Early Voting Begins In Texas

Delegates From March 4th Primary Are Biggest Prize Left For Democrats, Who Debate In Austin Thursday

(AP)  Early voting begins Tuesday in Texas, the biggest prize left in the race for the Democratic presidential nomination.

While neither Sen. Barack Obama nor Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton were in the state on Monday, each had plenty of people campaigning in Texas for them.

Presumptive Republican nominee John McCain stopped in Houston long enough to pick up the endorsement from former President George H.W. Bush, but left immediately after.

Early voting runs through Feb. 29 in Texas, where voters can cast their ballots at any early voting location anywhere in the state.

It has become increasingly popular, with nearly 40 percent of the 4.3 million votes cast in the 2006 Senate race coming from early voters.

Following weekend stumping in Texas by former President Bill Clinton, Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa and Clinton's former housing secretary, Henry Cisneros, planned several events in Houston on Monday for Hillary Clinton.

Clinton spokeswoman Adrienne Elrod said many of the events featuring Hillary Clinton will be held near early voting sites.

"We encourage everybody to vote early because you never know what's going to happen on Election Day," Elrod said.

The Clinton campaign will run a statewide television ad in English and Spanish featuring Cisneros, former San Antonio mayor, talking about the importance of early voting.

Obama's campaign opened offices in Houston and Corpus Christi on Monday and supporters planned to discuss the Illinois senator's platform over barbecue in Waco. The Houston office opening was to be headlined by U.S. Rep. Al Green, D-Houston, and several other state officials. The campaign also planned to block walk in San Antonio.

Obama will begin a four-day trip to Texas on Tuesday, said Nick Shapiro, a spokesman for Obama's Texas campaign.

"What we've seen in the past is whenever the senator has a chance to meet the voters and the voters have a chance to meet with him, we're winning them over," Shapiro said.

Hector Nieto, spokesman for the Texas Democratic Party, said he expects intense get-out-the-vote efforts from both campaigns starting with early voting.

"I think early voting is going to play an important role," Nieto said. "Texas is playing an important role so you're going to see troops on the ground from both campaigns."

At the University of Texas at Austin, where Obama and Clinton will debate Thursday, college Democrats were celebrating the beginning of early voting with an overnight rally intended to encourage students to vote when a campus polling location opens at 7 a.m. Tuesday.

More than 41,000 people had signed up as of Monday afternoon for a chance at about 100 tickets available to the public, through a random drawing, for Thursday night's debate, officials with the Texas Democratic Party said.

In San Marcos, south of Austin, former President Lyndon B. Johnson's grandson, Lyndon Nugent, headlined an organizing meeting for the Obama campaign.

Wisconsin is holding its primary on Tuesday, and Hawaii, Obama's native state, holds Democratic caucuses the same day. Obama planned a rally in Wisconsin Monday night after stops in Ohio, and Clinton was spending the day in Wisconsin.

After that, the March 4 primary states will be the focus for the two candidates, who remain in a tight delegate race.

Texas doles out 228 delegates on March 4 and Ohio has 161. Vermont and Rhode Island also vote on March 4, with a combined 55 delegates.

Obama planned to visit San Antonio and Houston on Tuesday and the Dallas-Fort Worth area on Wednesday. Clinton was to be in the Rio Grande Valley on Wednesday.

McCain is well ahead of former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee in the GOP delegate race. Some Huckabee supporters were holding a rally in Austin on Tuesday.

[skymountain3]

Huckabee is no Jimmy Carter...

One of the reasons I voted for Mike Huckabee is when he was governor of Arkansas for 10 = years he cut taxes 94 times, reduced welfare by half, reformed health care for children and the education system, and transformed the transportation infrastructure. Also, Huckabee did this with a Democrat legislature in power.

[pacific_c]

Obama pledges not to raise the retirement age and to "protect Social Security benefits for current and future beneficiaries." He would also exempt all retirees making less than $50,000 annually from income tax. By his math, that would provide average tax relief of $1,400 to 7 million retirees -- shifting more of the tax burden onto younger workers. IS THIS THE CHANGE YOU WANT?


http://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2008/02/the_obama_delusion.html

[jack3213]

Macnhurian Candidate is Obama. McCain will win hands down. Neither Democrat is experianced or qualified. All the hype and media and %u2018game playing%u2019 is trully a waste of time & money. Let%u2019s just get on with it and let the credible more diligent person do his job. Huckabee is an embarressment, doesn%u2019t he know how to do math?? And, for all those Ron Paul fans- lol, what do you have to say now%u2026

[jack3213]

The headline will read :

" End of The Clinton Era- for Good!
( finally)"

[kstar42]

People look another one just fainted....Oh my gosh I''''m the Messiah.... holy cow another one bit the dust... talk about a fake......PUHLEASE.... Oh wait I Know how to spell...PLEASE.. give me a break...

[bdrlnt4rl]

as long as texas does not vote for hucky, they will be ok as far as terrible tornados hitting and causing death and distruction.

hucky supporting states are tornado sticken. vote for anyone other than hucky

if you are looking for a sign, there it is. look at the state that support huck, and look at the damage that has followed, starting feb 5 - super tuesday

[skymountain3]

The DNC and a lot of others are afraid of someone like Mike Huckabee%u2026 He cuts right through the fakeness and political correctness that plagues American politics and exposes it. Yes, Mike Huckabee is not perfect, but I believe he%u2019s better than the alternatives. His Christian faith is a huge asset. Christianity is the foundation that this country was built on. This country has been focused on promoting Christian characteristics like promoting Truth, promoting Justice, promoting Respect For our Fellow Human Beings. Also, Christianity promotes Grace which this country has had to fall on in times of hard self-evaluation and change. Also, Grace that says one cannot force Christianity on anyone. I believe Huckabee is not trying to force anything just trying to uphold a strong asset this country has. The twisting and ingnoring of Christianity only makes things worse.
These are the characteristics that keep this country strong and have influenced free countries around the world.

[skymountain3]

Go Huckabee in Texas!!!