Maryland Matters too Part 2

So as of right now, the exit polls have not changed the breakdown of Latino voters in Maryland.  Latinos accounted for 4% of total turnout with Obama maintaining a 53-47 advantage.  Clinton still fared better among Latinos than the general electorate, but these losses in Maryland and Virginia are not good news for her campaign.  Yes, the Latino electorate is much smaller in Maryland and Virginia than the other states with larger Hispanic populations, and would not have tilted the election towards Clinton.  Also, Clinton did not invest much resources into mobilizing Latino voters in these states.  However, these results still demonstrate that Latinos are willing to support Obama despite commentary to the contrary, and it provides Obama a reason to continue his efforts to court Latino voters. 

Texas will be a much larger contest and tougher challenge for both candidates, and as I have stated earlier Latinos will play a deciding role in the Texas primary.  Obama has an opportunity to prove his ability to reach across all demographic boudaries and win the Latino vote.  I can guarantee you that Clinton will not cede any ground from this group easily.  This will be an all out effort.  Hillary cannot afford to lose Texas, and Obama will not have another chance to court a large Latino constituency after Texas in the primary process. 

Before I get any angry responses form my Boricua brethren, I don't mean that your contest won't matter.  It is just that the whole electorate will be Latino in Puerto Rico so all the candidates are going to garner a large share of the Latino vote on the island of enchanment.  Texas will be the last place where Latino voters will make the deciding difference among the general electorate.