Huckabee, Clinton get local primary nods

By Staff
Jonathan Willis
Two former prominent Arkansas officials won presidential primaries in Franklin County Tuesday.
Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee and former first lady and current New York Sen. Hillary Clinton carried the county in Tuesday's primaries, although Clinton lost statewide.
First-term Illinois Sen. Barack Obama beat the former first lady to win Alabama's delegates on the Democratic ticket.
Huckabee won Alabama's delegates on the Republican ticket.
Jerry Fancher, executive director of the Franklin County Republican Committee and a Huckabee delegate, said he was pleased that county and state voters threw their support towards Huckabee, but said he was a little disappointed in overall voter turnout Tuesday.
"I thought there would be a little more people who would vote than there was," Fancher said, pointing out the fact that there were 6,391 ballots cast in the county.
Huckabee beat Arizona Sen. John McCain 1,675 to 770 in the county.
In the Democratic primary, Clinton outpolled Obama 2,731 to 651.
The only precinct in the county Obama won was at the Chucky Mullins Center in Russellville.
"It is about what I expected for our county," said Franklin County Democratic Party Chairman Brian Hamilton. "I expected (Clinton) to win Franklin County even though Obama was winning statewide."
Hamilton said he was pleased with voter turnout considering that presidential candidates chose not to spend much time in Alabama campaigning.
"Based on the amount of attention they gave us, I am pleased," he said.