In 2008, Howard Dean, Hillary Clinton, and Bill Richardson are the main candidates for the Democratic nomination for President. Senator John McCain and Senator Jim DeMint are the top two competitors, with the rest of the opposition being Tim Pawlenty, George Pataki, and Secretary of the Treasury Jim Nussle.
Dean, Clinton, and Richardson are constantly near tying it in Iowa, with the final poll the day beforehand showing:
Hillary Clinton: 29%
Howard Dean: 26%
Bill Richardson: 25%
Mike Easley: 12%
Chris Dodd: 2%
Mike Gravel: 1%
The final count is:
Howard Dean: 28.1%
Bill Richardson: 26.9%
Hillary Clinton: 26.5%
Mike Easley: 15.1%
Chris Dodd: 1.5%
Mike Gravel: 1.0%
Other: 0.4%
In New Hampshire, Dean wins over 35% of the vote, with Hillary coming in at just under 29%. While polls the day before gave her a confident five point lead, Dean tears up whe discussing how his brother's death while serving abroad affected his outlook on foreign policy. Voters who had previously seen the DNC Chair as a progressive politician began understanding he was a real person. Mike Easley wins greater than 20% of the vote, while Richardson gets under 15%, drops out, and inclines his favor to Easley.
Dean beats Hillary by under a point in Michigan, and she stages a comeback in Nevada. Easley, however, deals a one-two in South Carolina(39%) and then Florida(37%). He wins a convincing victory in Alabama(43%). Easley then proceeds to split Alaska with Dean, with each taking ~38%. Clinton drops out after February 5, during which she wins Connecticut, New Jersey, and New York. Easley narrowly edged out Hillary in Arkansas but wins stunning victories in Georgia(44%) and Tennessee(40%). Easley then beats Dean in Louisiana(58%), Virginia(52%), Hawaii(51%), and Mississippi(59%). He wins North Carolina lastly with 64% of the vote. Dean beats him by under .1% and Easley triumphs over Dean again in Alaska with 58% of the vote. Texas, Missouri, and Oklahoma are all won by Dean by under .5%. Easley drops out June 1, 2008.
DeMint wins Wyoming, loses New Hampshire 34-33 to McCain, and triumphs in South Carolina. While Pawlenty wins Iowa, Michigan, Nevada, and Florida, he drops out May 7 after only defeating the other two in Minnesota, Maine, Wisconsin, Indiana, Ohio, and Illinois afterwards. McCain drops out May 23 after losing Pennsylvania on April 22 and Kansas on May 22.
DeMint chooses
379: Fmr Gov. Howard Dean(D-VT)/Sen. Blanche Lincoln(D-AR) - 52.1%
159: Sen. Jim DeMint(R-SC)/Fmr Gov. Judy Martz(R-MT) - 44.9%
Third Party
Fmr. Sen. Mike Gravel(L-AK)/Businessman Wayne Allyn Root(L-NV) - 1.5%
Activist David Cobb(Reform/G-TX)/Fmr Mayor Rocky Anderson(Reform/G-UT) - 1.1%
Other: 0.2%
279: President Howard Dean(D-VT)/Senator Joseph Biden(D-DE) - 48.6%
259: Gov. Tim Pawlenty(R-MN)/Sen. Lisa Murkowski(R-AK) - 46.0%
Mayor Rocky Anderson(Reform-UT)/Activist David Cobb(Reform-TX) - 4.0%
Attorney Carl Pearson(L-NY)/Journalist Matt Welch(L-CA) - 0.9%
Other: 0.4%
