In Ohio Primary, Hillary Clinton Wins; Texas is Still Too Close to Call

Like they say everything is big in Texas, the fight between Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama for democratic nomination in the lone star state is also living up to its hype.

As of 11 PM EST, the race is still to close to call. According to CNN, the Texas primary with 34% of precincts reporting is a dead heat-Clinton at 50% and Obama at 49%.

If you look at the voting pattern across counties in Texas, Ohio, Obama appeals to more urban voters and Clinton is getting support from the rural voters. In case of Texas, the southern part of the state, except for Brewster country is leaning toward Clinton.

Although the race is still too close to call in Texas, it seems that Hillary Clinton will pull off a victory by razor thin margin. Not what she hoped for but if you have suffered 11 straight losses, even a slim margin victory will boost her campaign and her confidence.

Hillary Clinton, with victory in Ohio, Texas and Vermont, will add delegates but she will not able to knock out Obama. The difference between their delegate counts is so close that the race could continue until the convention.

Victory in Texas, for now, will keep Clinton campaign alive. As for Obama, he still has the capacity to absorb loss in Ohio, Texas and Rode Island because of his double digit lead against Clinton in delegate count. But now he will have to take a second look at his campaign, address concerns over his inexperience on national security matters and get over the flap caused by Clinton's "read phone" campaign advertise.

There are 67 delegates at stake at the Texas caucuses. As of 11:00 PM, there are reports that democratic voters across Texas have started gathering for the caucuses but there is no information on the trend and who is leading.

Still, looking at how close the primary is turning out to be, the caucuses will also be close fought. Past results suggest that Obama does better at caucuses compared to Clinton.

Even if Clinton loses Texas caucuses, with her win at the primary (which has 126 delegates), she will still be able to add good number of delegates and gain some momentum going into primary in Pennsylvania.

Lets sum it up. Victory in Texas primary will help Clinton get closer to Obama in delegate count but because of slim margin it will not be a strong punch against her competitor.

If she loses in the caucuses, it won't be too bad as long as she wins the primary.

For Obama, if he win the caucuses, it will boost his campaign and momentum. It will show the voters that he is a strong candidate and has support even among majority Clinton supporters.

Sources:

CNN Texas Primary