YES WE CAN... VOTE

Just one month ago, I was whining about how my state of Oregon was voting too late in the presidential primary process to be a player this year, but that may have just changed.

The folks in Texas and Ohio have voted and really nothing has changed with the results. Hillary won three of four states but, once the Texas caucus results are tallied, Obama will likely come away with more delegates. Hillary now has the momentum narrative, but Obama's lead in delegates makes the math all but impossible for Clinton.

So what does that mean? We're back, baby! We're back! The late states actually matter! We may actually get candidates visiting us ahead of the election. Slate has this great tool for political nerds. You can predict the results of the remaining primaries and the program will spit out each candidate's delegates number. What you learn from messing around on the site is that both candidates are going to have to compete in every remaining state and territory. That includes Guam, that includes Puerto Rico, that even includes Oregon.

I can't wait for the campaign to come to our state (not least because of the ad dollars it will mean for my employer), but I do have one complaint. Puerto Rico gets 55 delegates? 55? Really? They don't get to vote in the presidential election and the Democrats give them 55 delegates? Oregon only gets 52, and we're actually located in America.

But that's a minor trifle. Bring on the candidates. Let them pander to the weirdos in the northwest. It's high time somebody did.