We don’t know. They’re still being counted. And really, we won’t know for certain until the state Democratic Party Convention here in Austin.
Unlike the voting totals, which are counted by the election staffs of the state’s 254 counties and ultimately compiled by the secretary of state, the precinct conventions are strictly party business. But, knowing the public is highly interested in the caucus results, the Texas Democratic Party is displaying unofficial results as they’re being counted.
They are strongly stressing the “unofficial” part. Says the party’s website: “Although delegates generally do not switch presidential preferences, party rules do not formally bind delegates to support the same candidate at every step in the convention process, and the allocation of delegates to the national convention is not finally determined until the June 6-7 State Convention.”
UPDATE: The Democratic precinct caucuses statewide will produce 88,074 delegates to be sent to county and senatorial district conventions, who eventually will be winnowed down to the 67 caucus delegates that Texas sends to the Democratic National Convention. As of this posting, some of Texas’ 31 senate districts were reporting as few as 20% of their precincts. It’s far too early for this number to be meaningful, but right now, Barack Obama has 22,628 delegates, Clinton has 17,883, 40 were officially uncommitted, and four were committed to other candidates.
(So, if I understand it correctly, we could estimate that Obama has thus far earned 17 of the 67, and Clinton 12.)
This article appears in February 29 • 2008.