Posted on 05/03/2008 7:04:55 PM PDT by Jet Jaguar
HAGATNA, Guam (AP) - Barack Obama defeated Hillary Rodham Clinton by seven votes in the Guam Democratic presidential caucuses Saturday. The count of more than 4,500 ballots took all night.
Neither candidate campaigned in the U.S. island territory in person, but both did long-distance media interviews and bought campaign ads for the caucuses.
Results of the count completed Sunday morning Guam time show delegates pledged to Obama with 2,264 votes to 2,257 for Clinton's slate. That means they'll split the pledged delegate votes. Obama's slate won in 14 of 21 districts.
Eight pledged delegates will attend the convention, each with one-half vote.
U.S. citizens on the island, however, have no vote in the November election.
The territory also sends five superdelegates to the National Convention in August in Denver.
Voters picked two of the superdelegates, electing uncommitted Pilar Lujan party chairman and Jaime Paulina vice chairman. Paulina ran as an Obama supporter. One other existing superdelegate has favored Clinton and the votes of the other two have not been declared.
All-day voting Saturday had people lining up at 21 caucus sites around the U.S. territorial island, which has unexpected importance in a historic Democratic race in which every delegate matters.
There was no direct presidential vote, but each candidate had a slate of supporters on the ballot.
Slow ballot-by-ballot counting went through the night in the territorial legislative building after votes were hand-carried from the caucus sites.
Presidential caucuses on Guam usually pass without much notice from the candidates. This time, Obama and Clinton made their case for the territory's four regular delegates with local advertising and long- distance interviews.
Lines formed early at some caucus sites.
Cynthia Estrada of Dededo said she was making up her mind while waiting to vote, but she was leaning toward Clinton.
"She's had the experience," she said. "She's got her husband to help her."
Yona resident Tommy Shimizu said he was voting for Obama delegates.
"It's the fact that he grew up in Hawaii, and I think he can make change," he said. "I think it's time for that."
Clinton and Obama pitched improved health care and economic opportunity as they courted Guam voters from across the international date line. Both Clinton and Obama say they've got the better health plan for Guamanians.
Obama said in an interview with Pacific Daily News that he would support reexamination of a $5.4 million Medicaid spending limit imposed on the territory. Clinton's husband, former President Bill Clinton, told KUAM radio that his wife would work to remove the cap.
Hillary Clinton also has called for Guamanians to be able to vote in presidential elections.
7 votes!
I would say....THIS WAS A LANDSLIDE FOR OBAMA. That will be the song and battle cry of the modern media.
Yeah, great intellectual reasons for voting for someone!/sheesh
Typical dim voter!
7 votes over Clinton that classic well I know Guam is small LOLOLOL!
“U.S. citizens on the island, however, have no vote in the November election.”
What is that supposed to mean? All US citizens can vote no matter where in the world they are and have gotten a ballot in.
This surprises me - with Obama having spent much of his childhood in Hawaii and Indonesia, it seems to me Democrats in the Pacific region would support him overwhelmingly.
I think it means, if you claim Guam residency, you cannot vote in the General Election.
However, those stationed there by the military, can vote via their home state.
They are US nationals and eligible for a US passport.
But, as residents of a territory, rather than a state, they have no voting rights in federal elections.
In addition, this proves Operation Chaos is a failure since not enough Guamainians switched parties to make Clinton successful. Limbaugh's influence is obviously fading.
[/mainstream-media-mode]
Well, shock of shocks, the article was imprecisely written.
Any US citizen anywhere in the world can vote, assuming s/he got a proper ballot and sent it in on time. My daughter voted from Japan and from England when she lived abroad at the time of US elections.
The wheels have come off. Two months ago Obama would have won Guam by 20%.
Agreed.
Neither did Alaska and Hawaii before they became states. Consequently, their residents couldn't vote in a federal election either.
A citizen who claims residence in a territory cannot vote in a federal election. A citizen who claims residence in a state may vote from anywhere in the world.
Nope, if you are a citizen, but a legal resident of a US territory, rather than one of the several states or the District of Columbia, you don’t get to vote in the Presidential election, since your territory has no electoral votes.
8 votes?
8 votes.
But here is how the article was written:
“U.S. citizens on the island, however, have no vote in the November election”
It doesn’t specify Guam residents, just “U.S. citizens.”
Are natives of Guam (or Puerto Rico) US Citizens? If I move to Guam, I can’t vote for POTUS? So, like so many do in DC, just don’t register there, keep voter registration in a state? (DC has electoral votes now, but no Senator or Representative, so folks who can keep active registrations ‘back home.’)
Is this setting up for the kinds of questions that surround McCain’t ‘natural born citizen’ status should a person from Guam or Puerto RIco end up running for POTUS one day?
It is a poorly worded sentence by our correspondent, probably a product of inferior public education. What they really meant was that US Citizens (nationals) who are residents of Guam have no voting rights in the federal election.
It is a poorly worded sentence by our correspondent, probably a product of inferior public education. What they really meant was that US Citizens (nationals) who are residents of Guam have no voting rights in the federal election.
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