Sen. John McCain, the Republican from Arizona, won the New York Republican presidential primary as part of a commanding national performance on Super Tuesday.

McCain was projected to capture 51 percent of the New York vote with 99 percent of the precincts reporting at press time, according to the Associated Press.

McCain held a 522-223 delegate advantage over former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, his nearest competitor, the A.P. reported at press time.

Twenty-one states held their Republican primaries on Super Tuesday. McCain’s victories widened a race that was within five delegates before Tuesday.

McCain added New York’s 87 delegates to go along with victories in eight other states, including Illinois, New Jersey and Connecticut.

Romney, who was projected to receive 28 percent of the New York vote, performed well in less-populated states, winning in Colorado, Minnesota, Montana, North Dakota and Utah – along with his home state.

Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee finished third in New York with 11 percent of the vote. The South was his, however, winning the delegates of Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Tennessee and West Virginia. Alaska was too close to call at press time.

Still, it was McCain who emerged the winner when the night ended.

‘I think it shows that he can win many states, from the South to the Northeast and West Coast, and he has a broad base of support,’ said Nick Johnson, co-chair for Students at Syracuse for John McCain, in a phone interview.

As the polls closed around at 9 p.m., CNN exit statistics show McCain did well among New York’s middle-aged and elderly residents, while also receiving a popularity boost from his more liberal stance on conservative issues like abortion.

For Syracuse University sophomore Frank Hegyi, the deciding factor was religion, an issue that helped McCain while hurting his chief competitor.

‘I voted for McCain, my second choice,’ he said. ‘Romney seemed too religious-fanaticky for me.’

Jon Jennings, a senior management major is also supporting McCain, citing his more moderate campaign approach as a preference over Romney’s.

‘Romney is a little too on the conservative side, with the whole Mormon thing, it’s going to hurt him,’ Jennings said. ‘He’s going to lose a lot of conservatives or Christians in the Bible Belt, and I don’t think they will vote for a Mormon.’

Romney was not completely overshadowed in Central New York though, as a few cars dotted with Mitt ’08 bumper-stickers lingered around the various polling places throughout the 16th ward voting district.

One of the supporters, Syracuse resident Betty Jane Boudreau, hoped her fellow Onondaga County voters would recognize Romney for his smart business sense.

‘I think he’s had a lot of experience in various things,’ Boudreau said. ‘He was the head of the Olympics and had his own business, which was very successful. He knows about economic practices, which is most important,’

Although she respects McCain for his heroism in Vietnam, Boudreau found him too argumentative, which would hurt his ties with other world leaders.

One thing all Republican candidates had in common on this primary day was a small showing by their Republican voters at the polls.

As of 5:30 p.m., the polls at the Martin J. Whitman School of Management showed only 15 Republican votes since the poll’s opening at 12:00 p.m.

Likewise, Edward Smith School, another polling place on Lancaster Avenue, showed just 26 Republican votes at 6:30 p.m., compared to 204 Democratic counterparts.

Ultimately, McCain’s victory is a cause for celebration, as he lost the New York primary to President Bush back in 2000 by roughly 5 percent of the vote.

The Arizona senator also has another positive campaign aspect to look forward to -gaining votes from those who dislike New York’s Democratic primary winner, Sen. Hillary Clinton.

‘I went for McCain,’ SU junior Rick Knar said. ‘I don’t want a Democrat in office, it’s pretty simple. Anything to keep Hillary out.’

ctorr@syr.edu

Published on February 5, 2008 at 12:00 pm