Democrats race to the polls
Hillary and Barack hot topics

Election judges (left to right) Ronny Coleman, Amanda Wilkerson and Joe Miranda assist Democratic primary voters Tuesday morning at Fair Acres Community Center. Democratic turnout was heavy at the two-precinct box, with more than 100 voters visiting by 11 a.m. In the Republican primary, held at the other end of the same room, 26 votes had been cast by then.

Diboll's early voting site at the Angelina County Subcourthouse on North Temple recorded 142 early voters last week, which election judges called slightly higher than normal.

Democratic primary voters outpaced Republican by better than 2-to-1, with 99 people voting in the Democratic primary and 43 in the GOP race. No local offices were contested on the Republican primary, and presidential candidate John McCain has an overwhelming lead in that race, while on the Democratic side, the close race for the presidential nomination between Sens. Hillary Clinton of New York and Barack Obama of Illinois drew the bulk of attention.

The Free Press' deadline for today's issue was long before the polls closed in Tuesday's primary. Early votes, once called absentee votes, will be added in to the primary results.