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Feb 12, 2008 7:29 pm US/Central
Presidential Candidates Prepare To Court TX Voters
FORT WORTH (AP/ CBS 11 News) ―
The first shots in the battle for Texas have been fired, and they came over the airwaves.
"It's been more than a decade since I've seen an ad of any kind for a presidential candidate," said TCU political science professor Jim Riddlesperger, PhD.
Senetor Hillary Clinton and rival Senator Barack Obama are in a tight race that may well hinge on support in Texas, where 228 delegates are up for grabs.
"Texas becomes the kingpin that defines the rest of the campaign leading up to the convention," said Riddlesperger.
Obama's campaign started running TV ads this week with a health care message, Clinton's signature issue. Some of the spots will be in Spanish.
In Texas, Latinos could make up about half of Democratic voters on primary day.
Tuesday, Clinton started her campaign tour in El Paso. About 80 percent of El Paso's 600,000 residents are Hispanic.
She will continue her swing through Hispanic-dominated cities in Texas with stops in McAllen, Robstown outside Corpus Christi and San Antonio.
Meanwhile, Obama's campaign has already opened the doors to its Tarrant County headquarters in the Fort Worth Stockyards.
"We are hitting the ground running. We're going from the Panhandle to South Texas, from the Hill Country to East Texas," said Obama campaign spokesperson Adora Andy. "We're going to try to cover all of our bases because Texas is very important."
Clinton's campaign said it will soon follow suit with a headquarters in North Texas.
The next move is personal visits.
"I would think that we will see them in all the major metropolitan areas in Texas," said Riddlesperger.
Obama and Clinton will debate February 21 in Austin. The 90-minute debate will be held on the University of Texas campus.
Meanwhile, Arizona Senator John McCain has a solid delegate lead in the race for the GOP nomination.
Governor Rick Perry, a McCain supporter, asked former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee to drop out after Super Tuesday.
Texas and Ohio both have presidential primaries on March 4th.
(© 2008 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)
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