The District of Columbia Democratic Presidential Primary took place on February 12, 2008, nicknamed the "Potomac Primary

Potomac primary

The Potomac primary , also called Chesapeake Tuesday, the Beltway primary, and the Crabcake primary, was the confluence of three Democratic presidential primaries and three Republican presidential primaries which took place on February 12, 2008.- Republican primaries :*District of Columbia...

" because Maryland

Maryland Democratic primary, 2008

The Maryland Democratic Presidential Primary took place on February 12, 2008. Nicknamed the "Potomac Primary" or the "Chesapeake Primary" because the District of Columbia and Virginia also held their primaries that day , a total of 70 delegates were up for grabs in Maryland...

 and Virginia

Virginia Democratic primary, 2008

The 2008 Virginia Democratic primary took place on February 12, 2008, an election day nicknamed the "Potomac Primary" because the District of Columbia and Maryland also held Democratic primaries. The Virginia Democratic primary was an open primary, and was competitive for the first time since 1988...

, which border the Potomac River

Potomac River

The Potomac River flows into the Chesapeake Bay, located along the mid-Atlantic coast of the United States. The river is approximately long, with a drainage area of about 14,700 square miles...

, also held Democratic primaries that day. Fifteen delegates were up for grabs in the District of Columbia Democratic Primary, including 10 delegates from the District of Columbia's municipal subdivisions (five delegates for Wards 1-4, and five delegates for Wards 5-8). An additional five delegates were awarded to the at-large winner, Barack Obama

Barack Obama

Barack Hussein Obama II is the 44th and current President of the United States. He is the first African American to hold the office. Obama previously served as a United States Senator from Illinois, from January 2005 until he resigned following his victory in the 2008 presidential election.Born in...

. These 15 delegates represented the District of Columbia at the Democratic National Convention

2008 Democratic National Convention

The United States 2008 Democratic National Convention was a quadrennial presidential nominating convention of the Democratic Party where it adopted its national platform and officially nominated its candidates for President and Vice President of the United States. The convention was held in Denver,...

 in Denver, Colorado

Denver, Colorado

The City and County of Denver is the capital and the most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Denver is a consolidated city-county, located in the South Platte River Valley on the western edge of the High Plains just east of the Front Range of the Rocky Mountains...

. A total of 24 unpledged delegates, known as superdelegate

Superdelegate

"Superdelegate" is an informal term commonly used for some of the delegates to the Democratic National Convention, the presidential nominating convention of the United States Democratic Party....

s, also attended the convention and cast their votes as well.

Barack Obama

Barack Obama

Barack Hussein Obama II is the 44th and current President of the United States. He is the first African American to hold the office. Obama previously served as a United States Senator from Illinois, from January 2005 until he resigned following his victory in the 2008 presidential election.Born in...

 received the endorsements of Mayor Adrian Fenty

Adrian Fenty

Adrian Malik Fenty was the sixth, and at age 36, the youngest, mayor of the District of Columbia. He served one term—from 2007 to 2011—losing his bid for reelection at the primary level to Democrat Vincent C. Gray...

 and former Mayor Marion Barry

Marion Barry

Marion Shepilov Barry, Jr. is an American Democratic politician who is currently serving as a member of the Council of the District of Columbia, representing DC's Ward 8. Barry served as the second elected mayor of the District of Columbia from 1979 to 1991, and again as the fourth mayor from 1995...

 (both African Americans), while he and Hillary Clinton were both endorsed by various members on the District of Columbia City Council. Barack Obama won the District of Columbia, as he did the other Potomac contests that day. He earned 12 pledged delegates to Clinton's 3.

Polls

Results

District of Columbia Democratic Presidential Primary Results – 2008
Party		Candidate	Votes	Percentage	Delegates
	Democratic Democratic Party (United States) The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...	Barack Obama Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II is the 44th and current President of the United States. He is the first African American to hold the office. Obama previously served as a United States Senator from Illinois, from January 2005 until he resigned following his victory in the 2008 presidential election.Born in...	93,386	75.31%	12
	Democratic Democratic Party (United States) The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...	Hillary Rodham Clinton Hillary Rodham Clinton Hillary Diane Rodham Clinton is the 67th United States Secretary of State, serving in the administration of President Barack Obama. She was a United States Senator for New York from 2001 to 2009. As the wife of the 42nd President of the United States, Bill Clinton, she was the First Lady of the...	29,470	23.77%	3
	Democratic Democratic Party (United States) The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...	John Edwards John Edwards Johnny Reid "John" Edwards is an American politician, who served as a U.S. Senator from North Carolina. He was the Democratic nominee for Vice President in 2004, and was a candidate for the Democratic presidential nomination in 2004 and 2008.He defeated incumbent Republican Lauch Faircloth in...	347	0.28%	0
	Democratic Democratic Party (United States) The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...	Uncommitted	339	0.27%	0
	Democratic Democratic Party (United States) The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...	Dennis Kucinich Dennis Kucinich Dennis John Kucinich is the U.S. Representative for , serving since 1997. He was furthermore a candidate for the Democratic nomination for President of the United States in the 2004 and 2008 presidential elections....	193	0.16%	0
	Democratic Democratic Party (United States) The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...	Bill Richardson	145	0.12%	0
	Democratic Democratic Party (United States) The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...	Write-ins Write-in candidate A write-in candidate is a candidate in an election whose name does not appear on the ballot, but for whom voters may vote nonetheless by writing in the person's name. Some states and local jurisdictions allow a voter to affix a sticker with a write-in candidate's name on it to the ballot in lieu...	114	0.09%	0
Totals			123,994	100.00%	15
Voter turnout			%		—

Analysis

The District of Columbia is majority-African American, a voting bloc that consistently backed Barack Obama nationwide. The District also includes highly educated and upper-middle class White professionals who tend to be relatively progressive

Progressivism

Progressivism is an umbrella term for a political ideology advocating or favoring social, political, and economic reform or changes. Progressivism is often viewed by some conservatives, constitutionalists, and libertarians to be in opposition to conservative or reactionary ideologies.The...

/liberal

Liberalism

Liberalism is the belief in the importance of liberty and equal rights. Liberals espouse a wide array of views depending on their understanding of these principles, but generally, liberals support ideas such as constitutionalism, liberal democracy, free and fair elections, human rights,...

, another segment of the population that often backed Obama.