Clinton Looks to Regain Support Obama Eroded

[DeepModem Mom]

WSJ: Clinton Looks to Regain Support Obama Eroded
By AMY CHOZICK
February 22, 2008; Page A4

AUSTIN, Texas -- Sen. Hillary Clinton and her allies are fighting to win back women and working-class voters -- groups that she could once depend on but which have drifted to Sen. Barack Obama. With less than two weeks until Texas and Ohio hold primary contests, the Clinton campaign is spending millions of dollars in an on-the-ground effort to court these voters in both states and Pennsylvania, which holds its primary April 22. In Texas, the Clinton campaign has amassed more than 100,000 volunteers and 4,000 precinct captains to cover 8,300 precincts. In Ohio, advertisements target working-class and women voters.

Even as Sen. Obama solidifies his lead among younger, high-income citizens, he has chipped away at Sen. Clinton's base of support. The shift could signal tough times for the Clinton campaign in Ohio and Texas, where Sen. Clinton, after 11 straight losses, is depending on big victories driven largely by her core supporters....Sen. Obama captured 50% of women in Wisconsin, compared with 43% in the Super Tuesday contests. He increased his standing among voters without a college degree, taking 56%, compared with 42% on Super Tuesday. Among Wisconsin voters who make less than $50,000 a year, Sen. Obama captured 54% of the vote, compared with 44% in Super Tuesday contests.

Sen. Clinton is honing her message to reconnect to these voters. In the past week she has added a more populist tilt to her speeches and has criticized Sen. Obama's record on health care and education, two issues of greater importance to low-income voters....

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Women voters in Texas and Ohio will be critical in determining which candidate becomes the Democratic nominee. In California, 59% of all women and 56% of white women voted for Sen. Clinton and she ended up winning the state by a 9% margin. To bolster her strength among women, the Clinton campaign has designated hundreds of volunteers and staffers to reach out to nurses, African-American and Hispanic women, professional women and even graduates of Wellesley, Sen. Clinton's alma matter.

Female supporters in Ohio and Texas call themselves "Hill Stars," wear matching campaign shirts and rally friends and neighbors. They organize campaign and fund-raising events at "pot-luck" parties, book clubs, breast-cancer support meetings and other gatherings....Sen. Clinton's allies are doing their part. Emily's List, a political organization that backs abortion-rights Democrats, has rolled out plans to persuade women to go to the polls for Sen. Clinton in Texas and Ohio. The group plans to reach out to 150,000 women in Ohio through a series of phone calls and mailings that explain why they believe Sen. Clinton is the best-prepared candidate....

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB120363843454384359.html

[Yael]

1. That graph speaks volumes.