Connecticut has its say in primaries

2/27/08
Connecticut primary voters were offered a rare treat this week — their votes actually counted for something.
Though not decisive on either side, Connecticut’s primaries were hard-fought and attracted high turnout. Republican John McCain moved closer to wrapping up his party’s nomination by besting his challengers here and around the Northeast, while Sens. Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton were separated by just a small margin.
In the end, it was Obama who took first in the Constitution State, edging out Clinton even though the former first lady lives just a few miles from the state line in Westchester County, N.Y. But because the Democrats assign their delegates proportionally, rather than the Republicans and their winner-take-all elections, both Democrats wound up with solid gains here.
Obama earned 26 delegates and Clinton will bring 22 to the Democratic National Convention in Denver this summer. It was the only win in this region for Obama, the first-term senator from Illinois, but he was strong elsewhere in the U.S. Clinton had led in state polls here for months, but Obama’s late charge after a series of earlier primary wins put him over the top.
But most gratifying was the fact that, this year, the contests were not both wrapped up by the time the state had the opportunity to vote. In our absurd primary system, small, nonrepresentative states Iowa and New Hampshire often play the role of kingmakers for the rest of the country. This year, though, especially among Democrats, the top two candidates have gone back and forth over the first month of voting, allowing far more people to have a say in the party’s ultimate choice.
Among Republicans, McCain looks stronger than ever. His two main opponents, former Govs. Mike Huckabee and Mitt Romney, were able to win some states of their own, but McCain now holds a commanding national lead, and he appears to be cruising toward his party’s nomination. For either Obama or Clinton, he will be a formidable opponent.
Most striking of all, however, even more than the record turnout for a Connecticut primary, is the fact that the Democratic race remains undecided. Even with heavyweights California, New York, Illinois and New Jersey weighing in, the nomination could still go either way.
The two candidates’ overall delegate totals are almost even. And with most primaries to come also awarding delegates proportionally, it promises to stay that way for some time, even if one candidate manages to win many more states than the other. For the first time in decades, the nation could see a national convention begin with the nomination undecided.
Then, unfortunately, we may see what the primaries were supposed to get rid of — backroom power brokers choosing the nominee for everyone else. It might be exciting, but it also might not be democratic.