Semi-Super Saturday and Sunday Thread

David Weigel | February 9, 2008

The week was surfeited with politics, so I've pushed the open thread to the weekend, when Democrats and Republicans will be holding caucuses or primaries in five states.

The Week in Brief

- Twenty-four states held Super Tuesday primaries. On the Democratic side, Barack Obama won more states and delegates, while Hillary Clinton won the biggest states by surprising margins, and the race remained deadlocked.
- The Republican primaries cleared out the field, with John McCain sweeping the big states (Rudy Giuliani's old citadels), Mitt Romney winning the small caucuses and his home states of Massachusetts and Utah, and Mike Huckabee holding his own in the South.
- Mitt Romney quit the race, refusing to tamp down rumors of another run in four years.
- Ron Paul blew the doors off at CPAC and then made it clear he was not going to run as an independent.

The Weekend Races
As ever I'd suggest looking to the exit poll hoarding/quick updating CNN site for updates.

Kansas caucuses (GOP only)
The winner gets 39 delegates, 27 statewide (winner-take-all) and 12 for each congressional district (also WTA) and Mike Huckabee just won it.

Louisiana primaries
The Democrats (67 delegates) - Barack Obama will easily win, running up the score in the 2nd (New Orleans) and 6th (Baton Rouge) districts. Speculation that post-Katrina black flight would limit Obama's support is off-base, as the primary turnout will remain almost half black and a lot of those ex-9th Warders are in Baton Rouge.
The Republicans (47 delegates) - It'll be an interesting test of Mike Huckabee's Southern support--it's not quite like Arkansas here, but he was able to win Kansas... potentially, he can limit John McCain to a 1-2 record today.

Nebraska caucuses (Dems only)
Barack Obama will win in a landslide.

Washington caucuses
The Democrats (97 delegates) - The final polls showed Obama leading by about 25 points among Democratic caucusers, and Gov. Christine Gregoire endorsed him on Friday, so he should win comfortably.
The Republicans (18 delegates) - The moderate GOP vote will give it to John McCain.

Feb. 10

Maine caucuses (Dems only)
This is the lone down-to-the-wire race of the weekend, and Obama's campaign expects Hillary to win it. She's got the big names in the state; he's had his New Hampshire organizer camped out here for a month.

This week's Politics 'n' Prog is a tribute to John McCain: Porcupine Tree's "Lazarus."