Too Close To Call in the Kentucky Democratic Primary Contest

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Last updated on September 25th, 2023 at 02:00 pm

The polls have officially closed in the state of Kentucky, and the race is too early to call, according to NBC News. With only a small percentage of the vote counted, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is locked in a tight race with Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders.

Clinton’s delegate lead over Sanders is nearly insurmountable, but she still hopes to secure what is more of a psychological win over Sanders to prove to her critics that she isn’t simply limping to toward a likely general election match-up against Donald Trump.

A March poll of Kentucky Democrats – the only survey taken in the state in 2016 – showed Clinton leading Sanders by five points. The Bluegrass State is a closed primary state, which tends to benefit Clinton.

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Sanders, on the other hand, did extremely well in the May 10 contest in West Virginia, a neighboring state of Kentucky where the Vermont senator beat Clinton by double digits. The state’s population is also 88 percent white – a demographic with which Bernie Sanders has performed well. It’s certainly possible – although not very meaningful – for him to eek out a victory in the Bluegrass State.

Oregon also holds its primary on Tuesday night, although polls there won’t close until 11:00 p.m. ET. The Sanders campaign hopes to capture a win in that state, which is seen as favorable territory for the independent senator.

For Bernie Sanders, a potential win in either Kentucky or Oregon will do nothing substantive to change the race in his favor. Clinton’s pledged delegate lead is simply too big for him to overcome by netting a handful of delegates at a time.

Sean Colarossi

Sean Colarossi currently resides in Cleveland, Ohio. He earned his Bachelor of Arts degree in Journalism from the University of Massachusetts Amherst and was an organizing fellow for both of President Obama’s presidential campaigns. He also worked with Planned Parenthood as an Affordable Care Act Outreach Organizer in 2014, helping northeast Ohio residents obtain health insurance coverage.