What's the point of having data if you don't analyze it?
While presidential hopeful Barack Obama handily won last week's Democratic primary over Hillary Rodham Clinton in Harris County, a review of key precincts exposes a highly polarized electorate in some heavily black and Hispanic neighborhoods.In precincts with the highest percentages of adult blacks, Obama won with 84 percent of the vote, while Clinton saw that same percentage in her favor in precincts with the highest concentration of Hispanics.
"That's where the campaigns were geared toward, and the voters responded appropriately," said Houston political consultant Marc Campos, who supported Clinton but did not work for her campaign.
"Latinos said, 'Hey, she wants us more, and we're going to be there.' And, in the African-American community, they said, 'He's one of us, and we're going to be there for him.' "
These voting patterns emerged in recent days as Harris County officials released an unofficial canvass of the votes cast in more than 800 precincts.