Peña stands with Obama at rally but maintains support for Clinton

EDINBURG - As Democratic presidential hopeful Barack Obama rallied thousands at the University of Texas-Pan American around lunchtime Friday, one major local supporter of rival candidate Hillary Clinton was seen in the stands giving his applause to the Illinois senator.

State Rep. Aaron Peña, D-Edinburg, stood in the stands behind the stage where Obama spoke on the UTPA campus.

When asked about whether he now supports Obama, Peña said he still backs Clinton, although he does have doubts.

"I have made a commitment and I keep my word in maintaining that commitment, but it will rapidly be evident in the next 11 days who the next president is going to be," Peña said.

When asked if he thought that Clinton would not win, Peña responded: "I won't make any comments beyond that."

Peña gave his comments after the event, saying he was there to support his son, who works locally for the Obama campaign. But he also hinted that the race in Texas could favor Obama.

"I'm here as a witness to history," Peña said amid volunteers who cleaned up after the rally. "But I do believe that last night's debate was a change, a significant moment in the campaign where it is increasingly evident who is going to win."

Peña said he believed one candidate could win the popular vote in Texas, while the other could win more delegates.

"I think Barack Obama, because of the passion of his supporters, has a good chance of winning the delegate vote," Peña said. "But I think it's still up in the air as to who will win the popular vote."

Peña said that he was impressed with the passion shown by Obama's supporters at Friday's rally.

"If you look at the passion in this crowd here today, it takes passion for people to show up here at 7:15 (a.m.), it takes passion for people to stick it up and fight for the process," he said.

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Jared Taylor covers Edinburg, the Delta region and general assignments for The Monitor. You can reach him at 956-683-4439.