Obama, McCain Win Loudoun in High Turnout

By Melissa Arseniuk, Cara McCoy

Wednesday, February 13, 2008

Round Hill chief election officer Donna Gicker was awake before her alarm went off at 3:15 a.m. Tuesday. She had a big day ahead of her and she didn't want to oversleep: The 3,515 registered voters in her precinct were counting on her.

By the time the polls closed across Loudoun County, Gicker saw 34 percent of precinct voters turn out.

Across traditionally Republican Loudoun, about 24 percent of registered voters cast a ballot on Tuesday -- and two-thirds of those voters supported a Democratic candidate. Loudoun General Registrar Judy Brown said the turnout was probably a presidential primary record.

In the end, Sen. Barack Obama picked up 62 percent of the votes in Loudoun, compared with 38 percent for Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton.

In the Republican race, Sen. John McCain bested former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, 57 percent to 32 percent. (Click here for complete county results)

Obama and McCain also won each Northern Virginia county and the commonwealth of Virginia.

In the last contested Republican primary in Virginia, before President Bush was elected to his first term in 2000, 21 percent of those who were registered ended up voting. In 2004, a mere 7 percent of Virginia Democrats made it to the polls.

But even before Tuesday, voters turned out in droves, as 1,305 absentee ballots –- 840 Democratic and 465 Republican -- were turned in.

One of the smallest precincts in the county, Aldie, had one of the biggest voter turnouts on Tuesday.

"Of course, Aldie is very small. They only have 842 registered voters," Brown said, "(but) they had 339 of them turn out for the election."

That's more than 40 percent.

Torn Between Clinton, Obama

Wintry weather brought wrecks that snarled traffic and brought major roadways to a near standstill. Brown said at one point an elections official delivering additional ballots to a polling place that was running short was delayed because of a weather-related accident on Route 28.

"With the change in weather, the turnout might fall off," Brown said late Tuesday afternoon.

Still, bone-chilling temperatures that hovered in the 20s during the 13 hours the polls were open didn't keep voters away.

"We have a lot of people who are active politically so I don't think the weather would really deter them," Gicker said in the morning as the threat of wintry weather loomed. "The weather would have to be really bad."

The Virginia, Maryland and Washington primaries, which in the past have been held on different dates, are significant because the presidential nominees have yet to be decided and a significant number of delegates were at stake. A total of 240 Democratic delegates were chosen Tuesday; 119 Republican delegates were up for grabs.

When polls opened at 6 a.m., people already were lined up outside the Leesburg fire station on North Loudoun Street, eager to cast their votes. Mary Ann Glennon was there to make sure they were able to complete their ballots.

The West Leesburg chief election officer expected to see many of the 2,481 registered voters in her precinct Tuesday.

"We've had quite a few absentee votes," she said, noting high numbers of absentee ballots often precede high voter turnout.

Voters' excitement was palpable throughout the county.

Lois Jewell, 69, said she has voted in every election possible since 1960. "Haven't missed a voting yet," she boasted as she left the Round Hill polling place.

But even after all these years of voting, she said Tuesday was a historic day for her: For the first time, Jewell was voting for a woman in a presidential primary.

"It's very exciting, even at my age," she said.

After waiting decades to support a fellow female's quest for the White House, Jewell said she hopes to be able to vote for the same woman, Clinton, on a presidential ballot later this year.

"It's been a long way for us to get to have a woman to have an opportunity to run," she said. "I'm hoping it happens."

Jewell said she will support the Democratic candidate in November regardless of who wins the nomination.

Many Loudoun Democrats, including Judy Caughlin, 60, said they had a hard time deciding which candidate to vote for. Caughlin's vote was unsettled until just a few weeks ago.

"I was torn," she said. "We have a woman running, we have an African-American running … This is really the most exciting primary that I've participated in because no matter what, this is historic."

She decided whom to vote for after the Jan. 26 South Carolina primaries.

"I was very disappointed with the Clintons that weekend," she said, citing remarks made by former President Bill Clinton about the Rev. Jesse Jackson and the Obama campaign.

Caughlin voted for Obama, explaining, "I want someone new … (although) I hate not to vote for the first woman running for president."

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Loudoun Votes 2008

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Purcellville resident Gene Minschew asks for a Republican ballot at Emerick Elementary School Tuesday morning. He cast his vote for Mike Huckabee. (Cara McCoy)

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A steady stream of cars flows into the parking lot at the Round Hill Center, one of Loudoun's primary polling locations. (Melissa Arseniuk)

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Ashburn resident Karen Ficker braved the cold to pass out Barack Obama literature outside Sanders Corner Elementary School. (Scott Den Herder)

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A Frank Wolf supporter collects signatures outside Round Hill Center. (Cara McCoy)

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Round Hill resident Robert Lowery campaigns for Republican candidate Ron Paul outside the Round Hill Center. (Cara McCoy)

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Residents make their way to the polling station in Round Hill to cast their ballots in Tuesday's presidential primaries. (Melissa Arseniuk)

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Campaigners wait and rally outside the polling station in Round Hill in an effort to sway undecided voters. (Melissa Arseniuk)

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A sign points the way to the Round Hill Center polling place. (Cara McCoy)

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Voters wait in line Tuesday to get ballots for the presidential primaries. (Melissa Arseniuk)

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Voters prepare to vote in Round Hill. (Melissa Arseniuk)

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A Barack Obama supporter, left, talks to voters outside a Leesburg polling station Tuesday morning. (Melissa Arseniuk)

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Residents wait in line in Leesburg Tuesday as they prepare to cast ballots in the presidential primary election. (Melissa Arseniuk)

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Precinct workers greet voters in Leesburg Tuesday morning. (Melissa Arseniuk)

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Leesburg residents file into polling places Tuesday to cast their vote. (Melissa Arseniuk)

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Caughlin said she expects Obama will win the Democratic nomination. She guesses McCain will be his opponent.

"I think he'll be a formidable candidate," she said of McCain. "There are things about John McCain that I don't hate, but I'll never vote for a Republican," she said.

GOP Support Either Now or Later

Mike Brady, whose children attend Sanders Corner Elementary School, stopped by the school Tuesday afternoon to cast his vote. He called the 2008 primary election the most exciting election season since 1968.

"I think the elements that represent change in 2008 are the same that were in 1968 represented by Dr. Martin Luther King and Robert Kennedy," he said. "I think this is a great opportunity to extend that sense of destiny."

Voters were relegated to the Ashburn school's cramped music room to place their votes.

"Today is complicated because school is in session," precinct chief Eric Barr said. "We usually get to use the cafeteria but not today."

Although Democrats turned out in record numbers, there was plenty of support for Republican candidates, as well.

Purcellville Town Council candidate Jim Vogt voted at Emerick Elementary Tuesday morning, along with fellow Town Council candidate Chris Bledsoe and mayoral candidate Karl Phillips.

Vogt cast his vote for underdog Republican candidate Huckabee, a Baptist minister popular with Christian conservatives.

"Like many conservatives, I'm a little doubtful on some of (McCain's) votes in the Senate," he said. "When it comes down to it, I'll likely support him, but for now, I'd like to see how far Huckabee can go and if he can influence the whole platform at the convention."

Vogt, who owns the Daily Grind coffee shop in Leesburg, said although local issues like school construction in western Loudoun are most important to him, when it comes to national issues, the war on terror and the economy are most important.

He wasn't the only Purcellville resident voting for Huckabee Tuesday morning. Gene Minshew, a self-avowed Christian conservative, said the former governor "fits my type of politician (more) than anyone else who's running on the ticket, period."

Republican Ben Domenech, 26, of Leesburg, said he likes John McCain, but he didn't vote for the Arizona senator.

"I actually came out to vote for Huckabee … to keep the race interesting," he said. "I like McCain. I think he's kind of a jerk, but he's our jerk."

Another Republican, Rebecca Goeckeritz, cast her ballot in a different direction: For the first time, the 33-year-old stay-at-home mom voted for a Democrat.

"It felt kind of odd to go in there and pick up that Democratic ticket," she said, "(but) I really felt like this was the only way I could have a say today."

Goeckeritz voted for Obama. She said she wanted to make sure Clinton doesn't receive the nomination.

"I don't trust her," she said. "I remember the Clinton years. I remember Whitewater."

She said her vote will revert back to the GOP in November.

Although he ended up with less than 5 percent of the vote, posters and yard signs in support of Rep. Ron Paul were abundant at many of Loudoun's polling sites.

Paul supporter Robert Lowery was distributing flyers outside of the Round Hill Center Tuesday. He was stumping for the Republican candidate because he said he thinks Paul is "very intelligent about economic issues."

"I don't think he's going to do very well," Lowery admitted with a chuckle, "But we're hopeful."

Time for Change?

Mandy DeGignac, 62, of Leesburg, came to the United States from Britain and obtained her U.S. citizenship in 2000. Though she's only been a citizen for a few years now, the flight attendant is passionate about her adopted country's politics.

Fellow Leesburg resident Rhonda Grier joined her in support of Obama.

"I'm hoping to get Mr. Obama elected," Grier said. "I believe in almost everything he stands for."

She said it was her belief in Obama that motivated her to take action. Access to universal health care was at the top of her list.

But the prospect of such a health care plan was what kept Round Hill resident Anthony Hudimac, 45, from voting for a Democrat.

"(Universal health care) would be an abomination," he said. "It's not (the) government's job."

The tax accountant said though he is traditionally a Republican, he had been thinking of voting Democratic this time after his first choice, former Tennessee Sen. Fred Thompson, left the race.

Karen Ficker, of Ashburn, braved the frigid temperatures to staff an Obama campaign table outside Stone Bridge High School. At the end of the day, Obama raked in 62 percent of Democratic votes at the precinct.

"I'm not one of those Hillary-bashers … I never was," she said. "I just think he's got an edge. I think she's very good, too, quite frankly -- but I think he's got an edge."

Tagged: elections, politics

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