The polls closed in California an hour ago. With results in from several Eastern states, and predictions from many others, the main surprise from today is that not one of the remaining major candidates is pulling out of the race. What that means for the coming months is far from clear.
Mike Huckabee surprised pundits and pollsters by taking five states – Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, West Virginia and Tennessee. He declared an hour ago that he is staying in the race.
John McCain emerged as the leading Republican. According to the New York Times‘ tally, McCain has locked in 349 delegate votes to Romney’s 95. But there are many more up for grabs, and that gap could shrink.
The Democratic fight keeps gaining intensity, with Obama the declared winner of ten states, but Clinton leading by a wide margin in the number of delegate votes. Each candidate has vowed to continue fighting to be the Democratic nominee.
All eyes are on the states west of the Mississippi River, especially California. Results are starting to dribble in from there, but with 18 per cent reporting, Clinton has a wide lead on Obama – 54 per cent to 33 per cent. In a bizarre quirk of the voting system, John Edwards remains on the ballot, which accounts for the missing 13 per cent.
Listening to Obama, Clinton, McCain, Romney and Huckabee each address their cheering fans in different cities across America, each seems to have become more determined to stay in the race. Nothing will be clear until more results come through, but at this stage, it seems likely that the electoral circus will continue past what was supposed to be a day of decisiveness.
In Obama’s words to his supporters in Chicago, this "will not be determined on a Super Duper Tuesday".
Donate To New Matilda
New Matilda is a small, independent media outlet. We survive through reader contributions, and never losing a lawsuit. If you got something from this article, giving something back helps us to continue speaking truth to power. Every little bit counts.
