One of Sen. Barack Obama’s surest applause lines comes about halfway into his standard stump speech. It goes like this:
“They whisper to me. They say, ‘Barack, I’m a Republican, but I support you.’ And I say, ‘Thank you. Why are we whispering?’”
If the latest polling data are to be believed, those Republicans aren’t whispering in Texas, where 195 of the 228 delegates the state will send to the Democratic National Convention will be chosen in a primary and caucuses Tuesday.
“They whisper to me. They say, ‘Barack, I’m a Republican, but I support you.’ And I say, ‘Thank you. Why are we whispering?’”
If the latest polling data are to be believed, those Republicans aren’t whispering in Texas, where 195 of the 228 delegates the state will send to the Democratic National Convention will be chosen in a primary and caucuses Tuesday.
As many as a tenth of the Texans voting in the Democratic contests could be Republicans, and overwhelmingly they favor Obama, a first-term senator from Illinois, the polls show.
“I ran for Republican precinct chair. I went to the Republican state convention,” said one of them, Donald Rau of Austin, who has already voted in early balloting. “In this election, I voted for Barack Obama.”
GOP support ‘no longer surprising’A poll released this week by SurveyUSA of Verona, N.J., indicated that registered Republicans would make up 9 percent of Democratic primary voters next week. Michael Baselice, head of Baselice and Associates, a Texas polling firm, said that was in line with what his company was finding.
A bloc that large could make a significant difference for Obama, who holds a large lead over Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton of New York among Texas Republicans, especially in a close race. Polls this week were showing a dead heat in Texas as Obama began pulling even with Clinton.
To be sure, the Clinton campaign is drawing some first-time support of its own among Republicans.
“I’m a Republican. I’ve been a Republican since I can remember,” said Trey Caliva of Lubbock. But “whenever I vote for an executive office, I have to vote for the best person that does the job. And for me that’s Hillary Clinton.”
But by large margins, more Republicans say they are backing Obama.
American Research Group found this week that as Obama has edged ahead among Democrats, at 47 percent to 46 percent, he is drawing the support of more than 70 percent of Republicans who said they were likely to vote in the Democratic primary. The survey, which questioned 600 likely primary voters Saturday and Sunday, reported a margin of sampling error of 4 percentage points.
A survey released Tuesday by Public Policy Polling found that while Clinton led Obama by 52 percent to 44 percent among likely primary voters, Republicans who said they would vote in the primary favored Obama by 76 percent to 20 percent. The survey, which questioned 434 likely Democratic primary voters Saturday through Monday, reported a 4.7-point margin of error.
“I ran for Republican precinct chair. I went to the Republican state convention,” said one of them, Donald Rau of Austin, who has already voted in early balloting. “In this election, I voted for Barack Obama.”
GOP support ‘no longer surprising’A poll released this week by SurveyUSA of Verona, N.J., indicated that registered Republicans would make up 9 percent of Democratic primary voters next week. Michael Baselice, head of Baselice and Associates, a Texas polling firm, said that was in line with what his company was finding.
A bloc that large could make a significant difference for Obama, who holds a large lead over Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton of New York among Texas Republicans, especially in a close race. Polls this week were showing a dead heat in Texas as Obama began pulling even with Clinton.
To be sure, the Clinton campaign is drawing some first-time support of its own among Republicans.
“I’m a Republican. I’ve been a Republican since I can remember,” said Trey Caliva of Lubbock. But “whenever I vote for an executive office, I have to vote for the best person that does the job. And for me that’s Hillary Clinton.”
But by large margins, more Republicans say they are backing Obama.
American Research Group found this week that as Obama has edged ahead among Democrats, at 47 percent to 46 percent, he is drawing the support of more than 70 percent of Republicans who said they were likely to vote in the Democratic primary. The survey, which questioned 600 likely primary voters Saturday and Sunday, reported a margin of sampling error of 4 percentage points.
A survey released Tuesday by Public Policy Polling found that while Clinton led Obama by 52 percent to 44 percent among likely primary voters, Republicans who said they would vote in the primary favored Obama by 76 percent to 20 percent. The survey, which questioned 434 likely Democratic primary voters Saturday through Monday, reported a 4.7-point margin of error.
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