31% | 1130 votes |
2% | 87 votes |
51% | 1851 votes |
1% | 50 votes |
1% | 33 votes |
5% | 178 votes |
6% | 226 votes |
1% | 27 votes |
1% | 18 votes |
Which extreme minority do you think I voted in?
And how did you vote? And why?
31% | 1130 votes |
2% | 87 votes |
51% | 1851 votes |
1% | 50 votes |
1% | 33 votes |
5% | 178 votes |
6% | 226 votes |
1% | 27 votes |
1% | 18 votes |
Bottom line: With just 600 delegates up for grabs and front-runner Obama 658 short of the 2,025 needed for victory, it is mathematically impossible for either candidate to clinch the nomination before the process is scheduled to end with Puerto Rico's June 7 caucuses.Obama remains in the overall delegate lead, 1,567 to 1,462, according to Associated Press estimates.
With neither candidate able to wrap up the nomination during the primary season, Clinton and Obama must try to seal the deal by courting the 350 still-uncommitted superdelegates, including 14 from Texas.
A potential wild card is the continuing battle inside the Democratic National Committee over the seating of delegates from Florida and Michigan, two states whose convention votes have been taken away because they scheduled January primaries in violation of party rules.But governors of both states are talking about arranging for a June re-vote if private funding can be arranged to cover the costs. For very different reasons, the idea unites Clinton and GOP leaders.
Republicans see these "do-overs" as an opportunity to drain Democratic resources and create additional tension between the two foes. Clinton's strategists eye an opportunity to erase Obama's edge.
The crowd started growing well before the polls closed, and by 7:15 something resembling a mob had assembled in front of the Lovett Inn in the heart of Montrose. Patiently they waited for the chance to ... well, nobody was quite sure. ...
The hitherto obscure process, usually the province of the political hard core, was elevated to the main stage Tuesday by the tight race between Obama and Clinton and the unusual rules of the Democratic primary, which apportions delegates both by popular vote and success in the caucus straw poll."I've been doing this in Democratic primaries for 30 years, and I've never seen anything like it," said Annise Parker, the Houston city controller and a nearby resident. "This just shows that if you get the right scenario and the right candidates, people will come out to vote. Here you have a history-making election — either an African-American or a woman will be the Democratic candidate."
"I don't know how much difference this makes in the long run, but it makes a lot of difference to me," said 31-year-old Megan House, who was hoping to be chosen a delegate for the next stage of the process. "You've got to make a stand somewhere. People are understanding that democracy is controlled by those who show up."And show up they did. So much so that some precinct conventions took hours to resolve, especially in places where many people were still waiting to vote at the nominal closing hour of 7 p.m. The convention cannot start until the polls are closed.
Like the day's voting before them, most of the caucuses went off without a hitch. But there were exceptions, mainly because of large crowds and poor logistics. At the Harris County Courthouse Annex No. 31, the polling place for Precincts 325 and 327, the building's configuration made it difficult to organize the 300 or so people who turned out to participate, said Gertha Giles, a poll volunteer.
In Precincts 559 and 620, which also were combined for the primary, hundreds of people were still waiting in line outside the Westchase Public Library at 10:30 p.m. Poll officials did not open the doors and eventually police were called to the scene. Officers said there was never any violence, and once people were able to get inside the situation calmed down. ...
As the last of the people waiting to caucus filed inside the library about 11 p.m., police lingering in the parking lot said they'd heard calls over the radio for officers to help with overflow crowds at two other nearby caucus stations in West Side division alone: a church on Boone south of Wilcrest and a library in the 10000 block of South Kirkwood.
Across Harris County, from the inner loop to the suburbs, polling places were overwhelmed by unprecedented caucus attendance. At Precinct 64 in the predominantly Hispanic East End, the Democratic caucus drew a record turnout that astounded longtime participants.