A SurveyUSA poll released last week indicated New York Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton was leading Illinois Sen. Barack Obama in Indiana’s Democratic presidential primary race.
The poll put Clinton’s support at 52 percent. Obama has 43 percent.
The poll surveyed 530 likely primary voters and was conducted at the end of March. The margin of error is 4.3 percentage points. The poll was paid for by two TV stations along the border in Ohio and Kentucky.
Obama leads among young voters, with Clinton ahead among older voters. Clinton leads among whites, Obama among blacks. As for geography, Obama leads in greater Indianapolis, with Clinton ahead in northern, central and southern Indiana.
Both are vying for Indiana’s 72 delegates.
That same poll also gauged the Democratic gubernatorial race between Jim Schellinger and Jill Long Thompson.
They are about even given the margin of error, with Schellinger at 41 percent to Long Thompson’s 39 percent. The winner will face GOP Gov. Mitch Daniels.
Schellinger leads in all geographic areas of the state except northern Indiana, where Long Thompson served as a U.S. congresswoman.
“This survey confirms what people have been telling me as I travel the state, which is that Hoosiers are ready for leadership that listens to them and their concerns,” Schellinger said. “More importantly, the people of Indiana recognize that the last thing we need is another four years of politics as usual. I’m not a career politician, and I think the voters recognize that our campaign represents the best chance to beat Mitch Daniels and bring the change Hoosiers want to Indiana government.”
Jeff Harris, spokesman for Long Thompson, said he doesn’t put much credence in the SurveyUSA poll because it uses an automated, touch-dialing process.
“It’s been widely discredited by both professional pollsters and independent news organizations,” he said. “We are focused on running a positive campaign and talking about issues. Our polls continue to show Jill has a commanding lead.”
Battleground state
Terry McAuliffe, Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton’s campaign chairman, made it quite clear the importance of northeast Indiana voter turnout for his candidate during his stop last week.
McAuliffe was in town to open Clinton’s local campaign office on Fairfield Avenue. He said it is vital for the party to have a fighter win the nomination, saying Vice President Al Gore should have won easily in 2000, but Democrats didn’t fight hard enough. He also said Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., should have won in 2004 but didn’t respond quickly enough to criticism about his military record.
He said Clinton will be that fighter in the fall election, but it will be important for Hoosiers to support her this May. He said about 20 percent of the state’s population gets Chicago television – which he called Obama’s networks, as Sen. Barack Obama hails from Illinois. To balance that out, he said other areas of the state, including Fort Wayne and surrounding areas will need to come out strongly for Clinton.
Henry stays neutral
Despite taking an early stand in his party’s gubernatorial primary, Mayor Tom Henry has been a cautious cat while talking with the Democrats’ presidential hopefuls.
Henry publicly endorsed Jim Schellinger for governor over Jill Long Thompson in February. But while he has attended campaign events for both Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, D-N.Y., and Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., he hasn’t declared whom he supports.
Last week, as Clinton’s campaign manager was in town to open the candidate’s local campaign office, Henry took the time to introduce him but was quite careful with his words.
While lauding the group for its enthusiasm, he also told the Clinton supporters, “Sen. Obama is coming here. We need to welcome him with open arms.”
When asked about the race, Henry said he has yet to decide whom to support, although it is clear he enjoys taking part in the process.
Buy time with mayor
People itching for some time with Mayor Tom Henry will have a chance to buy it this week.
Lunch with the mayor is one of 175 items available at the Indiana University-Purdue University Fort Wayne Child Care Center Silent Auction. The auction begins 8 a.m. Thursday and finishes a week later at www.ipfw.edu/childcar . The items will be available for perusal Tuesday.
Proceeds from the sales will buy playground equipment and help families in financial crisis pay for child chare so they can continue attending classes at IPFW.
Deadline nears
With all the excitement surrounding Indiana’s primary vote, Hoosiers should make sure they aren’t left out.
The deadline to register to vote in the May primary is Monday.
In Allen County, the voter registration office on the first floor of the City County Building is open from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Mailed registrations must be postmarked by Monday to count for this year’s election. People with questions can call 449-7154 in Allen County.
Voters across the state can check their voting status and polling place at IndianaVoters.com.
Monday is also the first day people can vote in person at their election board offices.
