The 2008 Arkansas Democratic presidential primary took place 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 35 delegates at stake.
The winner in each of
Arkansas's four congressional districts was awarded all of that district's delegates, totaling 22. Another 13 delegates were awarded to the statewide winner,
Hillary Clinton
Hillary Diane Rodham Clinton ( Rodham; born October 26, 1947) is an American politician, diplomat, and former lawyer who served as the 67th United States Secretary of State for President Barack Obama from 2009 to 2013, as a United States sen ...
. The 35 delegates represented Arkansas at the
Democratic National Convention
The Democratic National Convention (DNC) is a series of presidential nominating conventions held every four years since 1832 by the United States Democratic Party. They have been administered by the Democratic National Committee since the 1852 ...
in
Denver, Colorado
Denver () is a consolidated city and county, the capital, and most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Its population was 715,522 at the 2020 census, a 19.22% increase since 2010. It is the 19th-most populous city in the Unit ...
. Twelve other unpledged delegates, known as
superdelegate
In American politics, a superdelegate is an unpledged delegate to the Democratic National Convention who is seated automatically and chooses for themselves for whom they vote. These Democratic Party superdelegates (who make up slightly under 15 ...
s, also attended the convention and cast their votes as well.
Polling
Results
Analysis
Arkansas, the state where Hillary Clinton served as
First Lady
First lady is an unofficial title usually used for the wife, and occasionally used for the daughter or other female relative, of a non-monarchical
A monarchy is a form of government in which a person, the monarch, is head of state fo ...
during her husband
Bill Clinton
William Jefferson Clinton ( né Blythe III; born August 19, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 42nd president of the United States from 1993 to 2001. He previously served as governor of Arkansas from 1979 to 1981 and agai ...
’s tenure as
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 ...
, gave Clinton her largest victory during the course of the Democratic Primary. She swept the state among every major demographic – age, gender, religion, income, and educational attainment. According to exit polls, 80 percent of voters in the Arkansas Democratic Primary were
Caucasian
Caucasian may refer to:
Anthropology
*Anything from the Caucasus region
**
**
** ''Caucasian Exarchate'' (1917–1920), an ecclesiastical exarchate of the Russian Orthodox Church in the Caucasus region
*
*
*
Languages
* Northwest Caucasian l ...
and they opted for Clinton by a margin of 79-16 compared to the 17 percent of
African Americans
African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...
who backed Obama by a margin of 74–25.
Clinton carried every county in Arkansas by nearly two-to-one margins with the exception of three counties won by Obama:
Crittenden, which contains
West Memphis
West Memphis is the largest city in Crittenden County, Arkansas, Crittenden County, Arkansas, United States. The population was 26,245 at the 2010 United States Census, 2010 census, ranking it as the state's 18th largest city, behind Bella Vista, ...
and is a part of the
Memphis
Memphis most commonly refers to:
* Memphis, Egypt, a former capital of ancient Egypt
* Memphis, Tennessee, a major American city
Memphis may also refer to:
Places United States
* Memphis, Alabama
* Memphis, Florida
* Memphis, Indiana
* Memp ...
Metropolitan Area; and Lee County, Arkansas, Lee and Phillips County, Arkansas, Phillips counties, both predominantly African American and located along the Mississippi River, Mississippi River Delta.
See also
* 2008 Arkansas Republican presidential primary
References
2008 United States Democratic presidential primaries by state
2008 Arkansas elections, Democratic presidential primary
Arkansas Democratic primaries, 2008
2008 Super Tuesday
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