The cherry on top for Texas voters is that, despite the late date of the state’s primary, ballots cast Tuesday in the Democratic presidential race really matter on the national level.
In Bell County, unofficial voting favored U.S. Sen. Barack Obama, 12,569, to U.S. Sen. Hillary Clinton’s 9,299 election day votes.
The close contest between Obama and Clinton has brought a lot of interest to the Democratic presidential primary race, said Dr. David Holcomb, associate professor of history and political science at University of Mary Hardin-Baylor.
Texas Democrats see this as an election year where one of their candidates has a good chance of getting into the White House, Holcomb said.
“That’s added interest and energy to the race,” he said. “It’s fun to be able to see the TV ads and the national attention and media.”
Holcomb doesn’t expect to see a major shift in politics in Bell County.
“I suspect this will remain pretty solidly a Republican area, at least in the immediate future,” he said. “Although we may see a trend among the independent voters toward the Democratic Party, especially if Obama ends up getting the nomination. He seems to pull more independent voters than Hillary Clinton.”
Arthur Resa, Democratic Party chair in Bell County, said interest in the Democratic presidential candidates has trickled down to the county level.
Last week a fundraiser and rally in Killeen for Obama drew a crowd of more than 300.
“I have not seen this kind of enthusiasm behind a presidential candidate, black or white, since John Kennedy,” said Roscoe Harrison, pastor of Eighth Street Baptist Church.
Obama represents a fresh face and inspiring voice and has activated a segment of the population that does not vote, he said.
Harrison said he thinks Hillary Clinton is slipping because Americans are “exhausted” by the Clintons and the Bushes.
He also said he believes the interest in the presidential race will translate in renewed interest locally in the Democratic Party.
Alice Ann Wallace is among the local residents who are interested in the race, and is supporting Clinton.
“I’m so proud we have a viable woman candidate running,” Mrs. Wallace said. “I know what the odd makers are saying, but I’m not giving up hope.”
Mrs. Wallace said it distressed her that women were not being supportive of Clinton’s candidacy.
Mrs. Wallace attended the Texas Women’s Democratic Convention and said the crowd was evenly split in its support of Obama and Clinton.
While Obama has the charisma, Clinton has the brains, she said.
Still, she said, “as a Democrat I will support the candidate that wins.”
Killeen businessman Horace Grace is a supporter of Obama.
“I believe this is the beginning of a resurgence of the Democratic Party not only in Bell County, but also in Texas,” Grace said.
Grace said he expects to see more Democrats seeking elected positions on the county level during the next round of elections.
The number of people who voted early in the primary election as Democrats was sizeable and Grace said he didn’t know if those were Democrats who had just woken up or Republicans crossing over.
“It really doesn’t matter,” he said. “I just think it’s healthy for the county and the state to have a good viable two-party system.”
