Oregon, Kentucky primaries latest to shape the Dem race

LOUISVILLE, Kentucky – A top Barack Obama adviser has urged Democrats to unite behind the Illinois senator and bring the marathon contest for the presidential nomination to a close, but Hillary Rodham Clinton supporters weren’t buying that as Oregon and Kentucky held primaries yesterday.

In a full page ad in The New York Times, Clinton’s female supporters demanded that she stay in the race despite the odds. “We want Hillary to stay in this race until every vote is cast, every vote is counted, and we know that our voices are heard,” said the ad, paid for by the WomenCount political action committee.For his part, former Senator Tom Daschle, a key Obama adviser, said now was the time for Democrats to coalesce behind Obama in order to defeat Republican nominee-in-waiting John McCain.A poll last week showed that 65 per cent of people want Clinton to continue her battle.At the same time, many Clinton supporters are enraged at the way their candidate has been treated by the liberal establishment in the Democratic Party, whom they accuse of trying cut Clinton’s campaign off at the knees.”I love her because she’s a helluva fighter.She’s tenacious and I like that,” said Pat Parker, a night-shift worker at Hardee’s in Bowling Green.”She cares for everybody, for people like me …I’ll tell you, she’s been treated pretty shabby.”Naila Alam and four of her Pakistani relatives – all women and all voters – drove from Virginia to Kentucky over the weekend to see if they could help the campaign, The Washington Post reported.”Hillary: She is going to take care of women all over the world,” Alam declared.”She is our best hope.She cares about protecting the family with good health care and lower gas prices.Andrea Steagall (20) also made a long trek, rising at 03h30 on Monday to drive across the state to Maysville to catch Clinton’s remarks.Add to that the rampant sexism Clinton has had to face.”For many women, Hillary Clinton was not just another candidate, and the fact that this campaign has been drenched in sexism has only made that identification stronger.Watching Hillary take a beating and come back, watching mostly (but not entirely) male reporters and pundits demean and dismiss her, question her motives, her appearance and her sexual orientation, has brought home for many women not how far we’ve come, but how far we have to go,” Susan Estrich wrote in an article on RealClearPolitics this week.Only three primaries remain after Tuesday — Puerto Rico on June 1 and South Dakota and Montana on June 3.Obama was favoured in Oregon, where supporters delivered the largest crowd of his campaign on Sunday.The Portland Tribune had him 20 points ahead of Clinton, and PPP (D) gave him an 18-point advantage.Clinton is expected to do well in Kentucky.A poll by Rasmussen had her 25 points ahead, while pollsters Suffolk gave her a 26-point lead.Obama planned to spend the latest primary day in Iowa, the state of his opening electoral success.Clinton, by far the most energetic candidate, has continued to take her message to the people, through event after event after event, ending her night on Monday in Louisville before a crowd of hundreds, her voice raspy from the stage.The New York senator vowed there was “no way that this is going to end anytime soon” as she campaigned on Monday across Kentucky, a state she was expected to win.”There are a lot of people who wanted to end this election before you had a chance to vote,” she said.”I’m ready to go to bat for you if you’ll come out and vote for me.”She also argued at one stop that she is the “more progressive candidate”.Clinton said Obama, who has refused to debate her since before the Pennsylvania primary last month, when he performed poorly, would “rather just talk to giant crowds than have questions asked”.Meanwhile, Democratic Party officials are scheduled to meet on May 31 to decide whether and how to count delegates from Florida and Michigan, which held primaries but had delegates stripped away by Democratic bosses after breaking scheduling rules, although the voting in the primaries was legal.Counting those delegates in some way could tighten the race further.Obama is now less than 115 total delegates away from the current 2 025 needed to secure the nomination, according to the website RealClearPolitics.But the Clinton campaign maintains the real finish line is 2 209 – including Michigan and Florida.Nampa-AP, The Washington Post, RealClearPolitics”We want Hillary to stay in this race until every vote is cast, every vote is counted, and we know that our voices are heard,” said the ad, paid for by the WomenCount political action committee.For his part, former Senator Tom Daschle, a key Obama adviser, said now was the time for Democrats to coalesce behind Obama in order to defeat Republican nominee-in-waiting John McCain.A poll last week showed that 65 per cent of people want Clinton to continue her battle.At the same time, many Clinton supporters are enraged at the way their candidate has been treated by the liberal establishment in the Democratic Party, whom they accuse of trying cut Clinton’s campaign off at the knees.”I love her because she’s a helluva fighter.She’s tenacious and I like that,” said Pat Parker, a night-shift worker at Hardee’s in Bowling Green.”She cares for everybody, for people like me …I’ll tell you, she’s been treated pretty shabby.”Naila Alam and four of her Pakistani relatives – all women and all voters – drove from Virginia to Kentucky over the weekend to see if they could help the campaign, The Washington Post reported.”Hillary: She is going to take care of women all over the world,” Alam declared.”She is our best hope.She cares about protecting the family with good health care and lower gas prices.Andrea Steagall (20) also made a long trek, rising at 03h30 on Monday to drive across the state to Maysville to catch Clinton’s remarks.Add to that the rampant sexism Clinton has had to face.”For many women, Hillary Clinton was not just another candidate, and the fact that this campaign has been drenched in sexism has only made that identification stronger.Watching Hillary take a beating and come back, watching mostly (but not entirely) male reporters and pundits demean and dismiss her, question her motives, her appearance and her sexual orientation, has brought home for many women not how far we’ve come, but how far we have to go,” Susan Estrich wrote in an article on RealClearPolitics this week.Only three primaries remain after Tuesday — Puerto Rico on June 1 and South Dakota and Montana on June 3.Obama was favoured in Oregon, where supporters delivered the largest crowd of his campaign on Sunday.The Portland Tribune had him 20 points ahead of Clinton, and PPP (D) gave him an 18-point advantage.Clinton is expected to do well in Kentucky.A poll by Rasmussen had her 25 points ahead, while pollsters Suffolk gave her a 26-point lead.Obama planned to spend the latest primary day in Iowa, the state of his opening electoral success.Clinton, by far the most energetic candidate, has continued to take her message to the people, through event after event after event, ending her night on Monday in Louisville before a crowd of hundreds, her voice raspy from the stage.The New York senator vowed there was “no way that this is going to end anytime soon” as she campaigned on Monday across Kentucky, a state she was expected to win.”There are a lot of people who wanted to end this election before you had a chance to vote,” she said.”I’m ready to go to bat for you if you’ll come out and vote for me.”She also argued at one stop that she is the “more progressive candidate”.Clinton said Obama, who has refused to debate her since before the Pennsylvania primary last month, when he performed poorly, would “rather just talk to giant crowds than have questions asked”.Meanwhile, Democratic Party officials are scheduled to meet on May 31 to decide whether and how to count delegates from Florida and Michigan, which held primaries but had delegates stripped away by Democratic bosses after breaking scheduling rules, although the voting in the primaries was legal.Counting those delegates in some way could tighten the race further.Obama is now less than 115 total delegates away from the current 2 025 needed to secure the nomination, according to the website RealClearPolitics.But the Clinton campaign maintains the real finish line is 2 209 – including Michigan and Florida.Nampa-AP, The Washington Post, RealClearPolitics

In an age of information overload, Sunrise is The Namibian’s morning briefing, delivered at 6h00 from Monday to Friday. It offers a curated rundown of the most important stories from the past 24 hours – occasionally with a light, witty touch. It’s an essential way to stay informed. Subscribe and join our newsletter community.

The Namibian uses AI tools to assist with improved quality, accuracy and efficiency, while maintaining editorial oversight and journalistic integrity.