Hasta el último delegado

Un interesante artículo de tres páginas en el Boston Globe nos cuenta cómo los dos candidatos demócratas compiten por hacerse con el mayor número de delegados que sea posible, sin renunciar a ni uno sólo, independientemente de que tengan o no opciones de ser la candidatura más votada en cada estado. Un ejemplo de ello sería la presencia de Bill Clinton en Illinois. En Team Hillary saben que su candidata no tiene posibilidades de ser la ganadora en el estado-hogar de Barack Obama. Pero no por ello piensan renunciar a sacar el mayor número de delegados posibles en la derrota. Con ese fin tendrían identificados incluso los distritos estratégicos en los que deberían concentrarse dentro del estado, básicamente en la zona sur, para sacar el máximo provecho al reparto proporcional de compromisarios. En ese mismo sentido hay que entender el interés del equipo de Obama por lanzar publicidad televisiva en estados pobres en delegados como Alaska y Dakota del Norte -sólo 13 delegados cada uno. Cada delegado cuenta. Democrats drive for delegates

(...) After watching his wife lose the South Carolina primary by a 2-to-1 ratio to Senator Barack Obama last weekend, former President Bill Clinton took the campaign to an improbable location: Illinois, where Obama enjoys home-state advantage and is leading Hillary Clinton by double digits in polls.

The Clinton campaign doesn't actually hope to win Illinois, where a trove of 153 delegates is at stake. But Bill Clinton's trip there on Wednesday demonstrated how the two remaining Democratic candidates are quickly revising their campaign strategies to focus on racking up delegates, not wins.

In the early contests in Iowa and New Hampshire, the candidates sought the momentum that comes with victory. Now, political analysts said, the Democrats are focused on winning enough votes in the right places to maximize their chances of accumulating delegates - even if it means fighting for votes in states they are likely to lose or maximizing their winning percentage in places where they are already strong.

"The reality is we really are in a delegate-by-delegate battle," said Guy Cec il, Clinton's national political and field director. "In the end, states do not nominate the candidate. Delegates do."

Winning the Democratic nomination requires 2,025 delegates. Almost half of the total delegates will be selected in 22 states on Tuesday, including California, New York, Illinois, and Massachusetts. In the Republican race, 41 percent of the party's 2,380 delegates will be picked in 21 caucuses or primaries Tuesday. (...)