2016 Oklahoma Democratic presidential primary explained

Election Name:2016 Oklahoma Democratic presidential primary
Country:Oklahoma
Type:presidential
Ongoing:no
Previous Election:2012 Oklahoma Democratic presidential primary
Previous Year:2012
Next Election:2020 Oklahoma Democratic presidential primary
Next Year:2020
Candidate1:Bernie Sanders
Color1:228B22
Home State1:Vermont
Delegate Count1:22
Popular Vote1:174,228
Percentage1:51.88%
Candidate2:Hillary Clinton
Color2:d4aa00
Home State2:New York
Delegate Count2:18
Popular Vote2:139,443
Percentage2:41.52%
Map Size:350px

The 2016 Oklahoma Democratic presidential primary took place on March 1 in the U.S. state of Oklahoma as one of the Democratic Party's primaries ahead of the 2016 presidential election.

On the same day, dubbed "Super Tuesday," Democratic primaries were held in ten other states plus American Samoa, while the Republican Party held primaries in eleven states including their own Oklahoma primary.

Opinion polling

See also: Statewide opinion polling for the 2016 Democratic Party presidential primaries.

Results

See also: Results of the Democratic Party presidential primaries, 2016.

Primary date: March 1, 2016
National delegates: 91

Results by county

County[1] ClintonVotesSandersVotes
33.4% 58255.8%971
28.0% 9258.1%191
28.4% 37055.4%723
28.9% 5252.2%94
31.2% 46455.4%824
37.3% 31351.8%435
31.2% 1,05056.8%1,913
36.4% 1,06053.0%1,543
38.4% 3,35756.3%4,922
32.3% 1,24055.0%2,113
38.7% 2,02355.4%2,897
29.0% 38456.4%745
17.5% 2254.0%68
37.6% 10,43359.3%16,428
19.0% 13663.6%456
44.9% 3,52348.5%3,804
29.7% 20456.4%388
35.8% 60954.5%926
35.8% 60950.9%926
33.6% 75057.1%1,273
41.2% 1,44750.5%1,773
27.5% 13455.4%270
23.3% 7064.1%193
41.3% 1,40352.2%1,771
32.7% 90954.1%1,505
34.2% 1,62956.2%2,677
31.9% 12557.1%224
27.6% 16455.8%332
37.2% 12250.9%167
26.1% 6857.9%151
32.8% 47551.9%752
33.0% 53753.7%873
38.6% 50549.8%652
29.4% 19751.7%347
24.8% 26057.8%606
38.5% 1,28853.5%1,791
33.2% 26858.5%472
34.8% 33154.0%514
31.2% 49953.3%852
33.1% 1,49850.5%2,283
38.5% 1,16153.8%1,623
42.1% 1,31452.7%1,645
32.0% 31451.1%502
34.7% 14053.2%215
30.3% 40056.0%738
40.0% 1,65951.7%2,144
35.4% 1,15757.1%1,865
28.3% 71252.3%1,314
40.2% 1,02249.6%1,261
32.7% 54454.6%909
44.8% 3,38146.6%3,515
35.3% 36254.8%562
38.2% 40649.9%530
36.9% 42152.3%1,261
50.1% 34,25547.4%32,368
45.7% 1,86746.1%1,882
47.5% 2,39046.2%2,327
39.3% 97250.1%1,238
40.5% 60351.1%762
38.9% 2,62256.7%3,829
31.6% 1,71755.8%3,026
29.6% 1,18659.8%2,392
37.5% 2,30055.5%3,400
26.7% 31756.1%667
21.6% 10058.0%268
39.6% 2,81052.9%3,757
36.0% 93250.1%1,194
36.0% 1,35949.6%1,872
31.2% 1,17456.1%2,108
31.7% 26746.7%393
33.2% 21453.7%346
47.4% 25,37249.6%26,525
43.5% 2,49349.1%2,813
42.4% 1,64951.6%2,006
25.1% 29260.1%700
33.8% 21756.5%363
30.8% 34362.4%694
Total 41.5% 139,338 51.9% 174,054

Analysis

As he had managed in other primarily white Great Plains states including neighboring Kansas, Bernie Sanders won a convincing ten-point victory in Oklahoma. This marked a clear difference from 2008 when Hillary Clinton had won the state by 21 points against Barack Obama, winning 76 of the state's 77 counties. According to exit polls, Sanders won men 60-33, younger voters 76-23, white voters 56-36, and Independent voters 69-21. Clinton, for her part, won women 48-46, older voters 50-41, non-white voters 56-40, and Democrats 52-43. A majority of voters in the primary said they thought Clinton was not honest or trustworthy, 51-47.[1]

Sanders swept 75 of Oklahoma's 77 counties. He performed strongly in the major cities of Norman, Stillwater, Enid, and Moore. He narrowly edged out Clinton in Tulsa County by a margin of 2.28%. Clinton narrowly won in Oklahoma County (the only county to vote for Obama in the 2008 primary), home to Oklahoma City, and Osage County, home of the Osage Native American tribe.

Sanders won most of the rural, majority white and deeply conservative counties of the state, including those in the Oklahoma Panhandle, Little Dixie, and Southwestern Oklahoma which are among the most radically conservative areas of the nation. The Little Dixie region in particular was the base of President Bill Clinton's support in the 1992 and 1996 elections, as this area consists of socially conservative but economically liberal Democrats, many of whom were drawn to Sanders's opposition to trade deals like NAFTA.

Notes and References

  1. Web site: 2016 Election Center. CNN. June 4, 2018.