2008 Indiana Democratic presidential primary
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 Primary results by county Clinton: 50–60% 60–70% 70–80% Obama: 50–60% 60–70% | |||||||||||||||||||
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The 2008 Indiana Democratic presidential primary took place on May 6, 2008. It was an
Obama and Clinton were the only two candidates on the ballot in Indiana. Polls were opened in the state from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m., prevailing local time.
Clinton narrowly defeated Obama to win the primary.
Polling
In the last polling conducted before the primary from May 4 to May 5, Obama led Clinton by a statistically insignificant 45-43 percent with 7 percent undecided in a 3.9-percent margin of error.[2]
Superdelegates
There were 13 superdelegates up for grabs, who were not bound by the primary results.[3]
Indiana Superdelegates
| Superdelegate | Position | Endorsement |
|---|---|---|
| Joe Andrew | Former DNC Chairman | Barack Obama, after switching from Hillary Rodham Clinton[4] |
| Evan Bayh | Junior U.S. Senator from Indiana
|
Hillary Rodham Clinton[3] |
Cordelia Lewis Burks
|
Indiana Democratic Party Vice Chairwoman | Barack Obama[4] |
| André Carson | IN-07
|
Barack Obama[5] |
Phoebe Crane
|
DNC Member | Hillary Rodham Clinton[6] |
| Joe Donnelly | IN-02
|
Barack Obama[7] |
| Brad Ellsworth | IN-08
|
Hillary Rodham Clinton[8] |
| Baron Hill | IN-09
|
Barack Obama[9] |
| Joe Hogsett | Former Indiana Secretary of State
|
Barack Obama[10] |
Dan Parker
|
Indiana Democratic Party Chairman | Hillary Rodham Clinton[11] |
| Bob Pastrick | DNC Member | Hillary Rodham Clinton[4] |
Connie Thurman
|
DNC Member | Barack Obama[3] |
Peter Visclosky
|
IN-01
|
Barack Obama[12] |
Results
Primary Date: May 6, 2008
| 2008 Indiana Democratic Presidential Primary Results | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | Percentage | Delegates | ||
| Democratic | Hillary Clinton | 646,235 | 50.56% | 38 | ||
| Democratic | Barack Obama | 632,061 | 49.44% | 34 | ||
| Totals | 1,278,296 | 100.00% | 72 | |||
| Voter turnout | % | — | ||||
The day on which the Indiana primary occurred was known as
Analysis
Hillary Rodham Clinton's narrow win in the Indiana Democratic Primary can be traced to a number of factors. According to exit polls, 78 percent of voters in the Indiana Democratic Party were
Clinton performed well statewide through Indiana, winning most of the counties. Obama performed best in
Obama's active campaigning in Indiana during the primary is widely believed to be a cause of his narrow win in this heavily Republican state in the 2008 general election against John McCain.
Charges of election fraud
On April 3, 2012, four St. Joseph County Democratic officials had charges filed against them for allegedly forging Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton primary petitions during the 2008 election. Authorities charge that the scheme to submit the fake petitions for Obama was put together at the local county Democratic headquarters.
Under state law, presidential candidates need to qualify with 500 signatures from each of Indiana's nine congressional districts. Indiana elections officials say that in St. Joseph County, which is the 2nd Congressional District, the Obama campaign qualified with 534 signatures; Clinton's camp had 704. But the signatures, which were certified by the elections board, were never challenged. If the number of legitimate signatures for Obama or Clinton had been challenged and had fallen below the legal requirement of 500, they could have been removed from the state ballot. Reports have previously put the number of phony signatures for both candidates at about 150, but state investigators plucked names from the petitions at random and cited only 20 individual alleged forgeries as part of their case.[14]
Two officials, former St. Joseph County Democratic party Chairman Butch Morgan Jr. and former county Board of Elections worker Dustin Blythe, were both found guilty of various felonies associated with their faking petitions that enabled Obama, to get on the presidential primary ballot in 2008.[15]
See also
References
- ^ Todd Rokita. "2008 Indiana Primary Media Kit" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on May 29, 2008. Retrieved May 6, 2008.
- ^ "Zogby Poll: Obama Expands Lead in NC; Dems Still Biting Nails in Indiana!". May 6, 2008. Retrieved May 6, 2008.
- ^ a b c "Suddenly we matter". Indianapolis Star. March 6, 2008. Archived from the original on March 11, 2008. Retrieved March 6, 2008.
- ^ a b c "Clinton campaign takes a hit today". WTHR Channel 13. May 1, 2008. Archived from the original on April 18, 2008. Retrieved May 1, 2008.
- ^ "Rep. Andre Carson endorses Obama". Indianapolis Star. April 16, 2008. Archived from the original on March 19, 2012. Retrieved April 16, 2008.
- ^ "Superdelegates In Focus: Indiana's Phoebe Crane And Iowa's Scott Brennan". The Huffington Post. February 29, 2008. Retrieved March 6, 2008.
- ^ "Indiana superdelegate supports Obama". Indianapolis Star. May 13, 2008. Archived from the original on April 2, 2012. Retrieved May 13, 2008.
- ^ "The Ellsworth Endorsement". ABC News. May 8, 2008. Archived from the original on May 12, 2008. Retrieved May 13, 2008.
- ^ "Obama picks up Baron Hill support". Indianapolis Star. April 30, 2008. Archived from the original on March 19, 2012. Retrieved April 30, 2008.
- ^ "Obama will need Clinton's help to capture state in general election". WISH-TV. June 27, 2008. Retrieved June 29, 2008.[permanent dead link]
- ^ "DNC Indiana Superdelegates". The Huffington Post. February 28, 2008. Retrieved March 6, 2008.
- ^ "Ellsworth is last named and uncommitted superdelegate". Wish-TV. May 14, 2008. Retrieved May 14, 2008.
- ^ Baker, Peter; Rutenberg, Jim (June 22, 2008). "The Long Road to a Clinton Exit". The New York Times. Retrieved June 8, 2008.
- ^ "4 Indiana Dems charged with election fraud in 2008 presidential race". Fox News. April 3, 2012. Retrieved April 3, 2012.
- ^ "Indiana Election Officials Convicted of Felony Voter Fraud". CNN iReport. April 28, 2013. Retrieved January 27, 2016.