by Joey Gomez and Steve Taylor

BROWNSVILLE, June 3 - State Rep. Eddie Lucio, D-San Benito, one of Barack Obama’s top surrogates in South Texas, says the Illinois senator should pick Hillary Clinton as his running mate in November.

In an exclusive interview with the Guardian, Lucio said there was no doubt in his mind that Obama had secured the Democratic nomination for president. However, he also paid tribute to Clinton for running a “great” race.

Asked if he would like to see the so-called Dream Team of Obama and Clinton at the top of the Democratic ticket in November, Lucio said: “I am for that Dream Ticket 1,000 percent and pray every night that happens because that will trickle down to every Democratic race across the country.”

Lucio made his comments just as the final two primaries of the 2008 campaign were about to get underway in Montana and South Dakota. Obama appeared to be getting close to the 2,118 delegates he needs to win the Democratic nomination as a succession of super delegates announced they were backing him.

During the Texas primary, Lucio told the Guardian that he felt like the “Lone Ranger” in the Valley because almost every other elected official was in the Clinton camp. He hoped other Democrats along the border would see what he saw in Obama. “He’s like a rock star,” Lucio said in February, just before Obama’s first visit to the Valley.

However, when the March 4 primary came around, Clinton scored some of her biggest wins in Texas border counties. Clinton won 77.3 percent of the vote in Webb County, 72.5 percent in Hidalgo County, 69 percent in El Paso County, and 67.6 percent in Cameron County.

“I am respectful of the fact that Senator Clinton ran a very good race. She has rallied the border. She has brought new people to the table that had not participated before. It is my hope that they join forces,” Lucio said.

Lucio said he does not buy the argument that Clinton is more likely to defeat presumptive Republican nominee John McCain in November than Obama. Some of the top Clinton supporters in the Valley say Obama could falter because he has not polled as well among Hispanics, women, and blue-collar working class voters.

“There’s enough anti-Bush, and anti-administration, people out there that I think either of the Democratic candidates would win,” Lucio said.

Read the full article on the Rio Grande Guardian website

This entry was posted on Wednesday, June 4th, 2008 at 4:24 pm and is filed under Press. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.