Democrats Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama battled in the primary in Montana Tuesday, one of the two remaining contests of the Democratic presidential primary election cycle.
Politico, a Washington newspaper covering political events, suggests there are several things to watch in the primary.
First, watch west and east parts of the state.
Though Obama led Clinton 52 to 35 percent (with 13 percent undecided) among likely Democratic voters in Montana in a Mason-Dixon poll conducted on May 19-21, his margin came almost entirely from the western part of the state.
"We had Clinton ahead in eastern Montana," said Brad Coker, director of the poll.
Second, watch the city of Billings.
About 15 percent of the state's population live in Billings, Montana's largest city with about 100,000 residents, and surrounding Yellowstone County.
If Clinton wins the city and county by a good margin -- and she is favored there -- she could hold down Obama's margin statewide.
Third, watch the tribal vote.
Montana's seven Indian reservations are home to only about 8 percent of the population, but typically produce 20 percent of the vote in Democratic primaries.
Both candidates have assiduously courted the Indian vote, which is notoriously difficult to poll, thanks to the scarcity of a telephone service on the reservations.
Fourth, watch the student vote.
The Obama team has asserted that the student vote -- a major source of their support -- has been on the decline somewhat in the contests held in and after May, when most universities let out for the summer.
But Montana's student population is slightly different, according to Lopach of the University of Montana who said it skew solder and is less transient.
Finally, watch Republican voters.
Montana, which doesn't have party registration, opens its primaries to all voters, and both campaigns will be keeping an eye on high percentages of Democratic primary votes coming out of Republican counties.
Source:Xinhua
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