Super Tuesday Blog

By: Greg Mitchell Well, the big night is here at last -- after more than a year of campaigning by Clinton, Obama, McCain, Romney and most of the rest. We have blogged all day at a separate thread but now this one will carry us through until the wee hours. Return often for updates.

As previously, we will add at the top. NOTE: Due to a power outage we were not able to update below. Apologies.

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7:20: Big news is that Obama, in exit polls, got 43% of white vote in Georgia, a very healthy total. Also, he is sweeping state overall and his people now expect him to get a big delegate advantage there, maybe 60 to 27. Also, via Chuck Todd at MSNBC, Obama people like what they are hearing from exit polls elsewhere.

7:05: MSNBC signs on by calling the first state -- Georgia for Obama. Not a shock but not a slam dunk either. Surprising three-way race there on GOP side.

6:55: The first exit polls are out, on voter attitudes, and some interesting things from CNN, as posted by Bill Schneider. If Obama was counting on a "late surge," he may be disappointed:

"On the Republican side, the conservative vote appears to be deeply split: 80 percent of Mitt Romney voters identify themselves as conservative, and roughly the same percentage of Mike Huckabee voters say the same. But only 49 percent of McCain voters said they were conservative ? one sign the Arizona senator's efforts over the last week to placate conservative voters has not yet paid off.

"On the Democratic side, early indications suggest it could be a long night. Primary outcomes often turn on those people who made their decisions within the last three days before the vote. According to the exit polls, Obama and Clinton are essentially splitting those voters, with 47 percent going for Obama and 46 percent for Clinton.

"There's no doubt Democrats are torn between Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton. But the early exit polls show they are not bitterly divided: 72 percent of Democrats said they would be satisfied if Clinton won the party's nomination, while 71 percent say the same about Obama."
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