When it came down to the wire, Democratic unity won and Republican unity fell apart. For a time after the primaries, when supporters of Sen. Hillary Clinton vowed they would not support Sen. Barack Obama, it seemed as though the Democratic Party was going to split into two factions.
That didn’t happen because Clinton made certain to show her supporters during the Democratic National Convention that she stood behind her former opponent. And eventually, her husband, former President Bill Clinton did his part to assure the electorate that democrats must fall in line and elect Obama as president.
In most states and counties, Clinton supporters heard them loud and clear and voted accordingly.
Democrats who supported Hillary Clinton in the New Mexico Democratic primary voted 88% for Obama and 11% for McCain, reported Fox News. Those Democratic Clinton supporters made up 13% of voters.
However, in other states, Hillary supporters fell short of the call. About 100,000 people who voted in the spring Democratic primary in Houston’s Harris County failed to vote in the county’s general election, according to Rice University political scientist Bob Stein told the Houston Chronicle. The Chronicle attributes the fallback to Hispanic Hillary supporters who had not been courted by either Sen. John McCain or Obama leading up to the general election.
When the Clintons cast their ballots on Tuesday, they emphasized the need for Democrats to work across party lines. It seems that unity within and across party lines will be the political theme for Obama’s presidency.
“I look forward to doing all that I can to support President Obama and Vice President Biden in the difficult work that lies ahead,†said Clinton in a statement after Obama was announced the victor on Election Night.
Obama has yet to help Hillary Clinton retire her campaign debt, but he has already begun tapping Bill Clinton’s war chest as a source for building his transition team. Obama chose Rep. Rahm Emmanuel, a former senior adviser to President Clinton from 1993 to 1998 and John Podesta, President Clinton’s chief of staff from 1998 to 2001.
As for Hillary, aside from the position she already holds, there doesn’t seem to be a position that Obama could offer that would suit her presidential aspirations.