San Juan Showdown?
From CBS News' Fernando Suarez:
WARREN, OH. -- Hillary Clinton's last chance at the Democratic nomination lies in two states: Texas and Ohio, according to many political pundits. But the Clinton campaign isn't taking any chances, gearing up for a fight to the finish. While Clinton stumps in parts of Ohio today, her campaign is working overtime on grassroots efforts in 18 states, including the territory of Puerto Rico, which votes on June 7 and has 55 delegates at stake.
"We are recommitting and redoubling our efforts to not only have the best candidate in the race, but also have the most effective and largest grassroots effort in the states going forward," said Clinton campaign advisor Guy Cecil.
In order for Clinton to fight on, however, she does need to win both Texas and Ohio. The reason? Texas and Ohio's importance lies in its 300+ delegates up for grabs on March 4, making those two states the biggest prizes in the campaign to date. But even if Clinton wins both states, it still leaves her about 25 delegates short of catching Barack Obama, according to the campaign's tally. That now puts Pennsylvania's April 22 primary as the next coveted prize in the nomination. Pennsylvania has over 150 delegates up for grabs, so it's no surprise that Clinton's visit to the eastern Ohio city of Youngstown today is a tactical ploy by the campaign to get Clinton on local news in the shared markets of Ohio and Pennsylvania.
Despite being up in the polls in Pennsylvania, Clinton faces a few nightmare scenarios. Given the Democratic system of allocating delegates proportionately, if Clinton were to win Texas, Ohio, and Pennsylvania, and Obama were to win smaller contests in places like Hawaii, Vermont, Wyoming, and Mississippi, it would continue to keep the race close enough to push through into the summer.
"The goal of both campaigns is to get 2,025 delegates. That could take into the summer for either campaign," said Clinton spokesman Doug Hattaway. "Both campaigns are having to keep forward deploying resources as the process keeps moving."
Perhaps both candidates will find themselves campaigning in the country's final contest in Puerto Rico, prompting no complaints from the press corps here.