LOST IN TEXAS
February 28th, 2008, 5:12 pm · Post a Comment · posted by Dan Lehr
One of my colleagues in the newsroom writes
I review the show Lost for newschannel9.com, but I’m lost when it comes to the Texas Delegates. What is the unique way in which Texas awards delegates? And why is it that the media claims Clinton needs 55% to “break even” in Texas? - Matt Brunson
Matt, you’ve come to the right place, just as Lost fans will come to the right place by clicking on your Lost preview/review page.
Texas’ election rules are as complicated as the plot to Lost. It is an open primary.. & a caucus. Delegates matter in a different way than they do in other states. If you’d like to do some homework, the best site I’ve found explaining Texas election rules can be found here & here, in a blog called “Burnt Orange Report” that, frankly, puts this one to shame. If you’d like to see this blogger’s (extremely researched) prediction as to what will happen, click here.
From what I can tell, the advantage comes down to who can win districts with the highest population of Democratic voters. Hillary Clinton could win by 80% in President Bush’s home district, but she won’t be allocated as many delegates because there aren’t as many Democratic voters there are Republican voters. Whoever can win college towns like Austin, with high percentages of Democratic voters, will get the delegate advantage. This as you may have deduced puts Hillary Clinton at a disadvantage. She will have to win the entire state by close to 60%, & the most recent polls taken there shows she faces an extremely uphill battle.
Matt, I hope this helps answer your questions so you’re no longer “lost!”
