Academic

Could The Texas Primary Turn The Lonestar State Blue?

By Dan Filler

One of the remarkable things about this primary season is that Clinton and Obama are contesting some states that rarely receive signficant attention from Dems in either the primary or general election.  Thus, few Texans have probably ever seen a political campaign ad for a Democratic presidential candidate.  Why would a Democrat ever waste the money on a Lonestar ad buy?  But this year, those ads are bouncing around the airwaves.  (Isn't that a quaint expression, given that almost everyone now ignores those free airwaves and purchases them via cable?)  This introduces an interesting question: is it possible that the very act of advertising and campaigning in Texas today could have a noticeable effect on the percentage of Texans who either vote, or are open to voting, Democratic this fall?  One interesting question will be whether these primary campaigns at least soften pro-Republican preferences to the point that McCain is forced to spend some amount of time or effort in the state.  No rational Democratic finalist would have spent millions on Texas in the general, but with the money now sunk, it might make sense to translate the investment into some value this November.

Full post as published by The Faculty Lounge on February 27, 2008 (boomark / email).