One last Kentucky tidbit

No one was surprised by Hillary Clinton's absolute dominance in the hills, hollows and other rural stretches of Kentucky in the state's Democratic presidential primary Tuesday. But as she rolled up an overall victory margin of 35 percentage points over Barack Obama in the state, one local result stands out.

Magoffin County -- which according to the Lexington Herald-Leader has been identified by the Census Bureau as "the least diverse place in the nation" -- delivered Clinton her largest share of the vote among Kentucky's 120 counties.

She racked up 93% of the vote in Magoffin (named for a former governor and located in the state's eastern half). In raw votes, the totals were Clinton, 2,714; Obama, 146.

How homogenous is the county? According to the 2000 census, 99.29% of its population of 13,332 was white.

[UPDATE: For information on the primary result in the U.S. county with the largest concentration of black residents, go here.]

-- Don Frederick

Comments

[Southernson]

And we wonder why people think Obama is perceived as an elitist! Could it be because of some of his supporters attitudes and comments posted here? It appears that most consider themselves better than all the people than reside in Ky and WV!!!

[Matt]

Being from Ky and discussing this issue with other Democrats I know, people didn't vote for Obama because he didn't campaign in Ky...Hillary did. I would venture to say the entire state felt like they were overlooked by Obama. Majority of the Democrats didn't know who they were going to vote for because they're both great candidates, and I think that was what made up there minds.

[John]

Does that also mean 99.29% of the Magoffin population did not go to college and instead clings to guns and religion?

[Peter]

Yep, Obama has won before it's over all right... just ask Florida and Michigan

[Kelly]

Seriously.
How ignorant are the people on here that assume that people that live in rural areas are uneducated and poor. I happen to live in a rural area ON PURPOSE because I like the honest people, the beauty of the area and the peacefulness. I am a vice president of a company and have my doctorate. So watch who you call dumb and poor. Not everyone wants to live in a city with concrete instead of trees and people right next to you. Thank goodness.

[kylady]

As a resident of Kentucky, I am sick and tired of hearing how racist this state is from one primary race vote. No one apparently is aware that Clinton also won in California, for if they were they would realize that in order for Clinton to have won in that state, it would have to be filled with uneducate, racist, rural, idiot rednecks! Obama has nothing to offer this state. His speeches had no real merit, no details, nothing to back up his promises. Perhaps residents of Kentucky have just exercised their right to prefer an answer to a question. Lumping the entire lot into a "deliverance" scene is not only absurd but unfair to those who actually labored over their decision of who to vote for. Go ahead, make the jokes, Kentucky will make the bourbon. For those not consumed by the stereotypes, you should try getting off the highway in Kentucky and meeting the residents before you judge them. It is irresponsible "journalism" that keeps bringing this irrelevant information to light. Serves no purpose and proves nothing. The writer can go *** himself.

[Jack]

More passive race bating by the MSM.... More important; Fox delivers yet another 'unexpected' election result on American Idol. Brace yourself.

[Sad]

Gordito,

I agree with "Not Surprised" Blacks voting in those numbers represents pride (if you assume voting solely based on color, surely a large majority are voting on his character) whereas in WV and KY that 90% represents folks voting out of hate or fear. It's voting for vs. voting against. So, please don't compare apples and oranges.

[steve]

Jr wote:
"Blacks have turned out in record numbers to vote for white candidates but the opposite can not be held to be true."

JR, if your assertion is true, then how can Obama, a black person, is leading in votes, and likely to be the next POTUS?

Last time I looked, whites are still the majority in the US.

[GM]

So basically, in one small county in Kentucky, Hillary Clinton got ALMOST as large a percentage of the white vote as Barack Obama gets of the black vote in virtually every county in virtually every state (including, ironically, Oregon, which held it's primary on the same day as Kentucky).

Why does the author think racism is okay when it's practiced by blacks, but notable and newsworthy when it's practiced by whites?

[Leishtek]

Southern white racist voters, anyone??

[JM]

Per the 2000 census, the county has 13,235 whites and 97 "non-whites"....

So, Obama got votes from 1.5 x the number of "non-white" residents but Hillary got votes from only 0.2 x the number of white residents.

Even though the county isn't very diverse, clearly SOME whites in the county are voting for Obama!

[Omentum]

146 smart people in the county.... PROGRESS..

OBAMA 08

[Sue Henderson]

For "A Voter" who responded previously:

Hillary is proud because a win is a win. Obama is proud of his wins for the same reason.

Apparently you are the uneducated less intelligent person here.

Generalized statements such as "uneducated, poor, rural whites" and "people who tend to be less intelligent and more racist than the average person" are statements that only a person who does not know the meaning of diversity or intelligence would make to spur on the inflamatory blatant racist remarks.

The real race is not between HIllary and Obama - the real race is to see if Americans - all Americans are going to stand idly by why our elected officials continue to pass laws that strip us of our freedoms (each law passed removes a little more freedom "A Voter") and make our society more dependant on government to handle the necessary duties of the American people.

This country needs leaders to foster independance from government intervention. It's passed time the American people learned to stand on their own two feet and that includes "A Voter" who obviously believes that his "education" and "intelligence" is far superior than the education and intelligence of the people of West Virginia and Kentucky.

It just does not matter who wins. It matters what the winner does while in office.

[Marc1A]

Listen to some of you.
>I'm not sure I understand why Hillary is so proud of her KY & WV victories. Is it really a good thing that she is winning the votes of uneducated, poor, rural whites? I mean, I don't think I'd want to trumpet the fact that I'm the choice of people who tend to be less intelligent and more racist than the average person...<

You may think you are all so better because you think you're not racist, but comments like these show you're all just as prejudiced as any white bigot. And it's typically Obama supporters that have this elitist attitude. Just like somebody above said, reverse-racism is still racism. Obama supporters don't seem to practice the politics of change that their leader preaches.

[kymale]

Racism is racism, I am a transplanted ky resident. It is on both sides for sure, but what do whites make up of the population has to be atleast 95%, saying it's out there and doing anything to change it is two different matters entirely. I know for me, getting out of this BS war, and developing an energy plan run 1 and 2. I tend to not go for the people who with all of there exprerience have done nothing to get out of the war, talk all they want, action dictates everything, what action has been taken, two votes for the war, no energy plan, I think Pres Clinton did nothing to curve dependance on oil, he encouraged it. He signed off on two of the most disasterous deals in history we are getting trounced, and China and India are flourishing thanks in large part to us. So I will go off of track record, and look we are screwed. I am going with the unproven guy, as black as he may be it doesn't bother me. It does bother people here very much. Coming from California, I have never seen people use the N word so much and as freely with hate then I do here.

[raymond fernandez , doctor from alabama]

The scariest thing to me is to see people with so much hate that they look down at other people and label them as uneducated and ignorant. Such intolerance is no different than the prejudices of times past.

[T Sexton]

Uneducated, I wish you had some education on who Kentuckians really are. The backbone of America who speak for many who remember how good things were untill Dubya got appointed President! Blacks vote for the black man thats OK, but if a white person votes for another white thats got to mean they are racist. I mean theres a black guy running so the correct thing to do to make sure your not racist and vote for him RIGHT!!

[KYTC]

I am just going to say it like it is. Blacks are incapable of running government. Look what happened to Africa after they stole the land from the white people and kicked them out of government. Look at New Orleans. Look at Detroit.

[MyOldKyHome]

I grew up in that area and still have a lot of family that live there. The reason Obama lost that area is not because of his skin color it is because of his ties with the Islamic religion. People there are extremely religion prejudice and since 9-11 they harbor a deep resentment against anything to do with the Islamic religion. I am not saying I agree with that sentiment I am just saying that is why he lost. Basically the people of Kentucky are more scared of Obama than they hate Hillary.

[Hallie]

I have been born and raised in Kentucky and still live here. I have a computer with internet access, a brain, a master's degree, and a strong passion for justice and fairness.

It's true that there is racism in Kentucky. However, its also true that there is racism all over the world. Kentucky is not a unique oasis of uneducated, hateful, racist, snake-handling, uncivilized barbarians.

Many of the rural counties could be viewed as less refined and uncultured by the standards of those living in coastal cities.... but they are also very spatially isolated. Its definitely not an easy part of the country to access. There are no major interstate highways traveling through the eastern part of the state.

It is brash and ignorant to make the assumption that the people of one county are an acceptable "sample" from which to base conclusions about the entire state. It is also ignorant to assume that those people voted for Hillary because they are racist.

It is VERY likely they voted for Hillary because they feel comfortable with her, they know her, and they understand her. Also, Hillary, Bill, and Chelsea spent an enormous amount of time courting the voters of this state. They were here more times then I can count in the past few months, making visits throughout the state. Plus, they were here for an entire week leading up to our primaries. They pulled a grassroots vote that came from a lot of hard work and many, many campaign visits. They stumped everywhere across this state, from the gay bars in Louisville to the small town of Loretto where the Maker's Mark distillery is located.

Personally, I am an Obama supporter. So, I took note that he was largely absent from making visits here. He made a few stops in Louisville, but he did not commit such a large amount of time to this state as the Clintons. That shows, because she won the vote. She courted our voters hard, and it paid off for her.

Its not a matter of ignorance or racism. Its a matter of campaigning. Period.

Many of the comments above are flat out hateful and rude. I think that the LA Times had every intention to imply these negative stereotypes about our state. I find it to be offensive, biased, and riddled with poor journalistic standards. That's why the LA Times should stay in its place..... regional to California. Stop overstepping your reach. Leave the national and international reporting to the New York Times, a paper worth subscribing to.

[bob]

it shows white people work more than black people

[Josh Watson]

wow...some of these comments are about as racist and ignorant of those they are against. Yes, a lot of choice is put on race. And yes, some of the people who voted are racist and bigots. But I can guarantee that some of the people who voted for Obama in every other state, are just as racist and bigoted, just against the opposite race. I think it should be more disheartning for those who espouse liberal ideals that these people are poor and uneducated. Instead of just calling them names, lets figure out a way to get them out of poverty!

[Jim]

Hillary:
Queen of the biggots.
Champoin of races in which she is the only listed candidate.
Destroyer of hope for unity and decency in government.

When will we ever learn to discern greed for power from tenacity? Carl Rove has found a soulmate!

[mayo sour cream]

Sometimes i really hate being white - whats wrong with these ignorant & insestuous freaks?