Delaware Primary Election Results - February 5 & 8, 2000

Bush 15,102 (37%)

McCain 7,547 (18%)

Gore 6,347 (15%)

Forbes 5,857 (14%)

Bradley 4,465 (11%)

Keyes 1,138 ( 3%)

Bauer 116 (0.2%)

Hatch 21 (0.05%)

Total Vote 40,593 (8.7%)

Analysis

The Delaware primary was a non-event. New Hampshire, wanting to remain the first in the nation primary, pressured candidates to skip Delaware, which had its primary 5 days later. So, the Republican Party chose not to participate in the state run primary on Saturday, February 5^th, and held its own primary on Tuesday, February 8^th.

The Democratic contest was a popularity poll, pure and simple. No delegates were at stake. And the Republican primary was run by the Republican Party, not by the state. Not surprisingly, less than 9% of the voters took part.

Nevertheless, McCain's second place finish after not contesting the Delaware primary was enough to knock Steve Forbes out of the race. The bad news for Bush is that he barely won a majority of the Republican voters. And the bad news for Bush and Forbes is that the best funded candidates are losing. Forbes probably spent in the neighborhood of $500 or more per vote or caucus attendee. The Supreme Court should take note, the American voter is not for sale. They know that, in the end, presidential elections are not about money or flat taxes or character or pecadillos or anything except choosing a Commander in Chief in whose hands all our very lives, now that the human race can destroy itself with nuclear weapons, hang in the balance.

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Contact: Joshua Leinsdorf