Clinton Hypes Up The Importance Of West Virginia

Charleston, WV (AHN) - Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-NY) worked to hype what is already expected to be a big win for her in West Virginia by telling voters that no Democrat has gone to the White House since 1916 without winning the state.

"If West Virginia had voted for our Democratic nominee in 2000 and 2004, we wouldn't have had to put up with George Bush for the last seven and a half years," she is quoted by MSNBC as saying during a rally in Logan. "I am going to work as hard as I can between now and the time the polls close tomorrow, because I want to earn your support."

Later on a visit to Tudor's Biscuit World in Charleston, the former first lady repeated what has become an oft-quoted phrase in the final hours before the state's primaries. "No Democrat has won the White House since 1916 without winning West Virginia," she said, according to Fox.

Surveys are predicting a victory for Clinton in the Mountain State, one of three states including Kentucky and Puerto Rico that campaign chairman Terry McAuliffe told CNN they hope to win by huge margins and thereby win the popular vote.

Despite what may be a loss in West Virginia, Sen. Barack Obama (D-IL) is scheduled to begin his general election campaign on Tuesday in Missouri. The Illinois senator, who has been endorsed by Sen. Jay Rockefeller (D-WV), set the bar high for the Clinton campaign on Monday, citing a comment by former President Bill Clinton saying they could easily get 80% of the vote in the state.

"I think President Clinton said that they are going to get 80% of the vote. We'll take him at his word," Obama said during a press availability in Charleston, according to Time.