2008 Virginia Democratic presidential primary

The 2008 Virginia Democratic presidential primary took place on February 12, 2008, an election day nicknamed the "Potomac Primary" because the District of Columbia and Maryland also held Democratic primaries.^[1] The Virginia Democratic primary was an open primary, and was competitive for the first time since 1988.^[2] Barack Obama won the primary, as he did the other Potomac contests that day.^[3]

2008 Virginia Democratic presidential primary

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Candidate Barack Obama Hillary Clinton Home state Illinois New York Delegate count 54 29 Popular vote 627,820 349,766 Percentage 63.66% 35.46%

Primary results by county and independent city Obama:      40–50%      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%      80–90% Clinton:      40–50%      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%      80–90%

Candidates

Six national candidates appeared on the ballot in the Virginia primary. However, all but Obama and Hillary Clinton had withdrawn prior to the primary on February 12.

Remaining

• New York Senator Hillary Clinton
• Illinois Senator Barack Obama

Eliminated

• Former North Carolina Senator John Edwards Dropped out on January 30, 2008 ^[4]
• Ohio Representative Dennis Kucinich Dropped out on January 25, 2008 ^[5]
• New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson Dropped out on January 10, 2008^[6]
• Delaware Senator Joe Biden Dropped out on January 3, 2008

Background

The prior week, Barack Obama had beaten Hillary Clinton in Nebraska (68%-32%),^[7] in Washington (68%-31%) ^[8] and in Louisiana (57%-36%) ^[9] by large margins.

The Clinton Campaign looked towards the primary in Virginia as well as those in Maryland and Washington, D.C. which were held on the same day. Though Hillary Clinton spent more resources in the Maryland Primary, she also campaigned in Virginia, particularly in Northern Virginia.

Strategy

The Barack Obama campaign divided Virginia into 4 regions in which to campaign: Northern Virginia, Richmond, Charlottesville, and the Tidewater region in the southeast. He was expected to do well with affluent and independent voters, as well as with African-American voters, who could total 25% of the vote on primary day.^[2]

The Hillary Clinton campaign said it would focus its efforts on Prince William and Loudoun counties, especially older white professional women, and also in the unemployment plagued Southwest Virginia.^[2]

Polling

Main article: Statewide opinion polling for the February Democratic Party presidential primaries, 2008 § Virginia

Barack Obama had a significant lead over Hillary Clinton in final polling throughout the state.

Final Polling
Pollster	Barack Obama	Hillary Clinton
Survey USA	60%	38%
Mason Dixon	53%	37%
InsiderAdvantage	52%	37%
Rasmussen	55%	37%

Results

See also: Results of the 2008 Democratic Party presidential primaries

Key:	Withdrew prior to contest

Virginia Democratic presidential primary, 2008 99.95% of precincts reporting[10]
Candidate	Votes	Percentage	National delegates[11]
Barack Obama	627,820	63.66%	54
Hillary Clinton	349,766	35.46%	29
John Edwards	5,206	0.52%	0
Dennis Kucinich	1,625	0.16%	0
Bill Richardson	991	0.10%	0
Joe Biden	795	0.08%	0
Totals	986,203	100.00%	83

Analysis

2008 Virginia Democratic presidential primary[12]
Demographic subgroup	Obama	Clinton	% of total vote
White men	56	42	27
White women	45	54	35
Black men	93	7	13
Black women	85	15	17

See also

• Democratic Party (United States) presidential primaries, 2008
• Virginia Republican primary, 2008