Why Is Puerto Rico Important In The General Election?
That’s a trick question…
It Isn’t!
A landslide victory would bolster Clinton’s argument to superdelegates that she has received more votes than Illinois Sen. Barack Obama and is better equipped to win important Latino votes in a general election matchup with presumptive Republican nominee John McCain.
That political engagement has seldom extended to mainland-based campaigns because, while Puerto Rico will send 63 delegates to the Democratic convention, it has no electoral votes in the general election. Democrats have traditionally held presidential caucuses here and were intending to do the same this year until it began to appear the Clinton-Obama race would still be unsettled by the time Puerto Rico’s turn came.
The racial calculus Clinton has fared better than Obama with Hispanic voters. And her campaign will argue that a big win in Puerto Rico bolsters its case to superdelegates that Obama has a problem with Hispanics that could make it difficult for him to beat McCain in key states.
But Not The Guy Below