TODAY'S NEWS HEADLINES for INDEPENDENT VOTERS

As the campaign moves into Super Tuesday mode, independents are key. Most states with primaries or caucases on Feb. 5 have "open primaries" in which independent voters will be able to choose their ballot. Below is a selection of articles that talk about independents and the weight they carry for the 2008 presidential election:


CALIFORNIA: The California GOP's unwelcome mat (Bend Weekly New/Bend Oregon)

SOUTH CAROLINA: Democrats do have a chance in S.C. in Nov. (Orangeburg Times and Democrat)

FLORIDA: State vote: country versus city (Daytona Beach News Journal) and Florida's primaries are fine, thanks (Herald Tribune)

NEW JERSEY: Rothman paying to dial up independents (NorthJersey.com)

OKLAHOMA: Withdrawn candidates still gaining votes-40% Okies are independent (Daily O'Collegian)

MASSACHUSETTS: Independents can vote in either primary without joining a party(Newburyport News - MA) and Who's voting for whom on Super Tuesday (Wicked Local Provincetown)

MAINE: Ron Paul's Prospects Look Up in Maine (AP)

NEW YORK: Giuliani's out and Clinton's in a primary fight on her home turf (AM New York)

WASHINGTON: Vote for levy, pass on primary-Voter beware. (Tri-City Herald/Mid-Columbia news)

TENNESSEE: Primary Objectives-Super Tuesday is almost here—do you know where your candidate is? (Chattanooga Pulse)

GEORGIA: Race a Central Issue for Clinton, Obama in Georgia (US News & World Report)

UTAH: Utah Gears Up For Presidential Elections With Primaries (Cedar City Review)

OHIO: Primaries place to declare affiliation (West Side Leader, Akron)



THE CAMPAIGN

• A Look at the Numbers (NY Times blog Campaign Stops)
• The force behind McCain's unlikely revival (John Farmer, NJ.com) Karl Rove's take on McCain's success
• Independent voters may be vexed at polls (By Pamela M. Prah, Stateline.org) some 4.5 million independent voters in six states (Arizona, Connecticut, Delaware, New York, Oklahoma and Utah) will be completely locked out of their states’ presidential primaries Feb. 5 because they have “closed” primaries, in which only a voter registered with the party can help choose its nominee. Most of those voters come from New York where nearly 2.4 million independent voters reside.
• The unpopularity of populism-This year, presidential candidates who embraced issues like class warfare, corporate greed, and monetary reform have done poorly. Populism seems to have lost its pop. (By Knute Berger, Crosscut Seattle)
• Super Tuesday Primer (Cox News Service-Atlanta Journal Constitution)