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Opinion: Texas Dems not done voting -- Bill Clinton not done lobbying

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First they had the primary. Then they had the caucuses. And on Saturday, Texas Democrats will meet in local conventions to cast yet another round of votes for the Democratic presidential contenders, which we guess makes this the Texas Three Step -- with more steps to come.

All of which brings us to Bill Clinton, who called Hillary Clinton‘s Texas delegates Thursday night to shore them up ahead of Saturday’s conventions. Bill Clinton, legendary for his flexible approach to definitions, sought to count Democratic national delegates another way -- delegates won in primary states, versus caucus states. As we saw beginning in Iowa, Barack Obama‘s focus on grassroots organizing has helped him win caucus states. But in the big primary states -- we’ll leave out Illinois and New York, for obvious reasons -- Clinton has prevailed.

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Bill Clinton sought to persuade the Texas delegates that means something, according to ABC News’ Political Radar blog, which sat in on the call:

‘Right now, among all the primary states, believe it or not, Hillary’s only 16 votes behind in pledged delegates and she’s gonna wind up with the lead in the popular vote in the primary states. She’s gonna wind up with the lead in the delegates [from primary states]....It’s the caucuses that have been killing us.’

Never mind the obvious point that caucuses matter, too. The focus on Texas is interesting because things remain unsettled there. Clinton won the primary vote but at the moment Obama appears to have more Texas delegates after winning the caucuses that came that same election night.

None of those delegates, though, are committed, as Political Radar points out. They can change their minds, and candidates. The final results aren’t, well, final, until June 7, and the state convention. And depending on how the national delegates -- won in primaries and caucuses -- are lined up then, Texas could prove to be a crucial and last-minute battleground.

Imagine the lobbying then if one or the other candidate is riding a groundswell.

-- Scott Martelle

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