Democrats in Wisconsin, Hawaii head to polls
Wednesday, 20 February 2008
CHICAGO, Feb 19 (AP): Democrats in Wisconsin and Hawaii were heading to the polls Tuesday in a presidential campaign that has grown increasingly negative with charges of broken promises, plagiarism and petty partisanship.
Senators Barack Obama of Illinois and Hillary Rodham Clinton of New York criticized each other as they looked to break out of a tight race, fearing the prospect that neither one will secure the nomination before the convention this summer.
They entered Tuesday's contests closely divided in the hunt for the 2,025 delegates needed for the nomination: 1,281 for Obama and 1,218 for Clinton.
The day's biggest prize was Wisconsin, where 74 delegates were up for grabs and polls showed the two in a statistical dead heat. Neither candidate made the long trip to campaign in Hawaii, where 20 delegates were to be decided by a caucus.
Obama, born in Hawaii and living in Wisconsin's southern neighbor, hoped to build on his string of eight straight wins. Clinton's campaign played down her chances in Wisconsin, but was hoping to beat expectations to give her struggling candidacy new life.
With blue-collar workers in the industrial Midwest up for grabs, both candidates focused their barbs on economic issues. Clinton's campaign sent a mailer to Wisconsin voters saying Obama's health care plan would leave 15 million uninsured, while Obama blamed Clinton's "hollering at Republicans and engaging in petty partisan politics" for the failure of the health care initiative she spearheaded in her husband's administration.
Republican front-runner John McCain, meanwhile, hoped to move closer to locking up the nomination with voting in Wisconsin and Washington state, where 56 delegates were at stake.
The Arizona senator began the day with 908 delegates, while his closest rival, former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, had 245. Texas Rep. Ron Paul had 14.
Clinton's staff tried to raise doubts about Obama's credibility, pointing out that he has hedged on a pledge to limit himself to public financing in the general election and accusing him of plagiarism for using lines first spoken by his friend Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick.
Senators Barack Obama of Illinois and Hillary Rodham Clinton of New York criticized each other as they looked to break out of a tight race, fearing the prospect that neither one will secure the nomination before the convention this summer.
They entered Tuesday's contests closely divided in the hunt for the 2,025 delegates needed for the nomination: 1,281 for Obama and 1,218 for Clinton.
The day's biggest prize was Wisconsin, where 74 delegates were up for grabs and polls showed the two in a statistical dead heat. Neither candidate made the long trip to campaign in Hawaii, where 20 delegates were to be decided by a caucus.
Obama, born in Hawaii and living in Wisconsin's southern neighbor, hoped to build on his string of eight straight wins. Clinton's campaign played down her chances in Wisconsin, but was hoping to beat expectations to give her struggling candidacy new life.
With blue-collar workers in the industrial Midwest up for grabs, both candidates focused their barbs on economic issues. Clinton's campaign sent a mailer to Wisconsin voters saying Obama's health care plan would leave 15 million uninsured, while Obama blamed Clinton's "hollering at Republicans and engaging in petty partisan politics" for the failure of the health care initiative she spearheaded in her husband's administration.
Republican front-runner John McCain, meanwhile, hoped to move closer to locking up the nomination with voting in Wisconsin and Washington state, where 56 delegates were at stake.
The Arizona senator began the day with 908 delegates, while his closest rival, former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, had 245. Texas Rep. Ron Paul had 14.
Clinton's staff tried to raise doubts about Obama's credibility, pointing out that he has hedged on a pledge to limit himself to public financing in the general election and accusing him of plagiarism for using lines first spoken by his friend Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick.