Presidential Primary

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Hillary Rodham Clinton scored a decisive victory in the Pennsylvania primary Tuesday night, defeating Democratic rival Barack Obama by almost 10 points.

Clinton was winning just under 54.3 percent of the vote to 45.8 percent for Obama with 99 percent of precincts reporting.

Clinton gave a victory speech for supporters at a rally in Philadelphia. "Some counted me out and said to drop out," she said to a round of boos from the crowd. "But the American people don't quit. And they deserve a president who doesn't quit, either."

According to 5pm exit polls, the race for the Democratic Presientila Primary is closer than many expected.  The polls show Clinton leading Obama by a 52%-48% margin.

Going into today we heard how excited the voting base was and how strong the turnout would be. Well after making the rounds to a few local polling stations it appears the hype is not disappointing. Most of the polling workers I talked to confirmed today’s turnout may be the highest primary turnout they have ever seen.

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With Pennsylvanians flocking to the polls for today's primary, election officials are reminding voters to have the proper documents with them. 

Anticipating high voter turnout, the Secretary of the Commonwealth, Pedro A. Cortes, released a statement reminding voters that "[p]reparation is key when planning to vote," Cortes said. "With more than 218,923 new registrants since January and many more voters who have changed their addresses, it's important for Pennsylvanians who are voting for the first time in a precinct to bring approved identification."

Fred Voight, Philadelphia Deputy Election Commissioner, admits there were some problems with voting machines this morning in the city, but all problems have since been fixed and everything is working correctly no and has been for a while.

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State Rep. Jaret GibbonsWhile most people are focusing on tomorrow’s primary, Pennsylvania lawmakers have set their sights on next year and beyond, with representatives authoring competing bills that could change the degree of access that independent voters have to future party primaries.

State Rep. Jaret Gibbons introduced a bill last Friday that would give registered Independents a vote in primary elections, according to a press release from her office.

Rep. Chris King also introduced a bill last week, which calls for a "semi-open primary," a type held in New Hampshire and nine other states, according to King.

Harris Wofford Works Obama Circuit: Photo by Getty ImagesPITTSBURGH -- Former U.S. Sen. Harris Wofford spent time on Sunday greeting campaign staffers at the headquarters for Barack Obama's presidential campaign in Pittsburgh. While Obama's Democratic rival, New York Sen. Hillary Clinton, has secured the endorsement of Gov. Ed Rendell, Obama's campaign efforts have been aided by the support of Wofford and current U.S. Sen. Bob Casey Jr.

Pennsylvania voters go to the polls on Tuesday.

ALSO on PolitickerPA.com: Rendell continues push for Clinton

Hillary Clinton appears to have a new ad on PA telivision. The ad builds on her "If you can't take the heat get out of the kitchen" phrase she was throwing around last week after the debate.

Here is a look at some of the polls for tomorrows Presidential Primary campaign of Hillary Clinton vs Barack Obama.

Of these polls Quinnipiac has the largest sample size of 1027, while most of the others are in the 600-625 range.  Another factor to consider is Quinnipiac has been doing more polling in PA than any of the others over the last few years. 
 

Maryland's Democratic leaders including Governor Martin O'Mally, Lt Gov Anthony Brown and US Senator Barbara Mikulski are rallying the troops for Hillary Clinton in Pennsylvania.  Here is an email they are circulating.

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