2008 Woodie Awards
Iowa: Unexpected results
John Sweeney
Issue date: 1/8/08 Section: Voices & Times
The Iowa caucuses resulted in convincing victories for Barack Obama and Mike Huckabee, who both carried their respective parties' primary elections.
Obama outdid John Edwards for the Democrats with 38 percent of the vote to Edwards' 30 percent. Hillary Clinton came in a close third with 29 percent.
For the Republicans, Huckabee led Mitt Romney, 34 percent to 25 percent. Fred Thompson finished in a distant third with 13 percent of the vote.
Both were surprise wins, especially for the Democrats.
Many polls conducted as early as the Monday before the Jan. 3 voting showed what amounted to a dead heat. For Clinton, the third-place finish was a big surprise, as she was considered the Democratic front runner since the beginning of her campaign.
Clinton leads New Hampshire in most polls, but an Obama surge is expected.
The Republican results also were a surprise. Romney was expected to have a better showing in a race that had become a two-way battle between him and Huckabee.
With the Iowa caucuses in the bag, Huckabee now turns to New Hampshire, where a Reuters/C-SPAN/Zogby poll taken during the Iowa vote showed him in forth with just above nine-percent support. Romney was projected as trailing John McCain, who leads polls with 31.3 percent to Romney's 28.8 percent.
With the possibility of winners other than Obama and Huckabee in New Hampshire, the South Carolina primaries might prove even more important than before. The State newspaper showed polls favoring Huckabee for the Jan. 19 Republican primary.
Romney, once more, was projected as the closest contender.
South Carolina also is a dead heat between Obama and Clinton for the Democrats. The State speculated that, with strong endorsements received from some S.C. Democratic officials, an Obama victory might occur during the Democrat's Jan. 26 primary.
Florence and Francis Marion are no strangers to the primary craze. McCain appeared at the Frank B. Lee Nursing Building on campus last spring to accept an endorsement from S.C. Sen. Hugh Leatherman. FMU also got a visit from the Romney campaign at the beginning of the fall semester when his son, Craig, spoke to a political science class.
Democratic visits included the top-three candidates. While none held public events on the campus, Clinton, Edwards and Obama all have campaigned in the Florence area.
Given South Carolina's importance in the upcoming elections, one can only assume Francis Marion and Florence will be seeing more of the candidates in the upcoming month.
Obama outdid John Edwards for the Democrats with 38 percent of the vote to Edwards' 30 percent. Hillary Clinton came in a close third with 29 percent.
For the Republicans, Huckabee led Mitt Romney, 34 percent to 25 percent. Fred Thompson finished in a distant third with 13 percent of the vote.
Both were surprise wins, especially for the Democrats.
Many polls conducted as early as the Monday before the Jan. 3 voting showed what amounted to a dead heat. For Clinton, the third-place finish was a big surprise, as she was considered the Democratic front runner since the beginning of her campaign.
Clinton leads New Hampshire in most polls, but an Obama surge is expected.
The Republican results also were a surprise. Romney was expected to have a better showing in a race that had become a two-way battle between him and Huckabee.
With the Iowa caucuses in the bag, Huckabee now turns to New Hampshire, where a Reuters/C-SPAN/Zogby poll taken during the Iowa vote showed him in forth with just above nine-percent support. Romney was projected as trailing John McCain, who leads polls with 31.3 percent to Romney's 28.8 percent.
With the possibility of winners other than Obama and Huckabee in New Hampshire, the South Carolina primaries might prove even more important than before. The State newspaper showed polls favoring Huckabee for the Jan. 19 Republican primary.
Romney, once more, was projected as the closest contender.
South Carolina also is a dead heat between Obama and Clinton for the Democrats. The State speculated that, with strong endorsements received from some S.C. Democratic officials, an Obama victory might occur during the Democrat's Jan. 26 primary.
Florence and Francis Marion are no strangers to the primary craze. McCain appeared at the Frank B. Lee Nursing Building on campus last spring to accept an endorsement from S.C. Sen. Hugh Leatherman. FMU also got a visit from the Romney campaign at the beginning of the fall semester when his son, Craig, spoke to a political science class.
Democratic visits included the top-three candidates. While none held public events on the campus, Clinton, Edwards and Obama all have campaigned in the Florence area.
Given South Carolina's importance in the upcoming elections, one can only assume Francis Marion and Florence will be seeing more of the candidates in the upcoming month.
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