By Rob Scott<BR>and Marcia Moore
The Daily Item
May 09, 2008 08:39 am
—
True to his word, U.S. Rep. Chris Carney has endorsed the landslide winner from his 10th Congressional District in the state’s April 22 primary — Hillary Rodham Clinton — for the Democratic presidential nomination.
Carney, D-10 of Dimock, and one of the coveted superdelegates in the Democratic race, said Thursday he was swayed by Clinton’s resounding win in Pennsylvania. She received 70 percent of the vote in his district and beat Sen. Barack Obama of Illinois by 10 percentage points statewide.
“I have watched this primary process very closely and, as I said I would do, I have weighed the temperament and leadership displayed by Senators Clinton and Obama during the course of this campaign,” he said in a written statement. “We are extremely fortunate to have two very strong candidates vying to lead our nation. Pennsylvania’s 10th District overwhelmingly chose Sen. Clinton ... and I will respect their decision.”
Until Thursday, Carney was among the 200 or so undeclared superdelegates who will most likely end up deciding the race.
Valley Democratic Party leaders, even those who supported Obama, respected Carney’s decision.
“You ought to go the way the voters go. He did the right thing,” said Thomas Spangler, Snyder County Democratic chairman. “We have two great candidates. It would be a tough decision for me.”
“He’s fulfilling a promise he made,” Union County chairman Rick Thomas said in reference to Carney’s earlier pledge to support the candidate his constituents chose.
Thomas said he was surprised Carney didn’t make his decision earlier, and said he believes it could be because the congressman was leaning toward Obama.
“Personally, I don’t think (Carney) buys into her campaign totally,” said Thomas, adding that Carney’s support is probably too little, too late for the former first lady.
But Henry Coira, Montour County Democratic chairman, doesn’t think superdelegates like Carney should have to support a candidate just because a majority of their voters did.
“Superdelegates should vote the way they’re supposed to vote, how they want to vote,” Coira said. “That’s the way things go.”
Obama supporter Eileen Keefer, of Milton, said she was disappointed Carney chose Clinton, but understands why he did.
“He would have had to have a preponderant reason to support Obama,” Keefer said. “By and large, if (superdelegates) don’t go the way their constituents do, then the whole Democratic process is a waste of time.”
A few Democrats conceded that the prolonged race isn’t helping the party, but it’s probably not hurting it.
“Primary fights are good for the party,” Northumberland County chairman Paul Niglio said. “If we didn’t have a fight, we would not have had the voter response we had.”
Niglio said he believes Obama has the nomination locked up following his decisive win Tuesday in North Carolina, but admitted it will be difficult to persuade voters in this area — “a white, working-class district” — to vote for an African-American in November’s general election.
But most Valley Democrats, as unhappy as voters are with the Republican Party, think a Democratic president should be a sure thing no matter who it is.
“After eight years of the Bush administration, you could run Howdy Doody and they’d win,” Coira said.
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Photos
Chris Carney