Puerto Rico kicks off final week of primaries
SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (CNN) — Sens. Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama face off in Puerto Rico on Sunday as the Democratic primary season enters its final week.
Puerto Rico has 55 delegates at stake, and polls show Clinton with a comfortable lead over Obama.
Polls opened at 8 a.m. ET and close at 3 p.m.
According to a survey conducted for the newspaper El Vocero and Univision, Clinton is leading Obama there 51 percent to 38 percent among all adults in the primary.
The poll also show 52 percent of Puerto Ricans view Clinton favorably, while 42 percent view Obama favorably.
The survey was conducted May 8-20 and has a margin of error of plus or minus 3.4 percentage points.
Given the length of the survey time, it is possible it may not reflect the current views of Puerto Ricans since both candidates have visited the island since the polling began, and other recent developments on the campaign trail may have swayed voters’ minds there.
While Puerto Rico gets to vote in the primaries, it is not allowed to vote in the general election. The Democratic and Republican parties run the primaries and caucuses, and they allow U.S. territories, such as the commonweath of Puerto Rico, to take part in the process. Watch how Puerto Rico could affect the race
But only the 50 states and the District of Columbia vote in the general election.
The primary season ends Tuesday when voters in Montana and South Dakota weigh in in the lengthy nomination battle. Those states have a combined 31 delegates up for grabs.
Obama campaign spokesman Robert Gibbs said he expects Obama to clinch the nomination in the coming days.
If not Tuesday, I think it will be fairly soon, he said Sunday on ABC’s This Week.
We hope this week, absolutely, he added.
Going into Sunday’s contests, Obama leads in the overall delegate count — 2,051 to Clinton’s 1,877.
Clinton gained some ground Saturday following the Democratic National Committee’s decision to seat the delegations from Florida and Michigan.
The DNC’s Rules and Bylaws Committee reinstated all of Florida and Michigan’s delegates to the national convention, with each state getting a half-vote to penalize them for holding their primaries earlier than party rules allowed.
The DNC panel’s move gave Clinton 87 delegates and Obama 63.
Clinton has been campaigning hard in Puerto Rico, with both husband Bill and daughter Chelsea making the rounds.
Chelsea and I and Hillary have now been to 42 of Puerto Rico’s municipalities campaigning for the votes of the people of Puerto Rico, former President Clinton said Thursday.
She represents more Puerto Ricans than anyone in the world except someone who is elected here. Send the message back to the mainland on Sunday that Puerto Rico deserves to be considered and its potential is unlimited if only you had a genuine partner in the White House.
The senator’s popularity on the island caught the attention of one of the island’s most famous pop stars Thursday.
Ricky Martin endorsed Clinton for the Democratic nomination, saying, Whether fighting for better education, universal health care and social well-being, as first lady and senator from New York — representing millions of Latinos — she has always fought for what is most important for our families.
Obama briefly campaigned last weekend in Puerto Rico.
The senator from Illinois marched along a street in Bayamon on May 24, shaking hands with supporters in front of a banner that said, Puerto Rico Con Obama.
