Long lines at the polls here in the Bay State, where there is a spirited Democratic contest between Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama. The Obama camp hopes Massachusetts will be one of their winning states today, giving them a victory among another overwhelmingly white electorate. Hillary is still ahead in the RealClearPolitics average, however.
The Republican race should be less of a dogfight — Mitt Romney holds leads of 20 points or greater in most recent polls — though a surge of independents (made less likely if Obama does well) could always tighten the race a bit. John McCain has made some effort here and won decisively in 2000. Former Gov. Bill Weld is behind Romney; ex-Govs. Paul Cellucci and Jane Swift are for McCain.
I voted in my hometown this afternoon. There was one Hillary sign-waver standing outside; no other campaign was at all visible. After I took my Republican ballot, I heard one poll worker say to the other, “Oh, you’re in a hurry to get rid of all those.” I’m a registered Republican, so I only vote in GOP primaries. Independents (“unenrolled” voters) can vote in either primary and I overheard most of them asking for Democratic ballots. (I did watch one Democrat try to vote in the Republican primary, but she was denied.)
