Sen. Hillary Clinton
To: Interested Parties\
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Fr: The Obama Campaign\
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Re: A fundamentally unchanged race\
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Da: 4/22/08\
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Tonight, Hillary Clinton lost her last, best chance to make significant inroads in the pledged delegate count. \
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The only surprising result from Pennsylvania is that in a state considered tailor-made for Hillary Clinton that she was expected to win, Barack Obama was able to improve his standing among key voter groups since the Ohio primary. For example, among white voters, Obama narrowed the gap with Clinton by six points. Among voters over 60, he nearly cut the gap in half, from 41 points to 24 points. And Independent voters - the group that will decide the general election and a group Obama is particularly strong with - were not able to vote in Not surprisingly, she led by as much as 25 points in the weeks leading up to the election.\
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As he has done in every state, Barack Obama campaigned hard to pick up as much support and as many delegates as possible and was able to stave off Clinton from achieving a significant pledged delegate gain from Pennsylvania.\
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The bottom line is that the Pennsylvania outcome does not change dynamic of this lengthy primary. While there were 158 delegates at stake there, there are fully 157 up for grabs in the Indiana and North Carolina primaries on May 6.
SEE RELATED:
As of 11:30PM tonight, we are at nearly $2.5 million since PA was called for HRC - 80% of that money is coming from new donors to the campaign. It’s our best night ever.\
overkill
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Thanks to you, we won a critically important victory tonight in Pennsylvania. It’s a giant step forward that will transform the landscape of the presidential race. And it couldn’t have happened without you.\
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There will be much more to do beginning tomorrow. But tonight, let’s just celebrate the fact that you and I are part of a remarkable community of people tough enough, passionate enough, and determined enough to win big when everything is on the line.\
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Thanks so much for all you do.\
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Sincerely,\
Hillary Rodham Clinton
— Christina Bellantoni, national political reporter, The Washington Times
