Texas' arcane delegate system suddenly comes into play

[ursi]

AUSTIN — For the first time in 20 years, Texas will have a heated presidential primary election next month, a contest that will bring the state's complex primary and caucus system into play for Democratic hopefuls Hillary Rodham Clinton and Barack Obama.

"Texas arguably has the most arcane system in the country," state Rep. Juan Garcia, D-Corpus Christi and an Obama backer, told the Houston Chronicle in a story published Sunday. "There are a lot of people scrambling to get smart on it in a hurry."

The Democratic and Republican primaries in Texas are March 4. The Clinton-Obama tussle for national convention delegates is extremely tight, especially after Obama's victories Saturday in Nebraska, Washington and Louisiana.

The last time the Texas Democratic convention delegation was at stake in the midst of a national fight was 1988. Michael Dukakis won the statewide primary that year but virtually split delegates evenly with Jesse Jackson because of the state's unique Democratic nominating process.

Here's a short version of the party rules, which are 11 pages long.

more...

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/ap/tx/5529539.html

[IndyOp]

1. Whoa - Obama gets a boost from these arcane rules...

A total of 126 delegates will be awarded based on the outcome of the vote in each of the 31 state senatorial districts.

But the number of delegates available in each district is not equal: Delegates are allocated based on the votes cast in districts in the 2004 and 2006 presidential and gubernatorial elections.

In the heavily urban, black districts of state Sens. Rodney Ellis of Houston and Royce West of Dallas, a good voter turnout in the past two elections means a combined total of 13 delegates are at stake in the two districts on Election Day.

Obama nationally has been winning eight out of 10 back voters, according to network exit polls.

But in the heavily Hispanic districts of state Sens. Juan Hinojosa of McAllen and Eddie Lucio Jr. of Brownsville, election turnout was low, and a combined total of seven delegates are at stake.

Clinton has been taking six of 10 Hispanic votes nationally. So a big South Texas win might not mean as much for Clinton as a big win for Obama in the two black districts.

On edit: Quoted from the article - link provided in the OP.

[GalleryGod]

3. On to AUSTIN !

These rules are looooooooooooooooook-ing Gooooooooooooooooooooooood!:bounce: :toast: :bounce:

[pingzing58]

2. We'll see what happens! Looking forward to the contest. Both are great candidates with equal

positives and negatives. I've made up my mind for Hillary. I know that our Dem leadership has thrown their hats in for Obama. In the end, either candidate will fight for the cause of the working poor and underemployed, education, health insurance, national and local safety and immigration issues. Good luck to both candidates.

[Blue State Bandit]

4. YEEEE-HAAAAA!

[Yael]

5. Good find! Bookmarking for March 4th

[JPZenger]

6. Penna. - Very Hard for Anyone to Get Large Majority

The Clinton campaign is also counting on a win in Pennsylvania. However, the rules in that state also make it very hard for anyone to get a large majority of the elected delegates. Hillary already has commitments for 10 of the superdelegates vs. 2 for Obama.

http://www.postgazette.com/pg/08041/856368-176.stm

Excerpts of the article:

"They are in addition to the 158 delegates to be chosen based on the April 22 balloting. Of those 103 will be awarded based on the voting in congressional districts, while another 55 will be determined by the statewide vote. Thirty-five of those are at-large delegates and another 20 spots are reserved for party and elected officials who, in contrast to the superdelegates, will be pledged to vote for their candidate at least through the first ballot in Denver.

The Democrats' proportional rules make it difficult to accumulate big margins of delegates... Those rules help to explain why Pennsylvania can expect to be a player in the Democratic nomination fight, but, at the same time, they make it unlikely that the results in the state would be decisive.
"...

"The Obama campaign would seem to agree that Mrs. Clinton holds the upper hand in the state, according to a Bloomberg News report last week on an internal document prepared by the campaign and mistakenly included in a public email. The state-by-state spreadsheet projected a 52 percent to 47 percent win for Mrs. Clinton in Pennsylvania, one that would result in an 83-75 division of the state's pledged delegates. Projecting the overall delegate distribution, the spreadsheet sees a virtual tie among pledged delegates going into the convention, a result that suggests the controversial scenario whereby unallocated superdelegates would determine the party's nominee."