As of Thursday, 29 percent of Oregon voters statewide had turned in their ballots.
(SALEM, Ore. ) - The Democratic race for the White House is getting just as hot as the temperatures in Oregon.
In 90-plus degree heat, Sen. Barack Obama and his wife, Michelle, stopped their Oregon campaign swing yesterday, for ice cream at Prince Puckler's Gourmet Ice Cream and Coffee a few blocks from the University of Oregon campus in Eugene. Michelle had the traditional Chocolate, while her husband went a different route with Mint Chip and a slice of Green Tea on the side according to the Obama Campaign. After the Eugene ice cream stop, the Obama's headed south, and made a surprise stop in Keizer for the annual Keizer Iris Festival looking to secure the state's 52 pledged delegates, and pull the plug Tuesday on the Clinton Campaign, which most believe is on life-support.
Earlier on Saturday, Obama, during a town-hall meeting in Roseburg hit on several key issues for Oregonians including: doctor-assisted suicide, same-sex marriage, and the need to turn the page on the failed Bush-McCain health care policies. During a campaign fundraiser Saturday night in Portland, Obama said in order for Democrats to win in Novemeber it will require a unified Party and that means all of you have to be nice to Clinton supporters.
OBAMA OREGON UPDATE:
Whoever said Oregonains don't know how to throw a great party had better think again.
Sunday afternoon, an estimated 75,000 people -- 60,000 inside the gates and another 15,000 outside -- some even on boats and rafts on the Willamette River -- jammed Waterfront Park in downtown Portland to hear Sen. Barack Obama speak at a rally.
“Hello Portland! Wow. Wow. Wow, this is unbelievable,” he yelled as the huge crowd chanted “Obama!” Obama told reporters when asked if he was going to declare victory on Tuesday after the Oregon vote: “We think we will have a majority of pledged delegates at that point and that’s a pretty significant mark.”
OBAMA GIVES KENTUCKY TO CLINTON - BILL AND CHELSEA TRY TO SWAY MORE OREGON VOTERS:
Hillary, who must win Oregon to have any hope of capturing the nomination, spent Saturday in Kentucky. The Bluegrass State votes on the same day as Oregon, and she is expected to score a blow-out win. She has put all of her hopes on winning in the Beaver State on her husband, former President Bill Clinton, and former First Daughter, Chelsea. The dynamic duo, will hold a rally at the Salem Riverfront Park Amphitheatre on Sunday. The "Solutions for America" event is scheduled to run from 2:45 - 4:00 PM. Beofre the Salem, event, the pair will participate in an "I Have a Dream" Foundation Service Project at Woodlawn Elementary School in Portland. After Salem, the pair will travel south to Ashland for another "Solutions for America" event at Southern Oregon University in the Stevenson Union Courtyard at 5:15 PM.
According to both campaign's, neither candidate will be in Oregon on Tuesday. Clinton is expected to be in Kentucky, while Obama, is scheduled to be in Iowa, the state who's caucuses first established him as a viable contender for the nomination.
As if Hillary needed more bad news, The Associated Press reported today that a vote of more than 2,500 convention delegates broke 55-45 percent in Obama's favor, giving Obama 14 of Nevada's 25 pledged delegates to the National Democratic Convention in Denver this summer to Clinton's 11. Obama also added delegate pickups in Kansas and Maryland.
2,026 delegates are needed to get the Democratic nomination. Barack Obama has 1,904 to 1,717 for Clinton. That means Obama needs only 122 more delegates in the next five contests (Kentucky, Oregon, Puerto Rico, South Dakota, and Montana) to become the nominee. There are 260-plus superdelegates who are yet to be claimed and are not bound by the outcome of any state's vote.
As of Thursday, 29 percent of Oregon voters statewide had turned in their ballots. In the mid-Willamette Valley, Marion County as of Saturday was at 38 percent; Polk County was at 31 percent, and Linn County was at 28 percent, both of those numbers were last reported on Thursday.
Obama Could Pull The Plug on Clinton Campaign Tuesday
Salem-News.com