Romney Wins in Kentucky; Obama's Race Tighter

May 22, 2012, 7:24 p.m. ET.

Romney Wins in Kentucky; Obama's Race Tighter .

By COLLEEN MCCAIN NELSON
Mitt Romney easily won the Kentucky Republican presidential primary on Tuesday, while President Barack Obama had a tighter race in his primary in the state—against no challenger at all.

With 37% of precincts reporting, Mr. Romney had 67% of the vote, compared with 13% for Rep. Ron Paul. Rick Santorum and Newt Gingrich gathered 9% and 6% of the vote, respectively.

Mr. Obama, in the Democratic primary, was carrying 60% of the vote with 37% of precincts reporting, while 40% of voters chose "uncommitted."

Mr. Obama also faced a primary challenge from John Wolfe in Tuesday's primary in Arkansas, with results due later in the evening.

The results won't hinder Mr. Obama's march to the Democratic nomination, but they are somewhat embarrassing for a president whose primary victories were expected to be perfunctory. Mr. Obama has faced notable challenges recently from low-profile opponents and, in some cases, from the just-not-Obama option on the ballot. Tuesday's primaries, and the results from a couple other recent contests, suggest a lack of enthusiasm for the president among some Democrats in at least a handful of states.

Two weeks ago in West Virginia, felon Keith Judd won almost 41% of vote in the Democratic presidential primary. Mr. Judd didn't have the option of campaigning because he is locked up in a federal prison in Texas. In the North Carolina Democratic primary, 21% of voters opted for "no preference" rather than cast their ballots for Mr. Obama.

In Arkansas, Mr. Wolfe did mount a campaign, and he expressed confidence that he would make a strong showing Tuesday. But the Arkansas Democratic Party said that Mr. Wolfe had failed to comply with its delegate selection plan and would not be awarded any delegates.

Arkansas and Kentucky have never been friendly territory for the president. In 2008, he won 39% and 41% of the vote, respectively, in those states, and they are unlikely to shift to the Democrats' column in the fall.

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‘Uncommitted’ and unknown score points against Obama

By Joel Roberts May 23, 2012

President Obama easily won Tuesday night's Democratic primary in Kentucky, capturing 58 percent of the vote.

That sounds like a solid victory. But with the president running unopposed in the Bluegrass State that means more than four in 10 voters didn't pick him.
Who did they choose instead? Forty-two percent of those going to the polls rejected the president in favor of "uncommitted."


And, according to Louisville's Courier-Journal newspaper, in 67 of Kentucky's 120 counties, "uncommitted" received more votes than the president.
Over in Arkansas, where he had an actual opponent, Obama lost a similar percentage of the vote. According to preliminary returns from the state's open primary, John Wolfe, a lawyer from Tennessee, is polling at about 40 percent.

‘Uncommitted’ and unknown score points against Obama | The Ticket - Yahoo! News