By Pamela Gentry, Senior Political Producer  

SAN ANTONIO, Texas (Posted March 4, 2008) – This primary will be the first in close to 20 years where Texas voter’s participation will make a difference.   How it works and how to participate is the dilemma for candidates in the lone star state where 228 delegates are at stake. 

The ability for voters to do so twice, has coined the process, “The Texas two-step, “ and it’s completely legal.  Texans can vote in the primary and again Tuesday evening in the caucus.  The two top Democratic rivals,  Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-N.Y.) and Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) want to make sure their supporters do both.

Folks in Texas haven’t made a difference in a presidential race in 20 years, so usually most voters only participated in the primary, and rarely caucused.  So finding veteran caucus goers wasn’t easy in Texas and was a challenge for the campaigns.

A challenge they were willing to overcome. With 67 of the 228 delegates determined by the caucus results, getting supports to vote twice is important for a win.  Another 126 will be based on the primary results and Texas has 35 super delegates.  

So what are the candidates doing?

Former President Bill Clinton has added a tutorial to his stump speech on behalf of his wife.   The Clinton campaign has also set up a place on their website to recruit “prescient captains” to attend the caucus.

The Obama campaign aggressively recruited and trained supporters statewide to caucus.  They started early and this could be the difference when the delegate count is tallied.  The Obama campaign also provides a cheat sheet that simplifies the caucus process for folks on their website.

Obama has shown strength in the caucus process in other states because of his grass roots organization.

Voter turnout is expected to hit record highs today if early voting is any indication.  The Texas Secretary of State’s election Web site shows 717,469 Dems have voted by mail or in person beginning February 19.  That’s up more than 9 percent of the state’s 7, 815,906 registered voters.  Just over three percent of registered Republicans, 242,197, have cast their vote.

The next 24 hours could determine who will be the Democratic nominee. 

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