The news orgs have already called the Kentucky primary for Hillary Clinton. I heard Wolf Blitzer of CNN predict the margin may be as large as 30 points.
With 51% of the precincts reporting, Hillary is ahead 22 points:
I'll update as the numbers roll in.
UPDATE 8:11 PM: Clinton is now up 32 points with 60% of precincts reporting:
Hillary is about to give her victory speech in Louisville, KY. Woo hoo! The crowd chants, "Hillary! Hillary!"
Here's a rough transcript:
"If we only had a president ready, willing, and able to lead..." [Yes we will! chants]...
She said she didn't stay in the race to "prove her toughness" but because of a "determination"... "by never giving up and never giving in... I'm going on now to campaign in Montana, South Dakota, and Puerto Rico and keep standing up for the voters of Florida and Michigan.... they deserve to have their votes counted... and that's why I'm going to keep making that case for the nominee whoever she may be... [Crowd roars.]
"Kentucky has a knack for picking presidents... two terms to a president named Clinton... and it's often been said as Kentucky goes, so goes the nation... who's ready to lead our party at the top of the ticket... who is ready to defeat Sen. McCain in the swing states... who is ready on day one? ...Me.
"I'm thinking of all the women... to break the hardest glass ceiling in the land...
"We will unite our country... and thank you.. and God bless America!"
A CNN commenter remarked about a KY sign: "Kentucky says hold your horses."
8:41 PM: With 88% of the precincts reporting, Hillary thumps Obama in KY by 35 points.
8:58 PM: Hillary mentioned that Kentucky has "a knack for picking presidents." In general elections, the bluegrass state is 10 for 10:
Below are the lackluster KY primary numbers for John McCain:
A panel from the CNN exit poll in KY:
How to read exit polls
9:46 PM: Data from KY exit polls indicate that Obama doesn't appeal to Hillary voters.
Two-thirds of Clinton's supporters there said they would vote Republican or not vote at all rather than for Obama, according to the polls.
Forty-one percent of Clinton supporters said they'd cast their vote for John McCain, the presumptive Republican nominee, and 23 percent said they would not vote at all.
Just 33 percent said they would back Obama in the general election, according to the polls.
Those numbers are even worse for Obama than in West Virginia one week ago, where 36 percent of Clinton voters said they would back him in the fall.
10:32 PM: With 100% of KY's precincts reporting:
Now the map. Of the two counties that Obama won in KY, he got 51% to Clinton's 46% in Fayette, and 53% to Hillary's 44% in Jefferson.
Consolation prize: at least he won two counties compared to a big fat goose egg in West Virginia last Tuesday.
SOURCES: Screen grabs of KY primary numbers and map from CNN.
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