The 2008 Kansas Democratic presidential caucuses took held on

Super Tuesday Super Tuesday is the United States presidential primary election day in February or March when the greatest number of U.S. states hold primary elections and caucuses. Approximately one-third of all delegates to the presidential nominating co ...

, February 5, 2008, with 21 delegates at stake. The remaining 11 delegates were selected at the Kansas Democratic Party District Conventions on April 12.Kansas Democratic Delegation 2008
/ref> The state, and a majority of its delegates, were won by

Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, Obama was the first African-American president of the U ...

Process

The Kansas Democratic Caucus was open to all registered Democrats, non-Democrats, 17-year-olds eligible to vote by the general election, and new voters who could register or re-register at the door. Surrogates were permitted for religious observance, military service, legislative service, or physical disability. At the caucus, participants gathered into preference groups. There was a 15-percent minimum threshold required for viability at the precinct level, with re-caucusing among all participants permitted. After re-caucusing, the results were tallied and reported to state party headquarters, and delegates were selected to Congressional District Conventions on April 12, who then selected delegates to the Kansas Democratic Party State Convention on May 17. In Kansas, delegates' pledges are binding to congressional districts at the precinct level, unlike most other caucuses, where delegates are unpledged up to the Congressional District Convention level.

Polls

Results

Local Unit Convention Results

Convention Date: February 5, 2008 National Pledged Delegates Determined: 21 (of 32)

District Convention Results

Allocation of delegates to candidates was pre-determined by the results of the local unit conventions on February 5. Only the persons filling the roles of delegates and alternates were chosen at this event. Convention Date: April 12, 2008 National Pledged Delegates Determined: 0 (of 32)

State Convention Results

Convention Date: May 17, 2008

Analysis

As he did throughout all other states that held caucuses, Barack Obama defeated Hillary Rodham Clinton by a nearly three-to-one margin in Kansas, one of the reddest states in the nation. Obama, however, had roots in Kansas, as it was the state where his mother was born and raised. Obama also received a huge endorsement from former

Governor A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...

Kathleen Sebelius Kathleen Sebelius (; née Gilligan, born May 15, 1948) is an American businesswoman and politician who served as the 21st United States secretary of Health and Human Services from 2009 until 2014. As Secretary of Health and Human Services, Sebeli ...

who was at the time a very popular Democratic Governor in a very Republican state. The endorsement by Sebelius, who went on to serve as Secretary of Health & Human Services in the Obama Administration, along with Obama's roots in the state, may have contributed to his large victory in the Kansas Democratic Primary. He won a majority of counties and carried all four of the state's congressional districts. Clinton only carried three counties in the state -

Franklin Franklin may refer to: People * Franklin (given name) * Franklin (surname) * Franklin (class), a member of a historical English social class Places Australia * Franklin, Tasmania, a township * Division of Franklin, federal electoral d ...

Linn Linn may refer to: People * Linn (surname) * Linn (given name) * Linn da Quebrada, stage name of Brazilian singer, actress, screenwriter and television personality Lina Pereira dos Santos (born 1990) Places Germany * Linn (Gangkofen), a part ...

and

Miami Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a East Coast of the United States, coastal metropolis and the County seat, county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade C ...

(both Miami and Linn are situated along the state's border with

Missouri Missouri is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking List of U.S. states and territories by area, 21st in land area, it is bordered by eight states (tied for the most with Tennessee ...

where Clinton did far better). Clinton also tied Obama in 16 counties but these were relatively

rural In general, a rural area or a countryside is a geographic area that is located outside towns and cities. Typical rural areas have a low population density and small settlements. Agricultural areas and areas with forestry typically are describ ...

and far less populated areas that could not be overweighed by his margins in the more populated,

urban Urban means "related to a city". In that sense, the term may refer to: * Urban area, geographical area distinct from rural areas * Urban culture, the culture of towns and cities Urban may also refer to: General * Urban (name), a list of people ...

areas including

Kansas City The Kansas City metropolitan area is a bi-state metropolitan area anchored by Kansas City, Missouri. Its 14 counties straddle the border between the U.S. states of Missouri (9 counties) and Kansas (5 counties). With and a population of more ...

Lawrence Lawrence may refer to: Education Colleges and universities * Lawrence Technological University, a university in Southfield, Michigan, United States * Lawrence University, a liberal arts university in Appleton, Wisconsin, United States Preparator ...

Topeka Topeka ( ; Kansa: ; iow, Dópikˀe, script=Latn or ) is the capital city of the U.S. state of Kansas and the seat of Shawnee County. It is along the Kansas River in the central part of Shawnee County, in northeast Kansas, in the Central Un ...

, and Wichita.

References

{{2008Demprimaries

Kansas Kansas () is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its capital is Topeka, and its largest city is Wichita. Kansas is a landlocked state bordered by Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to the ...

2008 Kansas elections

2008 File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing; ...

2008 Super Tuesday