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Clinton carried region's congressional districts
By: MARK WALKER - Staff Writer
Democratic votes outpace Republicans thanks to boost from independents | ∞
It was close, but Hillary Clinton bested Barack Obama in the four congressional districts representing North County and Southwest Riverside County.
John McCain and now former presidential candidate Mitt Romney each took two.
In Tuesday's Democratic primary, the latest figures from the California Secretary of State's Office show Clinton edged Obama in the 45th, 49th, 50th and 52nd Congressional Districts.
Each of the districts is represented in Congress by a Republican, and registered Republicans far outnumber registered Democrats in each district. But Clinton earned more votes in each local district than any other candidate in either major party.
The key difference, election observers said, was the state Democratic Party's decision to allow registered independents to vote alongside registered Democrats in that party's primary. As expected, local party leaders debated whether the high vote totals earned by the Democratic front-runners carried any larger meaning, or whether independents would vote Democratic in the November general election.
The 45th District is in Riverside County while the 49th includes the Temecula area as well as North County. The 50th represents North County while the 52nd includes portions of Ramona and Poway.
Romney, who dropped his bid for the Republican presidential nomination Thursday, got more votes than McCain in the 49th and 52nd Districts.
The closest Obama came to winning a local district was the 50th, where he trailed the New York senator by 1,140 votes as of Thursday.
In the raw vote in the four districts, Clinton had 137,440 votes compared with 105,946 for McCain and 103,365 for Romney. Obama's total was 99,477.
Despite Clinton's win in the popular vote, party rules that apportion delegates on the basis of the percentages received in each congressional district mean that Obama emerges from California far from empty-handed.
While specific delegate counts for each district are not yet available, in part because the absentee ballot count goes on, the latest tallies show Clinton winning 195 delegates in California and Obama 152.
McCain took nearly all the Republican delegates on his way to solidifying his front-runner status, pocketing 159 compared with only six for Romney.
Overall, there were more Democratic than Republican presidential ballots recorded in San Diego and Riverside counties, in part because registered independents, or "decline to state" voters, were allowed to vote in the Democratic primary while only registered Republicans could vote for a GOP candidate.
In San Diego County's 1,801 precincts, the latest figures showed there were 310,743 Democratic votes compared with 250,391 Republican ballots.
In Riverside County, 140,956 Democratic votes were recorded compared with 129,808 Republican.
The growing number of registered independents ---- 23 percent in San Diego County ---- are seen as a target-rich opportunity for Democrats in the November general election, according to Jess Durfee, chairman of the San Diego County Democratic Party.
"We are planning to treat all of those independents who requested Democratic ballots as Democrats from this point forward," Durfee said Thursday. "We will do outreach by making a special effort to talk to them and encourage them to join the party.
Jack Pitney, a respected political science professor at Claremont McKenna College, said the the higher number of Democratic votes here and around the country is cause for some worry within the GOP.
"There's been a much larger Democratic turnout and that is an ominous sign for McCain," he said in a telephone interview. "But on the other hand, some polling shows him leading Clinton or Obama in head-to-head matchups and that has to provide some reassurance."
The chairman of the San Diego County Republican Party, Tony Krvaric, said the fact so many more Democratic ballots were cast in the primary isn't a big concern.
"The party that isn't in power is always a little more enthused to go out and vote," he said. "The fact remains that San Diego County has more registered Republicans."
As of January, the county had 440,568 registered Democrats compared with 498,525 Republicans. The number of "decline to state" independents has been growing and now accounts for nearly a quarter of the county's 1.3 million registered voters.
Krvaric also said the fact that much of the local Republican Party establishment was supporting Romney won't matter come the fall.
"This is a conservative Republican county and he was much more organized here," he said. "But the party has a history of coming together after divisive primaries."
Local elected officials to declare their support for McCain heading into Tuesday included 49th Congressional District Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Vista and state Assemblyman George Plescia, R-San Diego, whose district includes part of North County.
Romney backers included 50th District Rep. Brian Bilbray, R-Solana Beach, who opposes McCain's position on immigration. Bilbray said earlier this week that McCain "has some explaining to do" to conservatives opposed to his support for a pathway to citizenship for the country's more than 12 million illegal immigrants.
Pitney, who spent time on Capitol Hill as a Republican congressional staffer, said the perception that McCain is a liberal Republican is largely inaccurate.
"He has to emphasize his record as a conservative, which he mostly has been," he said. "There have been issues where he has strayed, and listening to talk radio you would think he's Ted Kennedy.
"The reality is he's much closer to someone like Bob Dole."
State GOP Chairman Ron Nehring issued a statement Thursday saying that Romney's exit moves the party much closer to knowing its nominee. Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee and Rep. Ron Paul of Texas remain in the Republican race but face mountainous odds in overcoming McCain.
"I look forward to working with Republicans in this state and throughout the nation to ensure that neither Barack Obama nor Senator Clinton ever enter the White House without a visitor pass," Nehring said.
Contact staff writer Mark Walker at (760) 740-3529 or mlwalker@nctimes.com.
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BUCK wrote on Feb 8, 2008 1:33 AM:OK I read all the blah blah blah... the real story here is that registered Republicans far outnumber registered Democrats in each district. Yet Hillary had more votes than Obama and the OLD MAN...The republican Canidate. Get used to it people Hillary will win the nomination and the presidential election. The old man is a republican and Obama is black. Now are you ready for 4 more years with a republican in charge? Are you going to vote for a LIBERAL black? OR is Hillary the next president of the United States?
Chief wrote on Feb 8, 2008 2:17 AM:Holy smoke Hillary Smoked em all In republican country...I smell a democratic victory...
David wrote on Feb 8, 2008 2:21 AM:You all better get used to it the next president will be a democrat. The US including the republican north county have spoken they are sick and tired of the republican way ....You know buy now pay later, fight now explain why we started the war...forever!
Vote Hillary?????????? wrote on Feb 8, 2008 3:35 AM:My mother lives in Hillary's N.Y. district. When I asked her last weekend, what was new in the old hometown, she thought for a moment and said "well, we got a new dollar store; now we have three of them.' So much for Hillary's promises to rural N.Y. Maybe she can bring the same success to the rest of us!
Expat New Yorker wrote on Feb 8, 2008 7:23 AM:Ummm, Hillary Clinton is a Senator. The entire state is her "district". Anyway, the upstate NY economy has been on a downward trend for years as manufacturing jobs first moved to southern states like North Carolina, then overseas. Even technology centers like Rochester are hurting. With the jobs has gone the population (myself included), which is a major reason why NY has now fallen behind TX in population and will probably fall behind FL eventually. These trends were in place long before Hillary became Senator. If you're looking for someone to blame for upstate NY's woes, look to Reagan and Bush I, as that's the time frame when the decline became acute. But more realistically, blame the multinational corporations that are more interested in quick profits than in employing Americans, high NY state taxes (which has little or nothing to do with the federal government), and the nasty upstate climate.
John Z. wrote on Feb 8, 2008 8:23 AM:Congratulations to the voters in North County for the good sense that they displayed in the California primary. I'm proud of you!
Mojave Jim wrote on Feb 8, 2008 8:39 AM:I continues to blow my mind thinking why anyone would vote for Hillary considering now much we know about the high level of corruption involving her and her husband (pardon gate, file gate, cattle futures gate, Monica gate, travel office gate, illegal campaign fund raising gate, Waco gate, etc, etc, etc). Of course these are the same votes who gave us the wonderful folks running is wonderful and well managed state of California.
Mojave Jim wrote on Feb 8, 2008 8:41 AM:So Expat New Yorker what has Hillary done to turn this all around in the last 8 years?????????
A victory wrote on Feb 8, 2008 9:37 AM:for the National Socialist revolution!! This will be the first step towards much needed National Socialism. Crime, unemployment, economic and immigration issues will soon be a thing of the past. It will take some time, but one day soon we will be a united America, one people, one leader (Hillary for starters), one mission. National Socialism now!!! Hillary '08!!!!!!!!!!!
Indicator? wrote on Feb 8, 2008 9:52 AM:Hardly so. Make note that 75% of the votes cast were NOT for Billary. .. or for that matter, for each of the other candidates when singled out, at least 75% of the vote was not for them. There's no clear victory here.
Change... wrote on Feb 8, 2008 10:13 AM:I think Expat new Yorker is close to reality. Reagan brought Supply side economics that fueled the upper incomes but left middle and lower classes borrowing to survive. Family wealth needs to improve if houses are again going to be bought and the economy turns around - after all 70% of our economy is consumer driven and the consumer has had falling wealth for some time. Time for something other than cut taxes and add to the deficet which is the Republican way.
Turn 'em out wrote on Feb 8, 2008 10:23 AM:Republican turn out is down because they are turned off and tuned out. They dropped out. The dems are turned on, tuned in and ready to turn out big time. America will have a democratic president next year fo-sho!! Issa, Bilbray and Little Hunter are going to be spending extra cash unless they want to be turned out. Issa has a formidable opponent this time - Robert Hamilton, who is competent, experienced and tuned in to the electorate.
John wrote on Feb 8, 2008 10:28 AM:McCain had a shot at it in 2000. The party picked a loser for their winner. Now teh country has moved on. McCain is stuck in reverse driving a texas pick-up truck back to Iraq. At least he got a chance to star in the super bowl of politics. He's not going to Disneyland.
Vote Hillary wrote on Feb 8, 2008 10:45 AM:We all want higher taxes, ruined health care, higher gas prices, more illegals, terrorist attacks, and how can we forget more Bill stories with interns and White House staff. Vote Democrat, look what they did for California. Even better look what the Dem controlled Congress has done. Lowest ratings ever. HOORAH!!!
To A Victory wrote on Feb 8, 2008 10:47 AM:I agree! Can you give your house up so we can relocate a homeless person until the new socialist provide you with a house?
Give It Up... wrote on Feb 8, 2008 11:08 AM:Being an Independent, I listen to arguements from both sides but think the the far right of the Republicans are having a Baby Fit because they are losing control to either the moderate Repubs or Dems. American needs change to survive especally considering the mess created by the far right during the previous years. The far right is more obsessed with maintaining control than what is in the best interest of the country.
Ken wrote on Feb 8, 2008 11:27 AM:It shows that the majority of the people realize that Hillary Clinton has the right stuff to take on the Republican (McCain) and WIN! Hillary has the talent, skills and experience to both, beat Obama and then go on to beat McCain, and become our next President. Obama will have to get more experience under his belt before becoming a President. Hillary for 8 years, then Obama for 8 years.
Thanks for the back-up Mojave Jim. wrote on Feb 8, 2008 12:08 PM:Of course Hillary represents all of NY. But she announced up in my old neck of the woods and made all kinds of wonderful promises about how she would turn things around. Also the southern tier of NY has a lot of charm if you are a hunter or are escaping the city for the weekend. A TV producer bought my old property and last I heard, big money was still enjoying the place. I don't dispute Expat's other points on the general economy. I'm not stupid.
Chubton wrote on Feb 8, 2008 12:43 PM:Mojave Jim, you are absolutely correct.
Billary hasn't done much. And why now all this talk of her health care reform solutions? Why not earlier?
But looking at one's congressperson can be tricky. Take ours, Bilbray. How much has he done with illegal immigration in 12 years? Maybe it's time for some new blood.
If they aren't part of the solution, they're part of the problem.
Do you really want wrote on Feb 8, 2008 1:57 PM:a loaded squirrel in the White House? Hillary has worse than a temper. As many biographies of the Clintons point out, Hillary often makes vicious, cruel personally degrading remarks to staff, subordinates and, of course, Bill who she makes a sport out of ridiculing. On Thursday's "Tucker" on MSNBC, David Shuster, who was serving as guest-host of the program, made a comment about Chelsea Clinton and the Clinton campaign that was irresponsible and inappropriate. Shuster, who apologized this morning on MSNBC and will again this evening, has been suspended from appearing on all NBC News broadcasts, other than to make his apology. He has also extended an apology to the Clinton family. NBC News takes these matters seriously, and offers our sincere regrets to the Clintons for the remarks.
Expat New Yorker wrote on Feb 8, 2008 2:06 PM:Well, being as "expat" is short for "expatriate" and I don't live in New York anymore, I haven't been keeping close tabs on what exactly Hillary has been up to. I can tell you that the upstate city where I used to live has seen considerable retail and some manufacturing development since I left, I believe through a combination of Empire Zones, tax breaks for businesses, local marketing efforts, and the simple fact that local groups opposed to development finally lost all the lawsuits they filed to delay various projects. I don't really know what if any involvement Hillary has had in any of that, but I suspect it's mostly being done at the state level. However, a retail and service economy (not much tourism in that area) is no substitute for an actual industrial base. As my father says, you can't make a living doing each other's laundry. Unfortunately Hillary can't compel multinationals to return jobs stateside, and neither can anybody else. Blaming her for upstate's failure to turn around is simply disingenuousness and/or personal antipathy for the candidate masquerading as an argument.
Anyway, if Hillary were delivering big public works projects or other federal funding upstate (I'm not saying she isn't, because I don't know), the anti-Hillary folks would just be accusing her of pork barrel politics.
Sam wrote on Feb 8, 2008 2:32 PM:Where is Bill? Where is Monica? Anyone want a cigar? What a bunch of crap is in politics. Who ever wins we are in big trouble.
Expat New Yorker wrote on Feb 8, 2008 4:54 PM:Unfortunately that's probably true. It's not even much fun to get a pizza and stay up all night watching the election returns anymore ...
m wrote on Feb 8, 2008 6:15 PM:So if I don't vote for Obama it is because I won't vote for a black man? Get real. I don't support Obama because he is whiney and has said nothing of substance.
Nostalgic wrote on Feb 8, 2008 7:59 PM:Oh for the good old days. I remember when Rocky (Nelson) would visit the Bendix defense plant in my home town every election season. It made us feel so special. And he took good care of us schoolkids even though he taxed our parents through the nose for it. LOL Like the old saying goes - New York is a great place to be FROM!
Reply wrote on Feb 9, 2008 11:45 AM:"I agree! Can you give your house up so we can relocate a homeless person until the new socialist provide you with a house?"
No need for that. These people will be sent to government training and education centers. They will be retrained to be productive members of the new order, provided with medical care and educated. One leader, one flag, one people, one nation. The Clintons will be hailed as national heros for taking the first bold steps toward Nation Socialism!!!!! Hillary '08 for National Socialism!!!!!!
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