Clinton, Obama: Pa. 'chess game'

[Cessna Invesco Palin]

In case anyone was wondering...



Posted April 20, 2008 11:25 AM
by Josh Drobnyk

The Democratic presidential campaigns close out an unprecedented six-week primary contest in Pennsylvania on Tuesday with two separate goals: Win the popular vote and drive up the delegate count.

One doesn't necessarily come with the other. Only a third of the 158 pledged delegates that are up for grabs on Tuesday are divvied up according to the statewide vote. Because it's not a winner-takes-all race, the rest get divided depending on the margin of votes in each of the state's congressional districts.

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For both Clinton and Obama, it begins and ends in Philadelphia and its outer suburbs, a region responsible for 43 delegates alone, not counting the area's impact on the popular vote. Pittsburgh also looms large, with 22 delegates coming from the congressional districts in the city and surrounding suburbs.

By comparison, the 15th Congressional District, made up mostly of Lehigh and Northampton counties, has five delegates. Under the party's arcane rules, it is unlikely either candidate will do better than a 3-2 split among local delegates -- a big factor in the paucity of personal visits to the valley by Clinton and Obama.


More:
http://weblogs.baltimoresun.com/news/politics/blog/2008/04/clinton_obama_pa_chess_game.html