Norah O'Donnell
From MSNBC's Norah O'Donnell and Adam Verdugo
Tom
Daschle, an
Obama supporter, said in an interview today on MSNBC that undecided superdelegates would be more than "ticked" if the
Clinton campaign tries to force the so-called "nuclear option" and encourages the Rules and Bylaws committee, which meets May 31st, to seat the Florida and Michigan delegates.
The former South Dakota senator said he was amazed at the number of undecided superdelegates that have called him in the last 24 hours saying that it would be an "absolute disaster."
Asked if the superdelegates would be "ticked" if the nuclear option were implemented he replied, "If we overturn what has happened in all these elections all over the country and do something like that, ticked is mild compared to the feeling I am getting from reports all over the country today."
From MSNBC’s Norah O'Donnell and Adam Verdugo
With the North Carolina Democratic primary a week away, Elizabeth Edwards tells MSNBC she'd be "surprised" if either her or her husband endorsed either Obama or Clinton before the contest. But she quickly left the door open for a change of heart saying, "You never say never" -- given that there are big news events that can impact the race.
"My inclination is not to say more than I have said," noting that she has only gone so far as to endorse Clinton's health-care proposal for universal health care coverage.
She also said the Edwards family is on vacation in Orlando, Fla. When asked about a New York Times report suggesting the possibility that she would endorse Clinton and her husband would endorse Obama, she responded, "We're more concerned about whether we're going to stand in line for Splash Mountain or Big Thunder Mountain next."
From MSNBC's Norah O'Donnell and Adam Verdugo
Obama chalked up his ninth straight victory and won in this predominantly white state with a strong showing across a broad spectrum of voters and by eating into Hillary Clinton's base of support. He nearly tied her among women, won on all of the issues and won every income level. He also won the white vote under-60.
First, the independents: One-in-four voters call themselves independents in this open primary and tonight, Obama took nearly two-thirds.
Second, white voters: He did very well among white men with 62% of their vote to Clinton's 36%. Remember those Edwards voters? At least among white men, it looks like at least some of them are going for Obama. Clinton, though, still took a plurality of white women (53%-45%).
Obama also made inroads with one core constituency of Clinton's: white working-class voters (households making under $50k/yr). Clinton still edged him out 51% to 48%, but Obama had a strong showing. He won white households making more than $50k/yr -- 56% to 48%.
Electability has been something both campaigns have been touting. Tonight, Obama beat Clinton soundly -- 63%- 37% -- when voters were asked who would be most likely to beat the Republican candidate in the fall.
One other note regarding the negative attacks this past week: Wisconsin Democrats took notice. When we asked if either of these candidates attacked the other unfairly, 53% said that Clinton was unfair, while only 33% said the same about Obama.
Not all is lost, however, for Clinton. She still took the senior vote, those with less than a college education and Catholics, but it was not enough to overtake Obama.
From MSNBC's Norah O'Donnell and Adam Verdugo So far we know three things about the Republican primary in the Sunshine State: it's a very conservative electorate, the economy is the No. 1 issue and voters are pessimistic about it.
In a state that has been battered by the housing crisis and the high costs of oil and gas, these numbers should come as no surprise: Economy 47%, Terrorism 19%, Illegal Immigration 17%, and the War in Iraq 13%.
Florida Republicans give the national economy very low marks. Sixty-three percent said the economy is in the tank. That's comparable to Michigan, which is suffering through the worst unemployment in the nation.
And despite these negative feelings about the economy, a majority of this Republican electorate still has positive feelings about the Bush administration: 20% are enthusiastic and 46% are satisfied. The president gets even higher marks in Florida than he did in South Carolina. And a reminder, this is important because it is a closed primary. Only registered Republicans can participate. We're going to see many more races like this on Super Tuesday.
From MSNBC's Norah O'Donnell and Adam VerdugoThe South Carolina Democratic primary has been a bitter, hard-fought contest with
Hillary Clinton and
Barack Obama taking jabs at each other in Monday's televised debate. In the exit polls, we asked voters in this primary if the candidates were attacking each other unfairly. Fifty-six percent of those voting so far think Obama attacked Clinton unfairly, and while that is a high number, more people thought Clinton unfairly attacked Obama -- 70%.
The Clintons have been accused of playing the race card in this contest. We do see some potential fallout for the Clintons in the African-American community: 74% of African-American voters think that Clinton unfairly attacked Obama. But when we look at the same question among white voters, a comparable number thought Clinton unfairly attacked Obama -- 68%.
Also worth mentioning, a majority of the voters -- 56% -- said that Bill Clinton's campaigning was important to their vote today.
From NBC's Norah O'Donnell, Barbara Bernhard, and Adam VerdugoSo far it's a very tight race on the Democratic side and it looks like the Iowa caucus results may not have had as big of an impact as so many thought it would.
One key factor: Nearly four-in-10 said they made up their minds in the last three days. This is the period when Barack
Obama was supposed to be benefiting from his big Iowa win. Apparently, not tonight.
As for the late deciders, Obama and
Clinton split that vote at 38% each. That is where Clinton is picking up voters.
Gender has been a big part of the story on the Democratic side, and we are seeing that there is a big gender gap. Clinton is doing much better among women today in New Hampshire than she did in Iowa. Women were the majority of New Hampshire voters -- 57%.
Obama is also doing well among those in their 30s, but Clinton is leading among voters 40 and older -- 43% to 28%. They accounted for about two-thirds of all voters today.
