A while back I read an article that mentioned John Edwards being endorsed by a plurality of the chairs of the Democratic Party county committees. I can’t remember where I read this, though, and I can’t seem to find it again.
Does anyone out there have detailed information about which county chairs have endorsed presidential candidates, and whom they have endorsed? I would imagine that so far Edwards and Vilsack have the lion’s share of the endorsements at this level, but I would like to see confirmation of this.
I would also be interested in knowing how many county chairs endorsed presidential candidates in 2004 and which candidates they endorsed, if this information is out there somewhere.
1 Comment
Harstad Research poll from October
The poll is discussed over here.
It was the October 2006 poll that had Edwards way out in front in Iowa:
John Edwards 36%
Hillary Clinton 16%
Barack Obama 13%
Tom Vilsack 11%
Among Democratic Party leaders (county chairs and vice chairs, I recall from the DM Register story) the numbers were:
Edwards 40%
Vilsack 15%
Obama 11%
Clinton 8%
Now of course, this was before “Obamamania” and Clinton’s announcement, and polls have since been all over the map — mostly Edwards in the 20s, Obama in the teens and Clinton anywhere from 10 to 35 (but only in ARG polls, which don’t appear to screen very tightly for caucusgoers).
One would expect that county leaders would be significantly more difficult to sway by the ups and downs of the early process, so while Edwards might not have 40% of Iowa party officials locked up, he’s probably still got a very solid lead over the other three.
What Edwards really needed to accomplish around the beginning of this year was to establish himself as part of the top tier, rather than allow the media to paint it simply as a Clinton vs. Obama race. I think the general consensus is that he has accomplished that. Now he has to show that he can raise enough money to be competitive. Early reports indicate that he is doing that, also.
meanboneii Sun 18 Feb 4:01 AM