Tennessee: Clinton wins, GOP too close
NASHVILLE, Tenn. A majority of voters in the Democratic primary were white and
women, and Clinton ran strongly in both demographics, according to
exit polls conducted for The Associated Press and the television
networks.
The New York senator's victory over Illinois Sen. Barack Obama
followed Tennessee wins by her husband, former President Bill
Clinton, who twice carried the Volunteer State with favorite son Al
Gore as his running mate.
"I thought the Clinton days were great, and I want them back,"
said Daniel Casey, a 51-year-old salesman in Nashville who voted
for Clinton.
On the Republican side, returns from 10 percent of precincts
showed Arizona Sen. John McCain with nearly 34 percent of the vote,
followed by former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee with 29 percent and
former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney with 22 percent.
The state's Republican vote had been expected to go to former
Tennessee Sen. Fred Thompson, but he dropped out of the race two
weeks before Super Tuesday.
Several of the candidates made stops in the Volunteer State in
the days before the primary.
Huckabee visited Chattanooga and Blountville while Romney
stopped at a popular Nashville pancake restaurant Monday, both
touting their conservative credentials. McCain campaigned in
Nashville on Saturday night.
Clinton's campaign was kicked off by her husband, the former
president, and she followed that up with two stops late last month.
She had her daughter Chelsea meet supporters Sunday in Nashville.
Obama didn't visit the state after June, but his foreign policy
adviser visited Tennessee State University Monday and other
surrogates held last-minute campaign events.
Both Democrats ran TV ads in some of the state's major markets.
