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Feb. 12, 2008: The Potomac Primaries and Caucuses to be held today in District of Columbia (DC), Maryland and Virginia, are expected to witness a record turnover. The record number of absentee ballots received by the polling officials in these states is a clear indicator of the high attendance in the Primaries. Long queues in the polling stations are on the cards, provided the weather holds good. There have been predictions of rain and snow in certain parts of northern and western Maryland and Virginia, and there is an anxiety that the weather may dampen the popular enthusiasm to some degree in certain parts of the participating states.
The reason for the high turnover in the Feb. 12 Primaries is generally attributed to the still undecided state of the Presidential Primaries, particularly for the Democrats. Usually, the Presidential nomination remains quite decided by the time the Primary reaches the Potomac districts. However, the situation seems to be quite different this time around. The Democratic nomination remains as undecided as ever. Under the present circumstances, the 168 delegates at stake in the Potomac Primaries can be an absolutely crucial buy for both the candidates.
The Republican nomination is comparatively more decided, with John McCain as the clear frontrunner. Yet, the victory of Mike Huckabee at the Kansas and the Louisiana Primaries held on Feb. 9 have put a clear question mark on the popularity of McCain among the more religious and conservative sections of Republican voters. There are 116 Republican delegates in these three regions. It will be a test for McCain to extend his popularity among the religious and conservative voters as well.
On the Democratic front, Barack Obama starts off as a favorite, albeit marginally, over Hillary Clinton. The reasons are obvious. First, he is enjoying a dream run from Feb. 9 onwards, winning all the Primaries held on that day, as well as the Maine Caucuses on Feb. 10. Some of these caucuses were won by significant margins, narrowing down the gap between himself and Sen. Clinton in terms of delegate counts. Second, the three districts have a sizable concentration of Black and highly qualified voters: two sections that have consistently showed their support for Obama in the previous Primaries.
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