GRAY: Mississippi presidential primary actually means something
This year is different in Mississippi, as it is across the country. Depending on what happens in Texas and Ohio the week before, our Democratic primary could be pivotal for either Hillary Clinton or Barack Obama, even with a relatively few delegates – only 40 – at stake. While the Republican race is unofficially locked up for John McCain, it’s conceivable that as the lone primary that day, Mississippi’s GOP voting could officially put McCain over the top.
Obama is a good bet to win the Mississippi Democratic primary, just as he has pulled off wins in South Carolina, Georgia, Alabama and Louisiana. He rode big turnouts by black voters in those states; Mississippi has a higher percentage of African-Americans than any of them. The competitive Republican congressional primaries in the 1st and 3rd District will draw mostly white voters and produce an even higher black voting percentage on the Democratic side, giving Obama what should be a solid win over Clinton.
Lloyd Gray
NE MS Daily Journal
2/17/8