Archive for January 11th, 2012
Voters under 30 help carry Paul to second-place finish behind Mitt Romney.
By Dan Montalto, with reporting by Gil Kaufman and Sway Calloway
Ron Paul at his primary night campaign rally in New Hampshire
Photo: Getty Images
As predicted by the polls, the New Hampshire Republican primary handily went to Mitt Romney, former governor of neighboring Massachusetts. But as in Iowa, the youth vote tells a different story.
According to the Center for Information and Research on Civic Learning and Engagement, fifteen percent of all eligible New Hampshire voters under the age of 30 took part in Tuesday’s presidential primary. Paul was a heavy favorite, drawing the support of 47 percent of voters under 30, compared with 25 percent for Mitt Romney.
Paul’s margin of victory in the under-30 demographic was 22 percent — coincidentally tying Romney’s margin of victory among those 65 and over for the largest victory by any candidate in any single age group.
“There is no way they are going to stop the momentum that we have started,” Paul told an energized crowd during his speech late Tuesday night. “I called Governor Romney a short while ago, before he gave his talk, and congratulated him, because he certainly had a clear-cut victory. But we’re nibbling at his heels.”
Paul addressed young voters directly during his speech, saying, “And that is the victory that you have brought about, because you have been the ones that have done the work. There’s a lot of people here, but the ones across the country — the donors and the excitement on the campuses — it’s just unbelievable.”
MTV News spoke to several Paul supporters while in New Hampshire for its Power of 12 campaign. Keating Tufts, 21, a student at Southern New Hampshire University, said that college tuition was a major factor in his decision to vote for Paul. “We’re paying more for school every single year, the tuition keeps on going up,” Tufts told MTV News shortly after casting his vote Tuesday.
Others view Paul as an alternative not only to the other Republican candidates, but to President Obama as well. “I think there were a lot of disillusioned voters in ’08 who thought Obama would be a good solution to the problems presented by Bush,” Pericles Niarchos, 26, told MTV News Sunday night in Manchester. “And after the last four years, we’ve seen the wars extended, we’ve seen [the terror detention center at] Guantanamo Bay remain open … the war on drugs continues on, we see bailout of the corporate elite that started under Bush. So a lot of those supporters … [feel] Dr. Paul has a consistent record on these issues.”
Paul will undoubtedly seek to build on his momentum from New Hampshire, but he faces an uphill battle in the next two primary contests in South Carolina (January 21) and Florida (January 31), where he is currently polling a distant fourth, according to Real Clear Politics’ most recent aggregate polling data.
MTV is on the scene in New Hampshire! Check back here around the clock for up-to-the-minute coverage on the primary caucuses, and stick with PowerOf12.org throughout the presidential election season.
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Seth Rogen, Viola Davis, Rooney Mara also celebrate their 2011 films at event.
By Eric Ditzian
George Clooney on the NBR red carpet
Photo: MTV News
NEW YORK — Is there anything George Clooney can’t do at this point? A nearly perennial presence on the awards-season circuit and just so freaking dapper in a tuxedo he’s almost a parody of himself, Clooney managed to gently mock a reporter at the glittering National Board of Review red carpet Tuesday night — “I was going to say, where the hell’s the tie?” — and it still came off as charming.
For the record, Mr. Clooney, the reporter in question was going for the casual, unshaven look — though it’s difficult to stand next to the “Descendants” star and come off looking good, especially when the A-lister has girlfriend Stacy Keibler on his arm. Oh well. At NBR’s bash, the focus was on film — ones that we’re going to be talking a lot about as the Golden Globes and Oscar approach. For Clooney, though, the goal in making movies like “Descendants” and “Ides of March” isn’t about getting awards-season love.
For photos from the red carpet, click here.
“You don’t do them for that,” he told us. “You do them because you want to make films that last longer than an opening weekend. Both films were films I was really proud of and felt we could tell interesting stories and hope they find an audience. We were lucky enough that they did.”
He’s not the only one feeling fortunate. Joining Clooney on the carpet were folks like Rooney Mara, Emma Stone, Keira Knightley, Alec Baldwin, Seth Rogen, Naomi Watts, Sir Ben Kingsley, Helen Mirren, Lars Ulrich, Jessica Chastain, Michael Fassbender and Martin Scorsese. For his part, Rogen couldn’t quite believe he and his film “50/50″ were part of all the craziness.
“It slowly keeps happening,” he said of the continuing stream of nominations. “Every time we get one thing, I think that’s going to be the last one for sure — and then we get another one. I remember for the Golden Globes, I didn’t even wake up to see. I honestly did not assume we were going to get nominations for any of this.”
“Hugo” star Asa Butterfield echoed that sentiment when he confessed to MTV News, “I’m surprised. What’s to like about me?”
A lot, kid! But hey, humility was the theme at the NBR, as star after star professed him or herself simply happy to be along for the ride — which is not to say these folks don’t think they’ve delivered something special.
“I knew we had something the moment we arrived in Mississippi July 11,” “The Help” star Viola Davis said. “It’s a special story. It’s a human story. It’s an honest story. No other movie this year looks like this — all these women, all these races, all these ages. I knew we had something.”
For breaking news, celebrity columns, humor and more — updated around the clock — visit MTVMoviesBlog.com.
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