Friday, May 30th 2008, 3:12 pm
By Samantha Hayes, in Washington, D.C.
May 29, 2008
The man who sang "Livin' la Vida Loca" has decided to weigh in on the presidential race. And before you think that Ricky Martin, the pop super-star, offered his support a little late, he has a very good reason. Martin is from Puerto Rico, where Sunday's primary is one of the last three contests for the Democrats. The primary season wraps up on Tuesday with South Dakota and Montana. Martin's choice is Hillary Clinton, whom he believes has shown a commitment to the Hispanic community.
Both Democratic candidates have spent time in Puerto Rico, but Clinton recently wrapped up a three-day swing and is expected to head back again on Friday. And President Clinton and her daughter, Chelsea, have also campaigned on her behalf. While it may not seem like much of a chore to campaign in a beautiful area like Puerto Rico, the Clintons have a strategy in place with the U.S. territory.
Puerto Rico offers the most delegates of the remaining contests, 55. Clinton not only wants to do everything she can to close the delegate gap with Obama, she also wants to lead him in the popular vote. To do that, she is also relying on the Democratic National Committee to rule in her favor over the disqualified Florida and Michigan contests in this weekend's meeting.
While there's no way to predict what may happen in that meeting, a victory in Puerto Rico does look like a serious possibility on Sunday. A poll conducted by Greenberg (Bill Clinton's first pollster), Quinlan, Rosner showed Senator Clinton with a 13 point lead over Obama. However, the survey asked 800 Puerto Rico Democrats their preferences between May 8th and the 20th, which for the most part was before the candidates campaigned there. Only 3 percent were undecided in that poll.
If Clinton does win on Sunday, there's no word yet on whether Martin might make an appearance with her, or if one of his hits may become a last minute campaign theme song. But, stand by -- in this election, it seems like anything can happen.
May 30th, 2008
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