42 percent of Ky. primary voters choose 'uncommitted' over Obama

[Geee]

Front Page Magazine:

President Obama won both his primaries Tuesday, but faced fairly tight races -- facing minor challengers -- or no challengers at all.

In Kentucky's closed primary, the president won with 58 percent of the vote, as 42 percent of voters chose "uncommitted." In Arkansas, with 89 percent of precincts reporting, Obama won 59 percent versus 41 percent for John Wolfe, an attorney from Tennessee.

A recent independent poll had shown Wolfe trailing by as little as 7 points among likely Democratic voters in the state's largest congressional district, the 4th District.

The primaries Tuesday in Arkansas and Kentucky follow West Virginia's May 8 primary, in which federal inmate Keith Judd took 41 percent of the vote in the Democratic presidential primary.

Political analysts have given a range of explanations – from voter dissatisfaction to West Virginia's strong conservative Democratic base. Yet most agree the close finish there and possibly another in Arkansas will have no major impact on Obama winning the national party nomination.

The president has struggled in conservative states, particularly in parts of the Deep South. He took just 39 percent of the vote in Arkansas in the 2008 general election, compared to 59 percent for GOP nominee John McCain.