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Show 0 DAILY A4 Thursday. HERALD History of corruption clouds primary' in Indiana Deanna Bellandi Obama over the top with Lake the awaiting results torn - County's vote, andgamewere IeCoumy5hisrcTy-tfxorruptiothe Indiana primary', one of the biggest being played like in the 1950s." raised concerns that something more remaining prizes of the epic Democratic It was midnight and GARY, Ind. nation-watsti- n presidential battle between Hillary Rodham Clinton and Baraek Obama. But as the clock ticked, the questions and accusations grew louder: What was wrong in Lake County? Was this more politics as usual in a county often suspected of harboring Chicago-styl- e corruption? A day after Clinton eked out a narrow victory in the primary, no one raised allegations of illegal activity. But some say politics were certainly at play in the state's second-largecounty, at the southern tip of Lake Michigan. "They wanted to put Barack Obama over the top with Lake County's vote and games were being played like in the 1950s," said Hammond Mayor Thomas McDermott, who endorsed Clinton. "It went bad when a lot of people were watching." The late returns came in a primary that Hammond, Indiana challeng- ing Clay on why machine totals weren't available earlier, : Clay, an Obama supporter who is the county's Democratic chairman, denied any misdeeds and defended the county's handling of the vote tally. "Anytime you vote an additional 11,000 early voters with the same number of staff that you have all the time, I think that the election board staff did atremen-dou- s job in the time that they had to do it in," he said. Lake County election administrator Michelle Fajman said local officials would review their process of trying totally attracted record voter turnout across the absentee ballots at a central location bestatp Many counties ran short of Irno- - fore counting the 1.33.000 ballots cast on cratic ballots and had to print extras. voting machuiesat the county's 5005105" which had to be counted by hand. In Lake precincts. But she said she saw no evidence of an effort to hold back the count County alone, voters cast 11,500 early about three times the number ballots Tuesday night. ; "We did get started late, but I do concast in the 2004 primary, sider it a success," Fajman said. "We Other counties, including Marion, the would rather give you good totals than state's most populous and home of Indiapiecemeal totals." napolis, also saw record turnouts. But those results were posted hours earlier. Gary, the largest city in Lake County, was being watched closely because of The delay, combined with Lake County's history of fraud and corruption at the expectations that much of its vote would go to Obama and might propel him to vicpolls, set tongues wagging. McDermott and Gary Mayor Rudy tory in the state, which Clinton needed to win to keep her candidacy alive. The both Democrats who lead the Clay sniped at city's population of 100.000 is about county's two largest cities 85 percent black, and its proximity to each other in appearances on CNN early ... mail-frau- ol . Kmm, .1. ...II ' "" I -- sus- picious had gone wrong. In 1962, Attorney General Robert Kennedy called Lake County one of the most corrupt counties in the nation. In 2004, the state Supreme Court tossed out a mayoral election in East Chicago because of campaign misconduct that resulted in convictions. dozens of voter-frau- d In 2005, former congresswoman Katie Hall resigned as the Gary city clerk after pleading guilty to federal charges. That case resulted from accusations that she made office workers raise money for her campaigns in order to keep their jobs. Indiana Attorney General Steve Carter, whose office helped investigate the East cases, said he beChicago voter-frau- d lieved the county's political process had improved in recent years. "It took years for the reputation to become as poor as it is, and it is going Mayor Thomas McDermott Wednesday, with McDermott Celebrations Obama's hometown of Chicago made it a likely stronghold for the Illinois senator. Obama prevailed countywide by more than 10 percentage points, although Clinton narrowly won the statewide vote. "They wanted to put Barack ASSOCIATED PRtbS THE May 8, 2008 - ! d L Parker, DeWitt jL Chuck and Sorena DeWitt are pleased to announce the marriage of their daughter, Elise DeWitt to Andrew Parker, son of Mike and Vicki Parker. The couple will v--;- M I Woodjex Russell Lee Wood and Wendy RaNae Jex were married April 16, 2008 in Las Vegas, Nevada at "The Chapel of The Fountain". Attending the bride as Maid of Honor was Ali Wood daughter of the be married on Saturday, May 10, 2008 in the Mount Timpanogos groom). Attending the groom as Best Men were Mason and Talon LDS Temple. A reception will be held in their honor that evening at Wood (sons of the groom). Wendy-- is the daughter of Ralph-- . the Alpine ArTsXenterr" Elise graduated from American G. and Jeannie M. Jex of Spanish Fork, Utah. Russell is the son of Fork High School. She is currentand Carol B. DeGraw and Elemenin a Terry ly pursuing degree the late William H. Wood of Sa- - ;; tary Education at BYU and will members begin teaching fourth grade in the lem, Utah. Other family were in attendance with wishes of fall at Rocky Mountain School. Andrew graduated from Amer- happiness for the couple, who will ican Fork High School and served be residing in Salem, Utah. an LDS mission in the Washington, D. C. North, Mission. He is currently pursuing a degree in Information Technology at BYU. The couple will make their first take years to correct it, rehabilitate it," saidCarter, a RepubltcafHwte4s4he state chairman for John McCain's campaign. Some Lake County leaders tried to play down the county's past, insisting that Tuesday's votes were counted fairly and accurately albeit slowly. "They wanted to make certain that there was accuracy in what they did," e said veteran Democratic state Sen. as of "It seemed though Rogers Gary. the press was trying to get Lake County to yield to their time schedule." :. Ear-lin- French-speakin- g But she conceded the national attention might be a wake-u- p call. "We need to do a little bit better job on how we handle this process." home in Provo. Obama picks up superdelegates EBlectionCS- - Nedra Pickler THE ASSOCIATED Delegate race reaches final stretch PRESS Barack WASHINGTON Obama's march toward the Democratic presidential nomination picked up support from four more superdelegates Wednesday, pushing him ever closer to victory over Hillary even as Rodham Clinton Delegate totals, as ot n 6 p.m. EDT. May 7 S Superdelega'te P Pledged E2 their primary marathon staggered on. She added two superdelegates herself in what has become the last big contest as their race winds toward a finish. There are just 2 17 delegates to be chosen in the final six, primaries, and neither candidate can win enough of them to claim final victory. Meanwhile, 265 additional delegates the party elders and other have "superdelegates" yet to be claimed, and their support will be the deciding factor. Though Obama padded his delegate lead in Tuesday's primaries, most uncommitted superdelegates still want to remain on the sidelines. The Associated Press interviewed more than 70 undeclared superdelegates or their representatives Wednesday, and many said they don't want to get involved until the voting ends on June 3. However, the comments of some of the uncommitteds were anything but encouraging for Clinton. "I'm just wondering about the viability of Clinton's campaign at this point," said Laurie Weahkee, an add-odelegate from New Mexico. "I really want to hear from her more about if she wants to stay in the race if the reason remains very concrete." Pennsylvania Rep. Mike Doyle said Clinton's pitch to superdelegates has been that . 2,025 needed tor nomination endorsements r r , Delegate count based on event results and AP reporting: includes caucus results: Dems Abroad split delegates projections from I AP "I think the time has come to support Senator Obama as the likely nominee," McClellan said in a conference call with reporters, "Given what happened last night, it's very unlikely we will have a different result, and it is time to come together as a party and prepare for victory against John she can win the popular vote, but that was undercut when Obama netted more than 200,000 popular votes in the Tuesday contests. "The math just got very tough for her after last night," Doyle said. "I think most of us out of respect for her are content to wait a little longer. ... The absolute best way for this to end is for the candidates to end it, not the superdelegates. That's the ending we all dream about every night." She picked up two in the wake of Tuesday's loss in North Carolina and narrow victory in Indiana. North Carolina Rep. Heath Shuler had said he would support the winner of his district, and she won it handily. A spokeswoman for Texas labor leader Robert Martinez told the AP he is committed to Clinton, but it wasn't clear when he made the decision. But she lost another supporter, Virginia state House member Jennifer McClellan, who switched to Obama. McClellan is one of at least nine superdelegates who have switched from Clinton to Obama since the Super Tuesday primaries on Feb. 5. There have been no public switches in the other direction. McCain in November." Obama also got the support of North Carolina Democratic Party Chairman Jerry Meek, North Carolina Democratic National Committee member Jeanette Council and California DNC member Inola Henry. Clinton met with undecided superdelegates at Democratic Party headquarters Wednesday. She said, "We talked a lot about Florida and Michigan," two states that she won but don't have any delegates to count toward her total because their early primaries violated party rules. "I continue to emphasize and stress that we cannot disenfranchise those voters." Obama was to make his pitch to the congressional fence sitters in meetings Thursday. He also planned to start traveling to swing states to signal that the general election has begun. to have your classified ads in this section! 0 Apartments Untarnished Apartments Unfurnished Rentals Real Estate Open Housi y J Full or - part-tim- great benefits, team envlro, expand your skills. Apply at tenolicants.com AF 1bed 1bth, Newly Remolded. Avail Now! $575mo no smkpet Call (801)623-374- 0 W Warns 2 & 3 Bed Clean, S650-$77- 5 10AM to 6PM Bryan 225 8119 & 2 bdrm apts!! 750 S 650 W. Provo or call LOOK Payson3bd, 1ba, 2 car I I 1 . 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Clinton vows to press on Beth Fouhy and Jim Kuhnhenn THE ASSOCIATED supporter and former South PRESS Her WASHINGTON money drained and her options dwindling, a resolute Hillary Rodham Clinton vowed Wednesday to press on with her presidential bid even as she d and top advisers were to describe a realistic path for her to wrest the nomination from Barack Obama. After a wrenching primary outcome Tuesday in which she was routed in North Carolina and barely won Indiana, Clinton made a hastily scheduled trip to West Virginia to show her determination to fight on. The state holds a primary next hard-presse- Tuesday. " I'm so happy t o be here in West Virginia and excited about the next week as we campaign here in this beautiful state about our country's future," Clinton told an audience at Shepherd University. She planned to return to the state Thursday, then fly to South Dakota and Oregon, which also have upcoming contests. Also Wednesday, aides disclosed that Clinton had lent her ' campaign $6.4 million since on top of a separate $5 million loan in February. She contributed $5 million on April 11, $1 million on May 1 and $425,000 on May 5. Spokesman Howard Dakota Sen. George McGov-ercalled on Clinton to quit the race. Others held back, allowing her to assess the landscape and draw her own conclusion about how to proceed. But at a news conference in West Virginia, the former first lady showed no sign of going anywhere. "I'm staying in this race until there's a nominee," she declared. Clinton barely mentioned Obama but insisted, as she has throughout the race, that she would be the stronger candidate against Republican John M cOain. While Obama has run strongest among blacks, college educated and younger voters and has produced record turnout among all three groups, Clinton pointed to her own strength among Hispan-ic- s and white, working-clas- s voters, especially women. She noted they are the swing voters Democrats need to win a general election. "What we have not been able to count on in the last elections are the voters that I'm getting," she said. Wolf son and chief strategist Geoff Garin echoed that argument in a conference call with reporters. They also described a scenario they said would keep her candidacy alive, including resolving disputed primaries in Florida and Michigan. Clinton won both contests .but the results were voided because their timing violated Democratic Party rules. But Clinton's team acknowledged that even if both states' delegations were seated, she would still not close the gap with Obama, who leads Clinton by about 150 delegates. Garin sought to put the best face 6n a bad turn of events, touting what he called a "come from behind" win in Indiana and saying the campaign had long expected her to lose North Carolina. In fact, the campaign made an aggressive play in that state, nearly matching Obama in television ad spending in the closing days. Clinton also campaigned extensively in the state ami her husband kept u separate, packed schedule of iipH'urum es all to little avail. n, mid-Apri- l, Tech Support v NOTE: .Call Genera) - 1,696 3321." Undeclared unpledged delegates 265 At stake in upcoming contests 217 Edwards: 18 LOOK WHAT'S NEW TODAY! Help WMtMl Si- Sen. Barack Obama had a net gain of 1 1 pledged delegates after Tuesday's primaries in North Carolina and Indiana, with four yet to be awarded. Wolf-so- n said the New York senator made the investment to keep pace with Obama, who has shattered all fundraising records and vastly outspent her in recent contests. The loan also reinforced her belief that the campaign must continue, Wolf son said, suggesting she would be willing to spend more of her own wealth if necessary. "This is a sign of her commitment to this race, her commitment to this process and her commitment to ensure the voices of her supporters are heard," Wolf son said. Nonetheless, Tuesday's results drastically reshaped the dynamic of the campaign, positioning Obiima as the certain nominee and casting Clinton as a dogged but deluded also-raAt least one prominent Democrat, Clinton ail-b- Another sign of trouble came as a much-hopefor spike in Internet fundraising didn't materialize after Tuesd day's results. After winning Pennsylvania decisively on April 22, the Clinton campaign said it raised about $10 million in 24 hours; aides Wednesday said they had seen a bump in online cash but nothing close to their post Pennsylvania success. Clinton brought in about $20 million total in April, aides said. She attended a women's fundraiser Wednesday night, expected to yield about $500,000. She has a Mother's Day fundraiser scheduled with daughter Chelsea Clinton in New York on Saturday. She also signed a new fundraising -- to supporters. know that we have a lot of steps to go. We have more elections that will take place," Clinton told 1,500 women at Wednesday's event in Washt, ington. "We are being two to one, three to one, four to one, even five to one, but we have been able to battle "I out-spen- back." Earlier, the candidate met with superdelegates on Capitol Hill in an effort to woo the undecided and keep her own supporters on board. Few had many words of encouragement. New York Sen. Charles Schumer, an early and enthusiastic Clinton backer, was uncharacteristically quiet when asked whether she should soldier on. "It's her decision to make and I'll accept what decision she makes," Schumer said. "This is still a close race, and you know, the decisions that Hillary Clinton makes are the decisions that, as a supporter of hers, I will abide by." For his part. Majority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada refused to speculate on whether Clinton had any chance of winning the nomination. "That's not for me to judge." Reid said. Said Clinton suporter Sen. Dianne Feinstein, "I think we're at a point where I would like to know what the strategy is, how it becomes doable, and that's all I've been trying to say to people." |