Hillary Wins Massachusetts but Loses Her Alma-Mater Wellesley
by Matthew Fleischer
February 11, 2008 11:41 AM
Hillary Clinton may have dominated the Massachusetts Democratic primary last Tuesday, weathering the endorsements of both Ted Kennedy and John Kerry for Barack Obama, but she was beaten handily by Obama in her old college town. According to the Wellesley Townsman, the Wellesley College grad picked up only 2,971 votes to Obama's 3,466.
Wellesley, an affluent Boston suburb home to the prestigious, all-female college, was thought to be a Hillary stronghold. Last November, after a rough outing at a Democratic debate in Philadelphia, Hillary returned to her alma-mater, known for its commitment to feminist politics, to help get her momentum back.
The move appeared to pay off. The outpouring of support she received from the women of Wellesley was so powerful that ABC News' Eloise Harper, covering the event for the network's blog, began her piece:
"There's no place like home. Or, in the case of Hillary Clinton, there's no place like Wellesley."
Apparently not.
Obama not only beat Hillary by a roughly 53 percent to 46 percent margin, but he nearly doubled the vote totals former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney received in the Republican primary.
The Wellesley vote may have done nothing to sway the statewide primary results, but it's hard to deny Obama's ability to find support in the most unexpected of places.
For voting results from other precincts of note, the New York Times has a fascinating state-by-state, county-by-county breakdown of the recent primary and caucus results.
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Comments
There are 2 comments posted for this article.
You're a moron. As a Wellesley College alumna I can attest to the fact that virtually 100% of the women at the school voted by absentee ballot sent back to the states where their family homes are located. So to extrapolate anything about Wellesley College support for Hillary from the vote in the town is foolish to the extreme.
Posted on February 14, 2008 12:18 AM by Nikki Finke
Why Nikki, how collegial of you to comment!
As someone who grew up in Wellesley, I can attest to the fact that the politics of the college have a profound impact on the surrounding town. The Clintons visited Wellesley several times when Bill was president and everyone in town knew about it. It's exciting, it energizes, and it sticks in your head.
Of course you're right that most Wellesley students vote absentee in their hometowns. But as someone who attended the college, you should know that the surrounding town is very affluent, very liberal and thinks very highly of itself for having such a prestigious college within its borders. There are MANY Wellesley College graduates still living in town. The women of Wellesley are a visible and active political presence -- especially during a major election year. So, despite Hillary having a free and vocal ground presence and that fact she visited the town three months before the election, and dozens of times in the preceding years, she still lost!
There's no way of knowing who most women at the college actually voted for. I suspect they voted for Hillary. So in that sense, the headline is misleading -- the post refers mainly to the town and not the college. But there is no way Hillary should have lost Wellesley. What I wrote is absolutely true -- the vote was proof that Obama can find support in the most unexpected of places.
Posted on February 14, 2008 8:59 AM by Matthew