The worst thing about caucusing? Waiting around for an eternity to see how your candidate fared in the count. Then getting banished to a lone table at the far end of the school cafeteria with, oh, maybe a dozen other Hillary women, plus three men. The cool kids, with happy, bouncy kids of their own in tow, took up several long tables up front, with way too many of them jockeying to be Obama delegates. The leader of the group had to use a microphone. At Hillary's table, you could talk in a normal tone of voice and still be heard. We finished up and left well before the Obama crowd. "That was depressing," my caucus partner said as we headed home. "It would have been a lot different in Puerto Rico," said she who grew up on the island. "At least people would have been yelling and screaming. There would have been more of a fight."

In the Democratic primary for congressional district 10 – where either Dan Grant or Larry Joe Doherty will go on to face Republican Rep. Michael McCaul in November – the slow trickle of results has candidates on edge. However, and contrary to the endorsements he racked up, Grant – who should count progressive Travis County in his column – got beat in early voting 14,148 to 10,150.

With reports of Travis voting and caucusing absolutely insane, the sky-high turn out is seemingly keeping precincts from reporting. Waiting on results to come in from the other counties in the district, sprawling to the east – Austin, Bastrop, Burleson, Harris, Lee, Waller and Washington has been singularly slow as well.

For CD 10, it looks like it's gonna be a long night

I just got back from caucusing at Cowan Elementary down south off Slaughter, and more of the same. The lines for Obama were clogged while Hillary supporters were in and out of that piece like it was a holdup. There had to be at least 300 folks caucusing while I was there from 7:30 to 8:15 and it was at least two-to-one in favor of Obama. Peace Out.

Forget about who wins or loses – the real story of this election is the incredible participation. It is absolutely insane. In fact, if you want to participate in your precinct caucus but thought you were too late, hurry on down, you still might make it. I'd estimate about 500 people showed up at my precinct 242 (the Crestview neighborhood and almost half of Brentwood), and it was nuts.

First off, we had to wait until about 8pm for the last voter to finish, and didn't start the sign-up sheets until 8:15 or so. I'd estimate they won't get everyone signed in until 9:30, and then they'll have to start the process of selecting my neighborhood's 91 delegates and 91 alternates. I just signed the sheet and left, and about 95% of the crowd was still waiting.

I've never seen anything like this. I participated in the caucus four years ago (after the nomination was cinched for Kerry), and there were about 30 of us there.

The view from around the state: As of 8:30pm, the Secretary of State's office is reporting 372,317 early voters in the Republican presidential primary. State-wide, the split is almost two-to-one for McCain over Huckabee, but that means the delegate count will go massively McCain's way if this pattern continues.

But that turn-out is dwarfed by the 806,195 early votes recorded so far in the Democratic race, with Obama leading Clinton by roughly five points, 52-47.

Add in an interesting note from Williamson County: In the competitive Republican race for House District 52, the four candidates to replace retiring incumbent GOPer Rep. Mike Krusee totaled 4,292 early votes. Democrat Diana Maldonado, running unopposed, got 7,337.

Further unofficial early voting results from the Travis County clerk.

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Democrats

Railroad Commissioner
Art Hall 31.55%
Mark Thompson 46.36%
Dale Henry 22.09%

Place 7 Supreme Court Judge
Baltasar D. Cruz 46.32%
Sam Houston 53.68%

Place 8 Supreme Court Judge
Linda Reyna Yañez 56.59%
Susan Criss 43.41%

98th District Judge
Robert D. Ettinger 15.08%
Andy Hathcock 24.03%
Rhonda Hurley 60.89%

353rd District Judge
Madeleine Connor 47.99%
Scott Ozmun 52.01%

427th District Judge
Jim Coronado 66.05%
Karyl Anderson Krug 33.95%

County Court at Law 8
Carlos H. Barrera 57.71%
John Lipscombe 42.29%

Pct. 1 Constable
Willie Joe Madison 26.60%
Janie Serna 28.57%
Danny Thomas 44.83%

Pct. 2 Constable
Paul Labuda 47.40%
Adan Ballesteros 52.60%

Pct. 3 Constable
Richard Theodore McCain 54.18%
Robert Eller 45.82%

Pct. 4 Constable
Alonzo "Al" Reyes 37.26%
Maria Canchola 62.74%

===================

Republican

Pct. 2 Constable
Bob Vann 61.68%
Carl Joiner 38.32%

The numbers are in for the early voting in Travis County: we'll give you the edited highlights:

====================

Democrats

President
Joe Biden 0.08%
Christopher J. Dodd 0.05%
Barack Obama 64.97%
Bill Richardson 0.15%
Hillary Clinton 34.36%
John Edwards 0.39%

U.S. Senator
Ray McMurrey 11.67%
Gene Kelly 19.94%
Rhett R. Smith 7.56%
Richard J. (Rick) Noriega 60.83%

District 10 U.S. Rep
Larry Joe Doherty 58.23%
Dan Grant 41.77%

House District 46
Brian T. Thompson 34.99%
Dawnna Dukes* 65.01%

Travis County DA
Mindy Montford 29.63%
Rosemary Lehmberg 38.47%
Gary Cobb 21.25%
Rick Reed 10.65%

Tax Assessor-Collector
Glen Maxey 25.94%
Nelda Wells Spears* 74.06%

Pct. 3 County Commissioner
Albert Gonzales 36.69%
Karen Huber 63.31%


====================

Republicans

President
Ron Paul 14.27%
Fred Thompson 0.64%
Mike Huckabee 24.82%
Hoa Tran 0.04%
Hugh Cort 0.01%
Rudy Giuliani 0.35%
Mitt Romney 1.71%
Duncan Hunter 0.19%
Alan Keyes 0.49%
John McCain 56.47%
Uncommitted 1.00%

U.S. Senator
Larry Kilgore 16.48%
John Cornyn* 83.52%

House District 48
Pamela Waggoner 63.66%
Joe Donnelly 36.34%

Place 4, Judge, Criminal Court of Appeals
Robert Francis 36.07%
Paul Womack 63.93%

Over here on the west side things are pretty hoppin' -- Pct. 251 is packing 'em in at O'Henry Middle School. The word in the sweaty cafeteria is that it could take more than two hours for voters to sign in before the convention will even begin.

According to my completely unscientific crowd estimate -- verified by two equally sweaty neighbors standing with me against a wall, pressed in next to a garbage can -- about two-thirds of the roughly 300 voters wedged into the O'Henry caf were there for Obama.

The first word from one of our staff at a precinct caucus: Kate Messer phoned in to report that the room for the Precinct 122 caucus at the YMCA East Community Branch is stuffed (she estimates 250 people inside a small room) and the cue outside is "rock concert big."

Seems all that work by all those Democrats to educate voters on the Texas two-step has paid off.

UPDATE: Having just returned from the Caswell Elementary caucus, I can report similar circumstances. But as it didn't look to get under way until the last vote was cast – which, judging from the line, probably wouldn't happen until 8pm or so – your humble reporter couldn't stick around. Sorry, democracy! – Wells Dunbar

UPDATE: Kate Messer phoned to say there are seats for 96 people in Precinct 122, and possibly six or seven times that in attendance. Lee Nichols called in and said there are similar scenes at the Precinct 242 caucus Austin Bible Church – Richard Whittaker