They say everything’s bigger in Texas, and that was certainly true for Hillary Clinton in the Lone Star State Tuesday night.
As expected, Clinton easily bested Sen. Bernie Sanders in the heavily red state, and the race was called shortly after the polls closed at 9 p.m. The victory gives her an important piece of the “firewall” she was hoping to build in the South, which also includes Texas, Georgia, Virginia, Tennessee, Alabama and Arkansas.
Late polls showed Clinton leading by more than 20 points over Sanders in Texas.
The Clintons have a long history of ties to Texas and have been making a special effort to win over the state’s powerful Hispanic voting bloc, which is far more likely to vote Democratic in the presidential race. Even before Tuesday, Clinton had picked up all but one super delegate vote in Texas.
Over the weekend, Rep. Lloyd Doggett, D-Texas, came out in support of Clinton and appeared with former President Bill Clinton at a rally in his San Antonio district. Doggett threw his support behind Clinton even though he decided against wading into the primary fight between Clinton and then-Sen. Barack Obama in 2008.
Rep. Beto O’Rourke is the only member of the Texas Democratic congressional delegation not supporting Clinton.
In 2008, Clinton lost a hard-fought delegate fight to Obama in Texas. Delegates were doled out using results from both the Texas presidential primary and a series of separate caucus events held between March 4 and June 7 of that year.
Clinton won the primary with 51 percent of the vote compared to Obama’s 47 percent but Obama received more support in the caucuses. In the end, Obama secured 99 pledged delegates compared to Clinton’s 94.
