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Kentuckians Choose Uncommitted over Obama

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Kentucky has become the latest in a growing number of states where Democratic voters have chosen not to vote for President Obama in primary elections.
More than 40 percent of Democratic voters who went to the polls yesterday selected someone other than Mr. Obama.

Kentucky’s primary results have mirrored that of other southern, conservative states like Arkansas and West Virginia. In both of those states, other candidates have attracted a significant amount of the primary votes away from Mr. Obama. But in Kentucky, there was no other candidate on the ballot, and voters instead chose “uncommitted.”

Shawn Reilly is a Democratic activist in Louisville. He says people could have voted “uncommitted” for a variety of reasons.

“You know I think everyone probably have their own reasons on why they voted that uncommitted vote. Some people may have saw it as a protest vote, wanting the president to be more progressive on some issue,” he says.

Kentucky also has a large population of registered Democrats who trend Republican in federal elections.

Reilly says that despite the significant percentage of voters that didn’t choose the president, Obama did have some good news from the primary.

"Obama didn’t do well in 2008, wasn’t expecting he’d do well but you know if you look at the percentages he did improve his percentage from 2008," he said.

That year, Obama was handed a bad primary defeat by Hillary Clinton in Kentucky, despite the fact that the state’s late primary meant the Democratic nomination was virtually decided.

Kenny Colston is the Frankfort Bureau Chief for Kentucky Public Radio (a collaborative effort of public radio stations in Kentucky). Colston has covered Kentucky's Capitol and state government since 2010. He is a Louisville native, and a graduate of the University of Kentucky. When he's not tracking down stories about Kentucky politics, you can often find him watching college sports, particularly football.
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