Jan 26, 2008 6:50 pm US/Central
Surveys Show Primary Contest Getting Closer
Columbia, S.C. (CBS) ―
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Ryan Anson/AFP/Getty Images
Primary polling places close in less than one hour in South Carolina, the latest state in Campaign 2008 to see a record-breaking turnout of voters. Last-minute opinion surveys show the contest getting closer. CBS 2's political editor Mike Flannery has been criss-crossing the Palmetto State for a week now reporting on the primary.
The results Saturday are very important, as this is the Democrats' last big showdown prior to the Feb. 5th Super Tuesday voting in Illinois and more than 20 other states -- when there's a chance the contest could effectively be decided.
Barack Obama is taking nothing for granted, not in a campaign where his chief rival has been skillfully manipulating the expectations game in a racially-polarized state where the Confederate flag flies proudly in front of the State Capitol.
Sen. Hillary Clinton's campaign worked all week to convince reporters and others that anything less than a double-digit victory by Obama should be redefined as a victory for her -- an argument echoed Saturday by a supporter from Illinois, J.B. Pritzker.
"He oughta win by all the polls, by 10 points at least," said the Clinton's national co-chairman. "We understand that's the challenge here. The bigger challenge for Barack Obama is he's behind in most of the Super Tuesday states, he's behind in the delegate race. We're fightin' for every delegate."
Reflecting the Clinton campaign's intense focus on Super Tuesday, it dispatched J.B. Pritzker and State Rep. Jack Franks to Columbia, S.C., to talk to Illinois reporters about the New York senator.
Sunday editions of the Chicago Tribune endorse Obama, declaring: Obama can help this nation move forward -- racial profiling, death penalty reform, recording of criminal interrogations, health care -- when victory was elusive Obama seized progress. He did so by working fluidly with Republicans and Democrats."
In South Carolina Saturday, it's a final-hour frenzy of getting out the vote.
Bill and Hillary have gotten out of town, while Obama will be speaking from Columbia, S.C. Saturday night. Hillary Clinton will be speaking in Nashville, Tenn. and Bill Clinton will be speaking in Independence, Mo., both states that will have their primary on Feb. 5.
Chicago set a new single-day record for Early Voting Saturday as well, with nearly 5,800 ballots cast, according to the Chicago Board of Election Commissioners. The previous record was 5,078 ballots cast in the last day of Early Voting before the 2007 municipal election.
Early Voting ends Thurs., Jan. 31. Only the Early Voting site at 69 W. Washington will be open Sunday from 9 a.m. to noon. Monday-Thursday, all 51 Early Voting sites will be open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Through the first 13 days, Chicagoans have cast more than 44,200 ballots in Early Voting, 80.8 percent more than the previous record of 24,800 for the full 18 days.
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