Democrats Clinton, Obama Locked In Tight Race In New Mexico Caucuses

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) – New Mexico’s Democratic presidential caucuses went into overtime Wednesday.

The day after Super Tuesday, only 210 votes separated Hillary Rodham Clinton and Barack Obama, four precincts were still out and more than 16,000 ballots remained to be counted. With 180 of 184 precincts reporting, Clinton held a slim lead – 66,173 votes, compared with 65,963 for Obama. Both had roughly 48 percent of the vote.

Clinton and Obama are vying for 26 of New Mexico’s 38 delegates to the Democratic National Convention. Twelve so-called superdelegates are not bound by caucus results.

State Democratic Party Chairman Brian Colon said results from four precincts were delayed because the county chairs could not be reached. About 16,870 provisional ballots also remained to be tallied.

New Mexico is the last of 22 states that held Democratic primaries and caucuses Tuesday to report a winner.

Significantly greater-than-expected turnout surprised state party officials. Voters often met with long lines and many polling sites across the state ran short of ballots.

“The turnout’s off the charts,” Colon said at party headquarters in Albuquerque. “We’re just thrilled and overwhelmed with the turnout.”

Lt. Gov. Diane Denish, chairwoman of Clinton’s campaign in New Mexico, said the provisional ballots were the “big unknown” in naming a winner.

The counting of provisional ballots was to begin Wednesday afternoon, but party officials had no estimate on when results would be available.

Provisional ballots are given to voters who show up at the wrong site, whose names are not on registered voter lists or who requested an absentee ballot, but signed an affidavit saying they did not return it, Colon said.

Statewide, provisional ballots accounted for 10 to 12 percent of all votes cast, he said.

Gov. Bill Richardson credited a last-minute blitz of candidate visits to the state for the big turnout, which he said indicated an “enormous thirst for change.”

Richardson also predicted a final New Mexico tally for Clinton and Obama that is “within one or two percent either way.”

According to preliminary results from exit polls of Democrats leaving New Mexico caucus voting sites, Clinton ran strongly among Hispanics – men as well as women. White, non-Hispanic voters, regardless of gender, favored Obama.

Exit polling also showed that Obama was the clear favorite of liberal Democrats; Clinton led slightly among self-described moderates, who often are swing voters in general elections in New Mexico.

Richardson had been favored to win the caucuses before he dropped out of the Democratic race last month. His name remained on New Mexico’s ballot, but he had less than 1 percent of the vote with 69 of 184 precincts reporting.

Richardson has declined so far to endorse either of his rivals despite heavy courting.