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March 03, 2008
D-Day Arrives
Finally. The political hysteria that has gripped Texas over the last few weeks reaches a climax tomorrow. That's right folks, primary day has arrived, a fact that no doubt brings a mix of high anxiety and relief to candidates and their teams across the state.
While the Republican presidential nomination has effectively been decided, (tomorrow's contests may well push McCain across the delegate threshold he needs to wrap the race up), for the two Democratic contenders, Tuesday's big showdowns in Texas and Ohio are hotly contested, and could prove decisive, or not. Early voting participation in the Texas Democratic Primary was unprecedented, and there is no sign of a let-up on Election Day.
And as the Clinton and Obama campaigns slug it out at the top of the ticket, the tremendous increase in voter turnout they have generated in Texas has profound implications for candidates below them on the ballot, from Rick Noriega and the nobodys running for United States Senate down to folks running for local office like constable. What do those 2.5 million or so Texans voting in the Democratic Primary do in those down-ballot races? Most will know little if anything about the other races. How many skip them? How many just pick a name?
And on the Republican side, what does a fairly average turnout mean for their down-ballot contests, like the race for Harris County Judge between Ed Emmett and Charles Bacarisse, and several contested State House primaries? Given that Republican moderates seem to be heading for the other primary this year, we think it favors the more definably "conservative" candidates, but we'll see.
As our last posting warned, prepare for a long day tomorrow. We expect lines to vote, particularly in the urban areas, and the possibility of having to extend voting beyond 7pm. We expect a chaotic caucus process, and significant delays in reporting the primary results. Meanwhile, the nation will be watching. No pressure, right? Here we go!
Posted by houtopia at March 3, 2008 10:04 PM