…would that leave the post-Jefferson-Jackson dinner rally down from three presidential candidates speaking to one? The JJ dinner is the biggest annual fundraising event for Georgia Democrats. At various points, Edwards, Clinton and Obama were scheduled to appear. Obama bailed, apparently thinking Georgia was a lock.
CNN claims Edwards and Giuliani are quitting.
Edwards was polling at 13 percent late last week, so sayeth Rasmussen. Obama led Hillary Clinton by a slim margin, 41 to 35 percent.
Does that mean Edwards would skip the dinner, or would he show up and stump for someone? Who will those 13 percent vote for if Edwards is indeed out? Amy Morton is a big Edwards supporter, would love to hear her thoughts.
Also, should Obama reconsider? Georgia appears not to be a lock for him with that 13 percent in play.
Update 10 a.m. CNN claims he doesn’t plan to endorse anybody immediately, but might in the future. So it’s probably safe to say he wouldn’t show up and stump for anybody tonight.
Update 4:01 p.m. The Political Insiders say Obama is scheduled to speak in front of the National Baptist Convention of America, which is in the same building as the JJ dinner. Does that mean Obama is coming back afterall, or was he always scheduled to speak in front of this group?
Hillary probably wishes she were somewhere else tonight.
I was hoping that Edwards would stick around a bit longer, but this is probably smart thinking on his part. He may not be endorsing publicly at this point, but I’ve serious doubts that he’ll come out and shout for Hillary.
Richardson’s endorsement is up for grabs this week as well. And while I would like to see him fall in line with Obama, I don’t think he wants to jeopardize the possibility of a Clinton/Richardson ticket, should it come to such.
I think that Edwards supporters will tend to break towards Obama. A vote against Hillary at this point is an anti-establishment vote. Also, while Edwards supporters probably tend to be whiter and more male than the typical Democrat, it should be noted that in South Carolina Obama got more of the white male vote than did Hillary.
We’ll see.
“A vote against Hillary at this point is an anti-establishment vote.” - Decatur Guy
I agree, but I think that Edwards voters are establishment voters. Populism and Georgia Democrats are not strangers. I still think Edwards withdrawal is a win for Obama. I speculate some more over at my site.