Texas Early Voting Starts Today!

Hey y'all...it's time to vote!

Now it’s Texas’ turn.

The spotlight that has been on the earliest states to weigh in on the 2016 presidential battle now shifts to Texas, as voters here — who potentially could turn out in record numbers — get their chance to head to the polls.

Texas, a large state that generally has a small voice in the battle for the White House, could well make an impact in this year’s presidential race.

“Much like 2008, when the Democratic race was still a real contest when Texans went to the polls, it looks like the March 1 primary will (have) the same sort of dynamic,” said Rebecca Deen, who heads the political science department at the University of Texas at Arlington.

Early voting begins Tuesday for the March 1 primary and runs through Feb. 26.

For more information on early voting in Texas, including locations, click here.

I should also mention that Arkansas also begins early voting today, and it continues for Georgia and Tennessee. The polls for all of these states close on the same day as Texas...Super Tuesday, March 1st.

As some of you may know, the Clintons have long-running and deep ties to the Lone Star State dating back to the early 70s:

Thanks to several books — including the Clintons' own memoirs — their short few months in Texas have become a part of Austin lore. The couple worked on the failed Texas campaign for McGovern, a liberal U.S. senator from South Dakota. During their few months in Austin, San Antonio and elsewhere, Clinton and Rodham befriended several allies who would help Bill Clinton’s political ascent in Arkansas and on to the White House. And as Hillary Clinton makes a second run for the White House, some of those bonds forged in Texas are poised to help again.

Bill Clinton arrived to Austin first as McGovern's Texas political point man, but Hillary Rodham was not far behind.

“Bill asked if I wanted to go too,” she wrote in her memoir, Living History. “I did, but only if I had a specific job.”

That job was registering black and Hispanic South Texas voters for the Democratic National Committee.

And of course, who could forget Hillary's win in the 2008 Texas Primary, which was crucial to keeping her presidential run alive until the very last contest in June of that year. (Note: Barack Obama ended up with more Texas delegates that year because of his win in the state's caucus, which occurred on election night. However, there is no confusing Texas two-step this time or hopefully ever again...it's just the primary.)

I was at Hill's Cafe in Austin on that night in 2008 (March 4th, an appropriately-named date), and captured the excitement as CNN called our state for her and someone very special immediately showed up to celebrate with us:  

  I can't even explain how special this night was to me, and still is. Is it selfish to ask for another?

A decisive win this year for Clinton in Texas and other southern Super Tuesday states would be huge in terms of both momentum and delegates...and I'm getting a stronger and stronger feeling that March 1st will indeed be a great day for Hillary and her supporters.

There's only one catch: We have to vote!

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Crossposted at HillaryHQ.com, an independent, progressive blog committed to the electing Hillary Clinton as the next President of the United States.