Clinton wins Pike and PA; Hackett wins 10th GOP nod

MILFORD — Tuesday’s primary brought victories for Democratic Presidential hopeful Hillary Clinton and the now Republican nominee for the 10th Congressional District, Chris Hackett. “We’re thrilled with the results tonight…we never thought we would win by this large of a margin in Pike County,” said an exhausted yet exhilarated Jay Tucker, Pike County coordinator for the Clinton campaign. Talking over the phone after a large celebration at the campaign’s office in Milford, Tucker said, “Clinton really gets it about the working class people, and it struck home to voters in the northeast.” Clinton won 58% of the vote in Pike County, and carried the state by about ten points. “No doubt that President Clinton’s trip to Milford helped out. It gave us a huge lift,” he said, recalling a campaign event on Sunday. “As he said, if Hillary can win Pennsylvania she could be our next President, and I think we’ve shown that,” Tucker commented. An equally exhausted but not downtrodden Ryan Jameson said that the results were a success of their own for Barack Obama. Jameson, Pike’s coordinator for the Obama campaign, said about seventy volunteers spent the day canvassing and making last minute phone calls. He said the efforts were worthwhile because, overall, the campaign stripped away what was supposed to be a much bigger victory for the New York Senator. “We still have a lot of work to do. We are going to keep the office open as long as possible and continue to hold meetings…there is no way she’s getting the nomination,” Jameson asserted. On a lighter note, Jameson said the Clinton campaign brought by a bottle of wine to their election returns party on Tuesday, as a sign of appreciation for their work and efforts to register new Democratic voters. Both Tucker, a high school guidance counselor, and Jameson, a high school senior, returned to Delaware Valley High School this week after two months of hard campaigning. The battle for the nomination will move on to Indiana and North Carolina where primaries will be held on May 6. Tuesday night also brought good news to businessman Chris Hackett, 45, who won the 10th district Republican nomination by nearly three thousands votes. Hackett lost Pike County by 27 votes to his opponent, Dan Meuser. Both men spent close to $2.6 million of their own money on the campaign. Speaking shortly after the Associated Press called the election in his favor, Hackett commented, “This is not just a win for me, it is a win for the team and for the entire Republican Party.” Hackett told the Courier that his message of stopping wasteful spending by ending the earmark system in Washington, and pledging to not accept earmarks into the district if elected, resonated with the voters, and is something that will appeal to Democratic voters in November. “I look forward to moving on against Chris Carney in the general election,” Hackett said. Over 9,100 Pike residents went to the polls, more than doubling 2004 and 2006 turnout.