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Jamie Dupree's Washington Insider

Posted: 11:09 p.m. Sunday, March 30, 2008

Obama, Clinton Still Duking It Out In Texas 

By Jamie Dupree

I know the Texas Two-Step Primary and Caucus was back on March 4th, but this past weekend, the wrangling continued in the battle for delegates from the Lone Star State, with Barack Obama still hanging on to a narrow lead.

Of course, that didn't mean that the Obama and Clinton camps agree on what the final totals will be in terms of Texas delegates.  Far from it!

What happened over the weekend was the District Conventions in Texas - basically, step #2 in the state caucus process.

The Obama campaign declared victory on Saturday with an extensive mailing to reporters that included state-by-state figures on the delegate count.

"Final tallies in the Texas conventions this weekend confirm Obama won a net 9-delegate advantage in the caucus versus Clinton's net 4-delegate advantage in the primary meaning that Obama has won a total of 5 more delegates in the state," said Obama spokesman Bill Burton.

But the Clinton people claimed on Sunday that they actually added delegates during the weekend conventions.

"Our delegates came out to their county conventions in full force over the weekend, and as a result, we gained at least two delegates to the national convention, with the possibility of picking up two more," said Clinton's Texas chairman Gary Mauro.

The Obama camp claims he is ahead now by 167 delegates overall.  Most news organizations have the difference between 100 and 150.

(All of that depends also depends on the legal troubles of a few of each side's superdelegates as well!)

So when will the delegate numbers be finalized in Texas?  Not until the State Convention in June.

This points out how the original delegate numbers from caucus states are just estimates and can still change as the caucus process plays out.

Unlike the primaries, the caucus process is usually a multi-step situation.  Remember a few weeks ago when Obama added delegates in Iowa?  Both campaigns have the chance to do that still in a number of caucus states, as they fight for every delegate.

For example, Iowa still has Democratic Party district conventions on April 26 and a state convention in June.  Lean on a few delegates to those and you might eke out another delegate here or there for Obama or Clinton.

And as we've seen, every single delegate may count more than ever before!

   
 
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