Of the 8,370 registered Malibu voters, approximately 42.5 percent went to the polls on Feb. 5.
By Jonathan Friedman / Assistant Editor
If Malibu were a large state, Mitt Romney might still be in the presidential race for the Republican nomination. The former Massachusetts governor narrowly beat Arizona Sen. John McCain among Malibu Republicans with 46 percent of the vote to McCain’s 43.1 percent. Statewide, McCain easily defeated Romney, 42.2 percent to 34.4 percent.
Malibu Democrats also had a different opinion than their party did statewide. Illinois Sen. Barack Obama received 56.3 percent of the vote, while New York Sen. Hillary Clinton earned 42 percent. Clinton had 51.9 percent statewide. Obama came in second with 42.6 percent.
Of the 2,720 registered Republicans in Malibu, 1,012 voted in the presidential primary. The votes were distributed as follows: Romney, 465; McCain, 436; Ron Paul, 60; Mike Huckabee, 38; Rudy Giuliani, 7; Fred Thompson, 3; Tom Tancredo, 2; and Alan Keyes, 1.
Of the 3,561 registered Democratic voters in Malibu, 1,992 cast votes during the primary. The final Malibu tally for democrats was Obama, 1,232; Clinton, 919; John Edwards, 22; Dennis Kucinich, 5; Joe Biden, 4; Chris Dodd, 2; Mike Gravel, 1; and Bill Richardson, 1.
The Malibu Democratic Club and Malibu Republican Women, Federated, did not endorse any candidates because state regulations of their respective parties prevent them from doing so.
Jean T. Goodman, president of the Malibu Democratic Club, said she was somewhat surprised by the local results.
“With a lot of new construction and increase in the size of the homes in Malibu, a lot of the older people are moving out,” Goodman said. “It’s unclear right now as to the political feeling of those people who are moving in.”
Goodman said she voted for Clinton, as did many of the Democrats she spoke with on the club’s board.
“I think the overall feeling I got, and the reason I’m supporting her as well, is that we feel she’s got the experience,” Goodman said. She continued, “If we were in good economic times and we were not in a war, then you could have somebody who has a longer learning curve.”
Alice Starr, wife of Pepperdine University School of Law Dean Kenneth Starr, is president of Malibu Republican Women. She declined to say whom she voted for, saying it would not be appropriate as president of the organization. However, she was not shocked by Romney getting the Malibu votes.
“Nothing surprises me,” she said. “Every district has been different, but the Republicans usually come together [in the General Election] and support their candidate.”
With McCain looking like he’ll lock in the Republican nomination, Starr said she is not concerned about the criticism from conservatives hurting his chance in the General Election.
“I think that the alternative for Rush Limbaugh [having a Democrat win] would not be palatable,” Starr said. “He and others, like Laura Ingraham, know what’s best for the country. Being 80 percent conservative is better than zero percent.”
Starr said with a certainty of whom their candidate will be this early, the Republicans will take the opportunity to get together and organize.
“John McCain will have a lot of time to mend fences with the conservatives, and to gather some momentum,” she said.
Meanwhile, the Democrats have the possibility of not knowing who their candidate will be until after the Democratic Convention. This does not concern Goodman that her party’s chances of getting into the White House might be harmed, regardless of who the candidate is.
“The Republicans, if you listen to their candidates, they don’t get it,” Goodman said. “They’re pretty clueless to the concerns of working Americans, the lower income Americans. And you’re going to see a response to that on Election Day.”
Meanwhile, Starr is equally optimistic about McCain’s chances.
“The conservatives are going to vote Republican and the liberals will vote for the Democrat,” Starr said. “What it comes down to is the independents, the people in the middle, will decide the election. And it may come down to who they feel can secure our borders and provide national security we all feel we need in a time of turmoil and terror. People are on their guard and want a president who knows how to handle foreign policy.”
Malibu was in synch with the rest of the state on the ballot measures, with the majority voting against Propositions 91, 92 and 93 and voting in favor of the four Indian gaming measures.