Bill Clinton might have drawn a crowd as he campaigned for his wife in Boone County last week, but Barack Obama drew the votes, winning the county 52 percent to Clinton’s 48 percent.

It was even closer statewide, with Clinton and Obama virtually tied with all but a few Lake County precincts in at press time.

Democratic Party Chairman Jim Whelan said a large number of the votes cast for Obama and Hillary Clinton may have come from cross-over Republicans, and he said there was little question the presidential primary was the biggest reason for cross-over voting.

“It’s amazing, it’s exciting,” he said.

While he was pleased to see Republicans picking up a Democratic ballot, he was even more excited to see another group turn out Tuesday.

“Primarily young people came out and wanted to be a part of it,” he said. “What really feels good is the young people getting involved.”

Republican Party Chairman Tom Easterday also attributed the turnout largely to the presidential race, but he said the school board races — which are decided during the primary — also were a big draw, especially in Center and Eagle townships.

As for the number of Republicans who crossed party lines Tuesday, Easterday said he wasn’t too worried.

“They’ll come back home,” he said.

Easterday said he suspected some Republicans were answering Rush Limbaugh’s “Operation Chaos” call, in hopes of prolonging the contest between Clinton and Obama and potentially detracting from both candidates.

Other cross-over Republicans may have been caught up in the historic opportunity to participate in a presidential primary in which their vote is still relevant — something that has not happened in the state in more than 40 years.

Jeanine Metzing said she almost always votes Republican, but decided to switch to vote on a Democratic ballot this time.

“It was strictly making your vote count,” she said.

She said she wanted to have more people to choose from. She is also tired of hearing about the Democratic race. She wanted to do her part in ending the race, and finally get to the general election.

Other voters, such as Matt Light who normally votes Republican, switched over because of his dissatisfaction with President George Bush.

“The administration screwed everything up so bad there has to be some kind of fix,” Light said.

Some Republicans didn’t have the best interest of the Democrats in their mind when switching parties. One woman outside Zionsville Town Hall who said she voted for Hillary Clinton answered yes when asked if she was “a chaos Republican,” but quickly turned around and walked to car.

Whatever the reason, Easterday believes Republican voters who have cast for Democratic candidates made that decision based on the candidates’ personalities, will return to Republican fold this fall, when party principals take precedence.

“There will be a clear difference between whichever candidate (the Democrats endorse) and McCain,” Easterday said.

As for Indiana’s primary system, which allowed Republicans to easily defect during the primary, Easterday said he supports it because it allows people who legitimately want to vote for someone in the opposite party to do so. The downside in this election, he said, is that several important county-level Republican contests were decided during the primary, and cross-over Republicans missed the chance to participate in those decisions.

Those who voted on the Democratic ticket also had a choice between two gubernatorial candidates.

In Boone County, Jim Schellinger won over Jill Long Thompson, 53 percent to 47 percent. Statewide, the vote was too close to call at press time. With virtually 100 percent of the vote in, Schellinger led 50.4 percdent to Thompson’s 49.6 percent.

The winner of that race will face incumbent Republican Mitch Daniels in the fall.