HOUSTON - With opinion polls tight in the crucial states of Texas and Ohio, Democratic candidate Barack Obama spent part of voting day at a livestock show and rodeo to rustle up some last-minute support in the Lone Star state.
Wearing a white shirt with his sleeves rolled up, the Illinois senator posed for pictures with farmers and ranchers who were surprised to see him at the Houston Reliant Center.
“I feel good,” Obama told reporters as he walked past some brown cows that were getting a scrubbing.
“What do you think? You want one of these?” he joked. “You could fill up the refrigerator pretty well.”
While admiring the farm equipment and cattle, Obama, a Chicagoan, acknowledged he is “sort of a city slicker.”
Obama, vying with New York Sen. Hillary Clinton for the Democratic nomination to run against likely Republican nominee Sen. John McCain in November’s presidential election, has had a razor-thin edge over Clinton in Texas in some polls.
But a Reuters/C-SPAN/Houston Chronicle poll released on Tuesday showed Clinton with a slight lead.
Latino voters in Texas are a base of support for Clinton, although the state’s young voters and African Americans could be a source of strength for Obama, who would be the first black U.S. president.
Participants at the Houston rodeo, billed by organizers as the largest in the world, seemed impressed that Obama stopped by but it was unclear how many votes he got.
“I’m a big Obama fan,” said Dylan Speer, 18, of Abilene, Texas, who was showing off a utility trailer. But Speer said he had registered too late to vote in the primary.
Obama has been having success in garnering independent and even some Republican voters.
But 41-year-old cattle rancher Jeff Theis, who described himself as a “pretty devout” Republican, was not among those ready to cross party lines to support Obama.
“I think he’s a good guy and all that but I’m not going to vote for him,” Theis said, adding he had already cast a ballot for Republican Mike Huckabee.
Click here for more Reuters 2008 campaign coverage
Photo credit: Reuters/Jim Young (Sen. Barack Obama sits on a tractor during a campaign stop at the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo)
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6 comments so far
I hope Texas and Ohio voters have sense enough to prefer Clinton to Obama. Obama can run in 2016 when he has some experience behind him. Right now his environmental policies are about as progressive as Richard Nixon’s. That’s change???
- Posted by AdamHe is not as new as he wants to appear.
It is unfortunate when even the politcal reporters are unfair to Hillary Clinton. The first black president is noted here regarding Mr. Obama but no mention of the first woman president.
The reality is that the election should not be about race or sex or the person who hired a TV writer to script creative speeches but about who is best person to lead this nation, we should not be voting for the lesser of two evils but for someone we really believe in and for most Americans that is not likely to be any of the candidates still in the running today.
We do need someone who can remove us from Iraq in an appropriate manner, someone who is clear on foreign trade and someone who understands the politics in Washington and can get things done. We need education, immigration and healthcare reform but if we don’t stabilize our economy and establish really foriegn trade policies NOW our country will be left behind and we will never catch up.
The U.S. has always been seen as the world power, we must act quickly on these matters if we intend to grow and flourish for the centuries to come. We owe this to our forefathers and the future generations of Americans.
- Posted by joy“Right now his environmental policies are about as progressive as Richard Nixon’s.”
Well since Nixon created the EPA, signed into law the Clean Air Act and signed the Clean Water Act I’d say he’s not a half bad environmental role model.
And Obama has 10 years in elected office while Hillary has 7. You don’t have to be a rocket scientist to do the math. Hillary doesn’t get to claim experience being president just because she was First Lady.
- Posted by ChrisObama will make a great president.
Joy, there are plenty of articles about Clinton, every one doesn’t have to mention her. Adam, I have no how your figuring your information.
- Posted by AustinWhere is the news about the KKK backing Obama?
- Posted by herb tashiroThey even gave $$$ to his campaign. Not a word in the news/press regarding this ground breaking story? Why??
herb
I voted for Barack because I do not like the negativity politicians use to corrupt our minds like cancer. Please, think about the way that each of these people acts and behaves. Why? Because Hillary is clearly running a negative campaign that is dividing people rather than uniting people… you know “bring us together”. YOU know The “UNITED” States of America. Please just think about the world you live in and try not to think of yourself as so different. We are all in this together.
- Posted by Aaron