2008 Colorado Democratic presidential caucuses

The 2008 Colorado Democratic presidential caucuses took place on Super Tuesday, February 5, 2008. As he did in every other state that held a caucus rather than a primary, Barack Obama won the caucus by a wide, two-to-one margin over Hillary Clinton.

2008 Colorado Democratic presidential caucuses

February 5, 2008 (2008-02-05)
 
Candidate Barack Obama Hillary Clinton
Home state Illinois New York
Delegate count 35 20
Popular vote 80,113 38,839
Percentage 66.53% 32.26%

Election results by county.
  Barack Obama
  Hillary Clinton
  Tie

Process

As a cost-saving measure, Colorado stopped holding primary elections in 2000 in favor of a caucus system. Caucuses are run and paid for by the political parties.[1] Both Republican and Democratic Caucus started at 7 p.m.[1]

The Colorado Democratic Caucus was a closed caucus, open only to registered voters who registered as Democrats no later than December 5, 2007, with the exception of 18-year-olds or new citizens, who could register at the caucus site. The precinct chairs took presidential preference polls of all caucus attendees; these preference polls were reported to the media.[2] After the preference poll, delegates were then selected among the attendees for each viable candidate, and supporters of nonviable groups could re-caucus into viable groups. Candidates were required to reach a 15-percent threshold for viability within each level of the selection process.

Following the local caucuses, county conventions, congressional district conventions, and the state convention, on May 17, 2008, were held to finally apportion delegates to the Democratic National Convention.[3]

Polls

A Denver Post poll from late January indicated that Barack Obama was leading Hillary Clinton, though polls from earlier in the year had showed Clinton with a double-digit lead.[4]

Results

Precinct Caucus Results

Total Precincts: 3,205

Caucus date: February 5, 2008

2008 Colorado Democratic Presidential Caucus Results
Party Candidate Votes Percentage Delegates
Democratic Barack Obama 80,113 66.53% 35
Democratic Hillary Clinton 38,839 32.26% 20
Democratic Uncommitted 1,260 1.05% 0
Democratic John Edwards 102 0.08% 0
Democratic Dennis Kucinich 58 0.05% 0
Democratic Mike Gravel 18 0.01% 0
Democratic Bill Richardson 17 0.01% 0
Democratic Joe Biden 4 0.00% 0
Democratic Christopher Dodd 0 0.00% 0
Totals 120,971 100.00% 55
Voter turnout %

County Assembly and Convention Results

Assembly/Convention Dates: February 20–March 17, 2008

National pledged delegates determined: 0 (of 55)

Key:Withdrew
prior to contest
Colorado Democratic presidential county assemblies/conventions, 2008
99% of counties reporting[5]
Candidate County delegates Percentage Estimated national delegates[6]
Barack Obama 6,199 62.65% 36
Hillary Clinton 3,270 32.05% 19
Uncommitted 426 4.31% 0
Totals 9,895 100.00% 55

Congressional District Convention Results

Convention Dates: May 3–16, 2008

National pledged delegates determined: 36 (of 55)

Key:Withdrew
prior to contest
Colorado Democratic presidential congressional district conventions, 2008
100% of districts reporting
Candidate District delegates[7] Percentage Estimated national delegates
Barack Obama 23 63.9% 36
Hillary Clinton 13 36.1% 19
Totals 36 100% 55

State Convention Results

Convention Date: May 17, 2008

National pledged delegates determined: 19 (of 55)

Key:Withdrew
prior to contest
Colorado Democratic presidential state convention, 2008
Candidate At-Large and PLEO delegates[8] Percentage National delegates
Barack Obama 13 68.4% 36
Hillary Clinton 6 31.6% 19
Totals 19 100% 55

Analysis

Barack Obama's large margin of victory in the Colorado Democratic Caucus can be traced to a number of factors. The Clinton campaign largely ignored organizing for caucuses and rather spent their time getting the vote out in bigger, more crucial states that had more delegates up for grabs. The Obama campaign took advantage of this and it ultimately paid off as caucusgoers in Colorado awarded Obama a more than two-to-one margin of victory. Obama performed extremely well statewide and won nearly every county. Clinton performed the best in Eastern Colorado where she won the more rural and conservative counties in the Eastern Slope.

See also

References

  1. Kosena, Jason (2008-02-05). "Republican caucus goers showing up early". The Coloradoan. Retrieved 2008-02-04.
  2. "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2008-02-20. Retrieved 2008-02-18.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  3. "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2008-02-20. Retrieved 2008-02-18.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  4. "Colorado Democratic Caucus". Real Clear Politics. Retrieved 2008-02-04.
  5. Leip, Dave. "2008 Presidential Democratic Primary Election Results". Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections. Retrieved 2008-04-19.
  6. Richard E. Berg-Andersson. "Colorado Democratic Delegation". The Green Papers. Retrieved 2008-05-13.
  7. "Colorado Democratic Congressional District Convention Results". Colorado Democratic Party. Archived from the original on 2008-05-21. Retrieved 2008-05-20.
  8. "Colorado Democratic Party - State Convention Results". Colorado Democratic Party. Archived from the original on 2008-08-06. Retrieved 2008-05-21.
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