The 2008 Virginia Democratic presidential primary took place on February 12, 2008, an election day nicknamed the "

Potomac Primary The Potomac primary (named after the river that splits the region), also called Chesapeake Tuesday, the Beltway primary, and the Crabcake primary, is the confluence of three Democratic presidential primaries and three Republican presidential pri ...

" because the

District of Columbia ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

and

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It shares borders with Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware and the Atlantic Ocean to ...

also held Democratic primaries. The Virginia Democratic primary was an

open primary Primary elections, or direct primary are a voting process by which voters can indicate their preference for their party's candidate, or a candidate in general, in an upcoming general election, local election, or by-election. Depending on the c ...

, and was competitive for the first time since 1988.

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 ...

won the primary, as he did the other Potomac contests that day.

Candidates

Six national candidates appeared on the ballot in the Virginia primary. However, all but Obama and

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 ...

had withdrawn prior to the primary on February 12.

Remaining

* New York Senator Hillary Clinton * Illinois Senator Barack Obama

Eliminated

* Former North Carolina Senator

John Edwards Johnny Reid Edwards (born June 10, 1953) is an American lawyer and former politician who served as a U.S. senator from North Carolina. He was the Democratic nominee for vice president in 2004 alongside John Kerry, losing to incumbents George ...

''Dropped out on January 30, 2008'' * Ohio Representative Dennis Kucinich ''Dropped out on January 25, 2008 '' * New Mexico Governor

Bill Richardson William Blaine Richardson III (born November 15, 1947) is an American politician, author, and diplomat who served as the 30th governor of New Mexico from 2003 to 2011. He was also the U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations and Energy Secretary ...

''Dropped out on January 10, 2008'' * Delaware Senator Joe Biden ''Dropped out on January 3, 2008''

Background

The prior week, Barack Obama had beaten Hillary Clinton in

Nebraska Nebraska () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by South Dakota to the north; Iowa to the east and Missouri to the southeast, both across the Missouri River; Kansas to the south; Colorado to the sout ...

(68%-32%), in

Washington Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United States ** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered o ...

(68%-31%) and in

Louisiana Louisiana , group=pronunciation (French: ''La Louisiane'') is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It is the 20th-smallest by area and the 25th most populous of the 50 U.S. states. Louisiana is borde ...

(57%-36%) by large margins. The Clinton Campaign looked towards the primary in Virginia as well as those in

and

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

which were held on the same day. Though Hillary Clinton spent more resources in the Maryland Primary, she also campaigned in Virginia, particularly in Northern Virginia.

Strategy

The Barack Obama campaign divided Virginia into 4 regions in which to campaign:

Northern Virginia Northern Virginia, locally referred to as NOVA or NoVA, comprises several counties and independent cities in the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. It is a widespread region radiating westward and southward from Washington, D.C. Wit ...

, Richmond,

Charlottesville Charlottesville, colloquially known as C'ville, is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia. It is the county seat of Albemarle County, which surrounds the city, though the two are separate legal entities. It is named after Queen Ch ...

, and the

Tidewater region Tidewater refers to the north Atlantic coastal plain region of the United States of America. Definition Culturally, the Tidewater region usually includes the low-lying plains of southeast Virginia, northeastern North Carolina, southern Mary ...

in the southeast. He was expected to do well with affluent and independent voters, as well as with African-American voters, who could total 25% of the vote on primary day. The Hillary Clinton campaign said it would focus its efforts on

Prince William William, Prince of Wales, (William Arthur Philip Louis; born 21 June 1982) is the heir apparent to the British throne. He is the elder son of King Charles III and his first wife Diana, Princess of Wales. Born in London, William was educa ...

and

Loudoun Loudoun ( gd, Lughdan) is a parish in East Ayrshire, Scotland and lies between five and ten miles east of Kilmarnock. The parish roughly encompasses the northern half of the Upper-Irvine Valley and borders Galston Parish (which encompasses the ...

counties, especially older white professional women, and also in the unemployment plagued

Southwest Virginia Southwest Virginia, often abbreviated as SWVA, is a mountainous region of Virginia in the westernmost part of the commonwealth. Located within the broader region of western Virginia, Southwest Virginia has been defined alternatively as all Virg ...

Polling

Barack Obama had a significant lead over Hillary Clinton in final polling throughout the state. FINAL POLLING

Results

References

{{2008Demprimaries

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...

2008 Virginia elections

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