NPR: "Do-Over" Primary in Michigan on "Life Support"

"Do-Over" Primary in Michigan on "Life Support"

The chance for "do-over" primaries in Michigan and Florida seem to be receding as fast as the ice in the Arctic circle.

The MIRS News Service in Michigan (subscription based, so no link, sorry) reports that "Senate Democrats emerged from a closed-door caucus this morning and proclaimed that a fledging idea floated by top Michigan Democrats to create a special June 3 primary election is all but dead."

"Sen. Gretchen Whitmer, a supporter of Hillary CLINTON, also conceded the chances of a June 3 redo of the Democratic presidential primary were slim. She stopped short of declaring it dead, saying instead that it was "on life support" and in need of CPR."

The Detroit Free Press reports that the members of the Michigan Senate says the proposal's survival is dependent on the backing of Sen. Barack Obama.

"The do-over primary is backed by Hillary Clinton and some of Michigan's most influential Democrats. But [Senate Majority Leader Mike Bishop, R-Rochester] said Republicans have considerable misgivings about the prospect of authorizing a second election to begin with, and won't consider it unless the Democrats are unified."

Last night the Obama campaign criticized the proposal. It will not allow any one who voted in the Republican primary to vote in the do-over. But exit polls show that 32 percent of GOP primary voters were Democrats and independents who may have voted in that primary because there was no real contest in the Democratic one.

2:52 PM ET | 03-18-2008 | permalink

Comments (Send a comment)

Why would the Obama campaign be against a do-over primary. As an Obama supporter, I do not understand or agree with that position.

Sent by Heather | 3:22 PM ET | 03-18-2008

Heather,

Because the current proposal would prevent Michigan Democrats, like myself, from voting in the do-over primary because we voted in the Republican Primary, and it would also prevent Independents, a strong base for Obama, from voting also. That basically means that the primary results would end up the same as they were, expect that Obama would end up with those people who voted for uncommitted.

Our state leaders were greedy and stupid in their attempt to leverage Michigan's influence and now they're paying the price. There shouldn't be any blaming of the DNC for enforcing rules that the states KNEW when the scheduled the primary.

Sent by Reagan | 4:06 PM ET | 03-18-2008

The fact that Florida and Michigan aren't going to run "do-over" primaries spells the end of the Clinton Campaign. Senator Clinton needed those "do-over" votes to keep this thing going, and to have a chance of winning. Withpot Florida and Michigan re-dos she has no hope of winning even the popular vote total, much less delegates. The DNC is not going to violate its own rules. The DNC will either spilt the Florida and Michigan delegates 50/50 between the candidates, or, they will wait until after the nominee is decided to seat the Michigan and Florida Delegations. Either way, Senator Clinton will end up netting ZERO delegate gains from these two states. Mrs. Clinton has no possibility of surmounting Senator Obama's lead in pledged delegates, no matter how the upcoming 10 delegate contests turn out. Throw in today's USA Today Poll showing that a clear majority of Democrats want the super delegates to vote for whoever wins the most pledged delegates, and you can see why people are beginning to conclude that this race is over, and that Senator Clinton cannot win. Once they come to that realization, the Super-Delegates are going to have to ask themselves why they should cause the Obama campaign to expend more of its resources just to reach a known and unchangable outcome. If Senator Obama is going to win no matter how the next 10 contests come out, then why is Senator Clinton still in the race? And how will three more months of pounding by Senator Clinton make the Democratic Nominee, Senator Obama, more electable? At this point, it's ridiculous for the uncommitted super delegates to keep sitting on the sidelines. They need to put this contest to bed and start focusing on McCain.

Sent by Long Tall Texan | 4:08 PM ET | 03-18-2008

It doesn't appear from the article that the Obama campaign is against the do-over; they are just against Republican primary voters voting in the do-over, since the issue's a Democratic candidate one.

Sent by Leonard | 4:12 PM ET | 03-18-2008

Why would the Obama campaign not support a do-over primary? Because many of their supporters would be excluded by virtue of having voted in the Republican primary since he wasn't on the Democratic ballot.

Sent by Sara | 4:12 PM ET | 03-18-2008

He is against the do-over because it is one-sided. The story reports that it will be a Democratic do-over not a primary do-over. This means that the people who wanted to vote for Barack could not because he was not on the ballot so they voted for McCain. If there is a total primary do-over it means everyone will have a chance to vote for the candidate they want to see as president not the candidate on the ballot.

Sent by Yolanda | 4:14 PM ET | 03-18-2008

Not that hard to understand - With Hillary winning the sham primary that she herself dismissed, its almost like Obama has to run against an incumbent. Plus, most Obama supporters voted in the GOP primary and now wouldn't be able to vote in the re-do. Why would Obama want to take part in such a do-over?

Sent by Gaurav | 4:57 PM ET | 03-18-2008

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