AU students and residents of D.C., Maryland and Virginia braved the cold weather Tuesday to cast their votes in the Democratic and Republican primary elections. Illinois Sen. Barack Obama won all three Democratic primaries, beating out his sole major rival, New York Sen. Hillary Clinton. Among Republicans, Arizona Sen. John McCain maintained his dominance over former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee.
The nearest polling site to AU was the Metropolitan Memorial United Methodist Church on Nebraska Avenue, located across from the university's main campus.
A steady number of AU students voted there throughout the day, said Charles Howe, a volunteer at the site.
Meghan Snyder, a sophomore in the School of International Service, was one of the students who voted at Metropolitan Memorial Church. She said the weather did not deter her desire to cast her ballot.
"It's your responsibility to vote," Snyder said. "I think it's an important election so everyone should come out to vote."
Snyder, who is originally from Illinois and a supporter of former Democratic presidential candidate and former North Carolina Sen. John Edwards, had registered to vote in D.C. and cast her ballot Tuesday for Obama. Edwards dropped out of the race Jan. 30.
Julie O'Dell, a senior in the Kogod School of Business, said she had been torn between voting for Obama and Clinton. O'Dell said she decided to vote for Obama after seeing him speak at AU Jan. 28. She registered to vote in D.C. after her parents moved from New York to Milford, Penn.
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Democratic Primary Results
In the heated race between Clinton and Obama, each candidate must secure valuable endorsements from "superdelegates." Superdelegates are party members not selected by a caucus or primary who can vote at the Democratic National Convention for any candidate they choose. Here are the total number of superdelegates and pledged delegates each Democratic candidate has won as of yesterday: Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill. Pledged delegates: 1,096 Superdelegates: 157 Total delegates: 1,253 Sen. Hillary Clinton, D-N.Y. Pledged delegates: 977 Superdelegates: 234 Total delegates: 1,211 SOURCE: CNN.com |
"D.C. is pretty small so it's easy to get to the polling sites," O'Dell said.
Sara Rigdon, a sophomore in the School of International Service, took a train Tuesday morning to Harford County, Md., to vote for Obama.
"I really support Obama and I want to exercise my right to vote," Rigdon said.
Rigdon said she expected Obama's victory Tuesday to add momentum to his campaign.
Obama won approximately 64 percent of the vote among Democratic candidates in Virginia, about 60 percent in Maryland and almost 75 percent in the District, according to The Washington Post.
As of Wednesday, Obama led the delegate race with a total 1,253 delegates to Clinton's total 1,211 delegates, CNN.com reported.
McCain won about 55 percent of the Republican vote in Maryland, about 50 percent in Virginia and about 68 percent in the District, CNN.com reported.
McCain now has 827 delegates in the Republican primary elections. His closest rival, Huckabee, has 217, Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, who dropped out of the race last week, had 286 delegates, according to CNN.com.
