by Emily Kim and Devon Mills

Hillary Clinton has a history in Texas. This connection has been a big point in her campaign efforts to secure the majority of the 228 delegates in play in the state. Clinton hopes to use her history in Latino communities in South Texas to garner support from that demographic. In places such as Hildago County, 90% of the population is Latino. Latino voters make up about a quarter of the Texas electorate.

In 1972, Clinton helped Democrat George McGovern’s presidential campaign in Texas by going door-to-door in the border communities and registering voters. She has also worked with labor and legal-aid activists in the Rio Grande Valley along the Texas-Mexico border. In 1992, she returned to campaign for her husband Bill Clinton.

Because of this work, Clinton claims to have a special connection to South Texas and Texas in general, and has made friendships and gathered prominent support. One of her main campaign fundraisers, Alonzo Cantu, is from McAllen, TX and has helped her raise hundreds of thousands of dollars. She also has the endorsements of former Congressman and Texas Attorney General Jim Mattox, former U.S. Congressman Jim Chapman, State Senator Gonzalo Barrientos and State Senator Eddie Lucio, Jr.

Clinton’s past work with Latinos has also earned her the support of important Latino leaders in the state, including former San Antonio Mayor Henry Cisneros and Democratic Representative Ruben Hinojosa. Some think that younger Latino voters may not feel loyal to her, as many of them are too young to remember her past work in the state, but she has won the support of young Latina actress America Ferrera.

Will Clinton’s relationship with Texas and Latino voters be enough to help her edge out Barack Obama on March 4? At least one Obama supporter acknowledges that Clinton may have an advantage with the Latino demographic in Texas, according to The Texas Observer:

“That Clinton name still has a lot of currency, and Bill Clinton especially is still very much well liked among Latinos in Texas,” said Rafael Anchia, a Dallas state representative who’s helping the Obama campaign reach out to Latino voters. The question is not whether Clinton will poll well with Latinos, but how well.

To have any chance of winning in Texas, Obama will probably have to keep Clinton’s share of the Latino vote under 60 percent.

Anchia also reasoned that older Latino voters may stay faithful to Clinton, but younger Latino voters in Houston, Dallas and San Antonio will likely support youth-friendly Obama instead.

An ABC News article suggests that, despite Clinton’s ties with Texas and Latinos, she has several factors working against her in the Lone Star state.

One factor is Texas’s unique primary/caucus system, which awards two-thirds of the state’s delegates based on the primary results and one-third based on the caucus results. Obama may have an advantage due to typically strong grassroots support he gets at caucuses, according to the article.

Texas also permits independents to vote in the Democratic primary, a twist that appears to have favored Obama in states that have already voted, like Wisconsin.

Whether Clinton’s past in Texas helps her or the present primary/caucus rules hurt her, she is sure to have the fight of her life this Tuesday.