No surprises — or not many

For the most part, the night has gone as originally expect — Democrats split, with Clinton taking New Jersey and Obama taking some of the midwestern states; Republicans backing McCain.

And then there’s Mike. Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee has won several Southern contests, with John McCain winning but not winning big across the board. This raises the question of whether the social conservatives are holding out on the Arizona senator and whether this portends problems for the fragmenting conservative coalition.

Another thing to watch, as the numbers continue to come in from Arizona, is how big McCain wins in his home state. Clinton, Obama, Romney and Huckabee all won big at home, and McCain’s lead is rather large in Arizona. But as I write this, he’s failed to cross the majority threshold, pulling in 49 percent of the vote there with 31 percent of the precincts reporting. That means that 51 percent of Arizona Republicans voted for someone other than their own sitting senator. Not sure if this means anything, but it does raise some interesting questions.

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Author: hankkalet

Hank Kalet is a poet and freelance journalist. He is the economic needs reporter for NJ Spotlight, teaches journalism at Rutgers University and writing at Middlesex County College and Brookdale Community College. He writes a semi-monthly column for the Progressive Populist. He is a lifelong fan of the New York Mets and New York Knicks, drinks too much coffee and attends as many Bruce Springsteen concerts as his meager finances will allow. He lives in South Brunswick with his wife Annie. View all posts by hankkalet