Lost in the shuffle of Democrats' bruising Pennsylvania primary was the fact that John McCain didn't even top 75 percent of the vote in Republicans' primary.
With only two other names on the ballot, Republicans' presumed presidential nominee was unable to pull off the commanding sort of showing that would have put to rest the talk among Republican voters about displeasure with their nominee.
McCain, with 99.44 percent of precincts reporting, has garnered 72.7 percent of the vote in the primary, which was open only to Republican voters. Despite having dropped out of the race and even campaigning for McCain, former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee won 11.4 percent of the vote. And Rep. Ron Paul, who is still running but has put his campaign into a lower gear, won 15.9 percent of Republicans in the primary.
Paul has said the McCain campaign has made no effort to try to win over his supporters, nearly 1 million of whom have voted for him in the Republican primaries and caucuses so far. This morning Paul campaign spokesman Jesse Benton said his candidate's showing proves Republican voters are still "hungry for leadership that will protect the traditions that made our country so great."
The McCain campaign has said it is on the same timeline for uniting the Republican Party as then-Gov. George W. Bush in 2000. In that year, Mr. Bush won 73 percent of the Republican vote in Pennsylvania's primary, held April 4. His biggest challenger was McCain himself, who won 23 percent, despite having dropped out of the campaign weeks earlier.
But McCain was a far more imposing figure in 2000 than Paul and Huckabee were in 2008, and McCain has also had more time before Pennsylvania to consolidate his lead than Bush had in 2000. To continue to post less-than-dominant showings will only prolong talk that McCain has more work to do within his own party.
And to truly match Bush's 2000 performance may be out of the question for McCain. Out of 18.5 million votes cast in the primaries so far he has won 43.2 percent. By contrast, Bush finished 2000 with 62 percent of the Republican primary vote.
Update at 11:58 a.m.:
McCain spokesman Tucker Bounds says they're not worried about Pennsylvania's showing, since at this point they feel they've already pivoted into general election mode. He also said the exit polls from Pennsylvania suggested the McCain campaign strategy of finding votes in the political center will pay off.
"There are poll numbers that come out of Pennsylvania that indicate a strong likelihood John McCain will play strongly with Republicans and independents, but also will make a play for conservative Democrats," Bounds said.
— Stephen Dinan, national political reporter, The Washington Times
Comments (29)
130,000. Ron Paul got one hundred and thirty thousand votes, despite the media blackout. The revolution is real people.
Posted by Unshackle | April 23, 2008 12:15 PM
McCain can spin all he wants. Still the facts are the facts. As Ron Paul continues to get these positions out to the public despite a MSM total blackout. I bet the Vegas odds makers would love discussing the odds of Ron Paul collecting 16% of the vote yesterday. Visit www.ronpaul2008.com and learn what we Ron Paul supporters know.
Posted by tim, minnesota | April 23, 2008 12:30 PM
It is the time to begin firming up strategies. There are complex issues that deal with nonlinear decisions. For example, global warming consensus science that drove the decision to use biofuels which triggered commodity instabilities combined with regional fluctuations in climate and rising energy prices causing food shortages and in some cases starvation. Just how do you deal with that. Nothing is simple, nothing linear, he had better learn to justify his position in nonlinear terms.
Posted by Larry Stone | April 23, 2008 1:47 PM
So what the McCain Campaign is really saying, is that they would rather concentrate on trying to get votes from registered Democrats and Independants than fixing the issues that have fragmented and tarnished the Republican party. There's some strait talk for ya.
Posted by funkmasterizzy | April 23, 2008 1:49 PM
why do you think that McCain only got 99.44% of the votes????
Posted by Hannah Bookheimer | April 23, 2008 1:52 PM
McCain is in for a real surprise if he thinks he has the nomination in the bag.
Posted by Karl | April 23, 2008 2:12 PM
Hannah, McCain only got 72.7%.
Posted by Marilyn | April 23, 2008 2:15 PM
Hannah Bookheimer - McCain only got 72.7% of the votes with 99.44% of the precincts reporting.
The most telling statistical fact in this article is that, overall, McCain has only garnered the support of 43.2% of Republican primary voters. The majority of his own party do not support him, and if they vote for him in November, it will only be to stop the Democrats - NOT because they believe he is the best person for the job.
As the remaining primaries unfold, my prediction is that McCain will continue to get a lesser percentage of the total each time. Only time will tell, but the rEVOLution is alive & getting stronger every day!
Posted by Danielle K in Texas | April 23, 2008 2:17 PM
It's appalling that 11.4% -- approximately 76,000 Pennsylvanians -- are so out-of-the-loop that they cast a vote for a candidate who dropped out of the race March 4, more than 49 days ago. It's irresponsible voting, and it shows that the system is inefficient.
Posted by Colin Dean | April 23, 2008 2:40 PM
@Collin Dean: "It's irresponsible voting, and it shows that the system is inefficient"
Actually, I think it shows that people are not paying attention.
Posted by Ryan Heneise | April 23, 2008 3:45 PM
Just think how many more votes Dr. Paul got if you factor in vote fraud. Even at 16%, this is a remarkable showing for a candidate who gets virtually no major media attention, (except when he's labeled a kook or a nut). Thank heaven for the Internet and all of us loyal r3VOLutionaries. Go Ron Paul!!! All the way to St. Paul!
Posted by belle | April 23, 2008 3:48 PM
One could argue that (most of?) the votes for Huckabee were purely a protest against McCain's candidacy, basically a "none of the above" vote. (To be fair, let's say there were 10 or 20 thousand Huckabee diehards.) The Ron Paul votes were FOR Ron Paul -- not against McCain. I suspect that had Huckabee not been on the ballot, Dr. Paul may not have picked up many of the votes that went to Huckabee. Why not? In a closed primary like Pa., I'm unconvinced that Paul could get 20% of registered Republicans. Those who voted for Huckabee would have stayed home or held their noses and voted for McCain. (Full disclosure, I'm a staunch supporter of Ron Paul.)
Posted by Mark | April 23, 2008 4:25 PM
Colin, it's not necessarily appalling to vote for Huck. If Ron Paul had dropped out but was still on the ballot and I lived in PA, I'd protest-vote for RP over McCain.
Posted by Jim | April 23, 2008 4:36 PM
McCain has not even started winnning over real Republicans. The only chance he has is if the radio hosts make his case.
Paul is a good man whether you agree with him or not. When he goes to a state and makes some rounds people love what they hear.
Posted by TJ | April 23, 2008 4:42 PM
The media has tried everything they can to keep Ron Paul's message from reaching the American people but the truth will come out, no matter how hard they try to suppress it. Can you imagine the numbers Ron Paul would be tallying if the media reported fairly and accurately, like they are supposed to? If the system worked the way it was intended and people were given all the facts and actually understood what each candidate stood for, Ron Paul would win in a landslide. Corporations and big money have taken over this country and most Americans do not even realize it. The most important message in these times should be to educate yourself--do not rely on the media to make up your mind. Ron Paul deals with the issues with real solutions, not just campaign slogans. The system is flawed--how long will WE wait to fix it?
Posted by Dave | April 23, 2008 5:17 PM
Pennsylvanians have just showed how stupid they really are! Who would care how they faired in that state, when they have the nomination! This is one state that doesn't really matter!
Posted by chris | April 23, 2008 5:20 PM
Seriously people... do you honestly think that CONSERVATIVES who are less than thrilled by McCain as president will STAY HOME or worse, vote for Clinton or OBAMA (the most liberal of the liberals) in November? Please... reality check!
McCain won't have to be ultra conservative, because the alternatives are so reprehensibly liberal, that even a moderate conservative will be a welcome option.
Also, there are a number of diehard Democrats who will vote Republican when their candidate isn't on the ticket in November.
Does anyone know if Ann Coulter plans to vote for Obama when Hillary doesn't get the nomination, since she claimed she would vote for Hillary over McCain? Just curious...
Posted by LLS | April 23, 2008 5:24 PM
Forget the bickering, people. McCain is the Republican nominee....period. I just don't believe he can lose against the two unqualified Democrat candidates. The Democratic party has far more electable people than Obama and Clinton and the way they select the candidate with their state delegates and super delegates only serves to tell one that they do not trust the people.
Posted by Clyde | April 23, 2008 5:30 PM
Any real conservative should stay home or EVEN vote Democrat, no matter who their nominee is.
WHY?
Because on the things that matter and are substantive, McCain is NO different from Clinton or Obama, or WORSE.
Illegal Immigration? McCain has no prob with it.
Supreme Court? He's for Ginsburg, against Alito
Freedom of speech? MCCAIN-FEINGOLD
Gun control? no real difference
Irak? He WILL stay there, the Dems might leave
Fiscal conservatism? Nope, he wants to keep spending in IRAK (at 16 Billion per month for years)
Honesty / political scandal? Keating Five
Small government? See his support of housing bailout, and new financial market regs.
I would rather have an enemy in the open, than a wolf in sheeps clothing.
AND, with a Dem Pres, and Dem Congress, MAYBE the republican party will see the need for true conservative reform.
They will not do so under a McCain presidency, but WHEN that next Presidency fails (it will with any of them), then the republican party will be blamed, so better for a Dem Pres to fail.
Posted by Chris T. | April 23, 2008 6:18 PM
Ron Paul is my Republican Nominee. Period.
Posted by Eric Nordstrom | April 23, 2008 6:30 PM
The feeling I get listening to and watching John McCain is that he is ill...physically and mentally. To me, he is the physical, individual embodiment of all that is wrong with the Republican party and our country in general. My family has almost consistently voted Republican for at least three generations. I voted for Reagan, GHWB, Dole, and W (in 2000 but not 2004). I will not vote for McCain unless he changes his position on Iraq and our foreign policy. Even then, I may not vote for him because he is a self-admitted macro-economic midget.
Cheers
Posted by John Huckans | April 23, 2008 6:35 PM
The eventual nominees from both parties will be reprehensible. I predict more people will vote 3rd or 4th party (combined) this year than in many years past.
Whether it's Barr or Nader or Paul. Plenty of conservative/libertarian/constitutionalist republicans as well as those Dems that won't vote for Obama or Clinton feel completely left out of the process. Both parties have failed miserably and the 3rd and/or 4th perspective is badly needed in American debate. This "American Idol" for President process must be brought to a stop and a more logical, intellectual discourse take place. The debates are a sham, the media is a crap circus with horrible clown-like actors. People are sick of it and it's an ever-growing number.
Posted by Joe | April 23, 2008 7:45 PM
I continue to be amazed at how the electorate moves with the mainstream media regardless of the facts. It is hypocrisy because they support candidates that do not agree with their stated worldviews. There is only one way that we will have a solution to an election system that installs non-patriot choices - forcing us to choose the best of the given devils. We must figure out how the majority can be against bankrupting America while supporting politicians that have no intention of stopping or acknowledging the causes. Until we know why people are ignoring something as simple as rejecting bad candidates we will not have a solution.
Posted by Gene Louis | April 23, 2008 9:21 PM
Here are you choices:
McCain - years more of our current foreign policy of policing the world. The dollar will continue to decline, prices will rise, and our seniors will not recieve the social security they deserve.
Paul - An end to wars of agression and occupation. Return American troops to American. Cut the military budget, from 50% of budget to 25% or less. Begin repairing the value of the dollar. Cut wasteful government programs, and put the money where it belongs, in the hands of our citizens and seniors.
Now it's up to us to make sure the right choice is made.
TimM Missouri
Posted by TimM | April 23, 2008 9:25 PM
NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!
Chris T. No patriotic American should stay home.
Please don't vote for any of the three SAPPS
(aka the Security And Prosperity Partners)either.
A vote for the SAPPitistas is a death wish
for America. I know that is not how you feel.
Stand tall, Chris T.
Request a paper ballot and write in Ron Paul.
You will always be proud you were a part
of the rEVOLution!!!
Posted by GreatGranny | April 23, 2008 9:45 PM
Ron Paul wants limited federal government. Me too!
John McCain is a liberal gun-grabbing Democrat in disguise.
Posted by Michael | April 24, 2008 2:26 AM
Ron Paul would make the best President but the chances of his being nominated are somewhere between slim and none. That is no reason to not vote for him, just an observation.
It is possible that McCain will "reach across the aisle" and pick a "conservative" Democrat as his running mate. It would fit with the present elite strategy of effective synthesis of the major parties, replacing the thesis:antithesis strategy of the past.
Some relevant facts that most Americans either refuse to believe or have not yet learned, concern the radical actions of FDR in the 1930's which still profoundly affect the conduct of politics today. The most important fact is that FDR passed the Trading with the Enemy Act (1917 Amended) declaring that the American People are the Enemy of the Government of the United States. This enabled him to confiscate all the People's gold and transfer it to foreign interests, and suspend the Constitution and the common law. He then proceeded to complete the transformation, begun in 1914 when President Wilson signed the Federal Reserve Act into law, of the American political structure into an effective Communist one, working through two political parties rather than one, in order to maintain the illusion of a Constitutional democratic republican government. All of the Presidents since that time have known this fact and have done nothing to change it. A similar situation exists in the UK where I live.
This may seem fantastic to you but if so, that is because you have been living in a carefully constructed delusion for almost one hundred years. The condition of the British people is far worse since their captivity has lasted so much longer. The pace of the collectivisation and subjugation of the peoples of the world has been speeding up in the past couple of decades because this is apparently the time in which the revelation of the plan is a strategic necessity in order to test the effectiveness of the conditioning process. This is a gamble for the ruling elites but they obviously feel confident in their ability to pull it off.
How this information, if believed, affects you personally will vary from person to person, as will the action, if any, you conclude you ought to take. My own decision has been to obey Matthew 6:33 since I know that no physical, material, ideological, political, economic or soulical religious solution will change the ultimate denouement that is coming upon the world. Look up for your redemption draws nigh.
Posted by David | April 24, 2008 9:04 AM
I am an Afro-Hispanic immigrant Ron Paul supporter from the West Indies. Us Ronulans will under no circumstance be voting for an anti-American liberal democrat like Amnesty McCain. Get that through your heads now so you won't be surprised in November when Amnesty McCain gets KO'd. The neo-colonialist global welfarists who call themselves republicans really dropped the ball on this one....they have caused Obama to win by not voting for a true conservative in the primaries. Pat yourselves on the back for failing to ignore the liberal media mantras and handing this thing to the socialists. Hopefully God can work a miracle and get Ron Paul into the White House.Everytime I hear the anti-American global welfarists like Hannity bash him and his ideas it reminds me and strengthens my view that Paul's the only man in the room who has a clue.Funny how that works. Ron Paul write-in in November to avoid wasting my vote. Or if he endorses Bob Barr, Barr will get my vote.
Posted by Immigrant | April 24, 2008 10:33 AM
If there had been a debate between Ron Paul and John McCain, that would have be interesting. Ron Paul has wrote books on the economy, and on foreign policy. McCain in contrast seems to be completely lost on both topics. This idea of voting for McCain because he is some kind of Hollywood hero from Vietnam (another expensive war that achieved nothing) is absolutely ludicruous. The Republican Party seems to have a hardcore 'patriotic' element that will fight 'our enemies' without any concept of what the American Revolution meant, or why we keep accumulating enemies. Ron Paul has repeatedly tried to engage a debate about policy. It seems that no candidate on either party seems to want to discuss policy. This election is a complete shambles. So much for solving the problems of the nation.
CAN WE NOW DEBATE POLICY PLEASE ?? (That includes you Mr. McCain, and you too Mr. Obama...and end to the show business and the dramatics....what are your policies ???)
And another thing, where are all these John McCain supporters who voted overwhelmingly for him. It is unusual when you see that the delegates for states like Missouri, Alaska and Nevada are overwhelming Ron Paul Supporters, but the "voting machines" seem to churn out McCain majorities.
Posted by Deco | April 24, 2008 1:59 PM