It took about a second or two after the polls closed in West Virginia for the networks to call the state for Hillary Clinton tonight, surprising absolutely no one.
Hillary Rodham Clinton coasted to a large, but largely symbolic victory in working-class West Virginia on Tuesday, handing Barack Obama one of his worst defeats of the campaign but scarcely slowing his march toward the Democratic presidential nomination. The Associated Press made its call based on surveys of voters as they left the polls.
Obama looked ahead to the Oregon primary later in the month and the general election campaign against Republican John McCain, but the defeat underscored his weakness among blue collar voters who will be pivotal in the fall. […]
Interviews with West Virginians leaving their polling places suggested Clinton’s victory could be as overwhelming as any she has gained to date, delivered by an overwhelmingly white electorate comprised of the kinds of voters who favored her in past primaries. Nearly a quarter were 60 or older, and a similar number had no education beyond high school. More than half were in families with incomes of $50,000 or less.
A total of 28 delegates were up for grabs tonight in West Virginia, and most estimates suggest Clinton should move ahead with a net gain of 10.
In terms of exit polls, ABC News noted, “Two in 10 whites said the race of the candidate was a factor in their vote, second only to Mississippi.”
Exit polls also hinted that Clinton could end up winning the state by a 2-to-1 margin, which would be a clear landslide victory, though far less than than what some Clinton supporters had hoped for. (Building up expectations too high can be tricky business.)
Consider this an overnight open thread for everyone who wants to weigh in on the results. Are you surprised by the numbers? Pleased with the outcome? Did you see anything especially annoying in the networks’ coverage tonight?
The floor is yours….
