TURNOUT: Voters have come out in record numbers in about half the states voting in presidential primaries so far, according to an analysis by American University’s Center for the Study of the American Electorate. About 14 million people have voted in the Democratic primaries this year compared with the slightly more than 10 million who voted in GOP primaries.
SHOUT-OUT: Rapper will.i.am, frontman for the Black Eyed Peas, has written a song supporting Barack Obama called “Yes We Can” and produced a music video starring a host of A-list celebrities. The viral video hit has had almost 1.9 million views on YouTube since being posted Friday. The song features Obama’s voice set to will.i.am’s music and melody, plus vocalizations of the speech from Scarlett Johansson, John Legend, Kate Walsh, Common, Nicole Scherzinger, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Herbie Hancock and other celebrity supporters.
CLOSEOUT: One GOP race on Super Tuesday was undecided by the time the Tribune’s final Wednesday edition went to print. That was the Alaska caucuses, where Mitt Romney won 44 percent, Mike Huckabee 22, Ron Paul 17 and John McCain 16. One Democratic race remained undecided late Wednesday: In New Mexico, Hillary Clinton had 49 percent to 48 percent for Obama, with 98 percent of precincts reporting. She led by 210 votes.
BAILOUT? The Democratic National Committee is pressuring Michigan and Florida to hold presidential caucuses so the delegates they lost for holding January primaries could be seated at the national convention, DNC member Debbie Dingell of Michigan said. Democratic delegates for both states were revoked because their primaries violated DNC rules by being scheduled too early in the season. Now, Dingell said, if they want any delegates, they may need to hold a do-over vote — perhaps a caucus this time.
