her a total of 92 delegates. Obama captured 28 delegates in the three New England states.
At 10:30 p.m., Obama held a 2-percent edge over Clinton in Connecticut, taking 50 percent of the vote with 75 percent of the precincts reporting.
Nationally, Clinton had earned 102 pledged delegates and 193 super delegates giving her a total of 295 delegates. Obama trailed with a total of 219 delegates at press time.
At the polls on Tuesday, interviews with voters of Central New York gave hints about the outcome for the New York primary results.
“It’s a tough call,” said Ed Boqucz. He voted for Clinton at the Jamesville-Dewitt High School in Dewitt. “She’s done a terrific job as a senator, and as a citizen of New York, she’s earned my vote.”
In Syracuse’s 1st Ward at the Lemoyne School, Heidi Stephens wouldn’t mind seeing Obama win. But she voted for Clinton.
“I think she’d make a great president,” said Stephens. “I’d love to see a Clinton/Obama ticket. He’s her junior so much. There’s plenty of time for him to rise in politics. She has such great experience.”
Democracywise reporters Koren Temple and Laura Van Wert contributed to this article
(Bryan Young is a sophomore magazine journalism and political science major)
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