Puerto Rico gets its moment in the political sun

This old university town, perched on a lush hillside in western Puerto Rico, is a world away from Pennsylvania Avenue.

Yet the Democratic road to the White House, which has already passed through 48 states, goes through this commonwealth today.

Hillary Rodham Clinton, who is expected to win the popular vote, dominates in San Juan and the northeast. Barack Obama has a stronger foothold in cities and rural areas southwest of the capital. The island has 55 pledged delegates at stake.

In the western city of Mayaguez, Rafael Pietri Oms, a local official with the Popular Democratic Party, has wielded his oratory powers for Obama, addressing voters on the radio and in person. At 86, the Puerto Rican grandfather hardly typifies Obama's voter demographic. But Oms, wearing thick eyeglasses and a blue-and-yellow short-sleeved shirt with an Obama button, is enthusiastic and well-versed in mainland talking points.

"He has gone through almost everything immigrants go through when they come to the U.S.," said Oms, describing Obama as a "hybrid" who -- once he is better known to Latino voters -- will enjoy broad appeal against the presumptive Republican nominee, John McCain.

Latino voters -- a multifaceted constituency that has tended to vote for Clinton over Obama -- are likely to be important in November. In recent weeks, Obama has specifically courted them in battleground states, such as Nevada and New Mexico.

Oms said: "I'm sure he can mobilize the leaders of the Puerto Rican, Dominican and Mexican American communities."

Obama has made one visit to Puerto Rico.

On Saturday, Obama was in South Dakota, which holds one of the last two primaries Tuesday, along with Montana. In Rapid City, he praised Clinton for running a "magnificent" campaign and predicted that "we're going to come together, because Sen. Clinton is an outstanding public servant."

Obama said that "whatever differences Sen. Clinton and I may have, they pale in comparison to the differences we've got with the other side," and he resumed his attacks on McCain for being "unwilling to change course" on Iraq.

For Clinton and Obama, the Puerto Rico primary is another chance to appeal to Latinos, who are 15% of the U.S. population and whose votes could decide who becomes president.

A recent report from the New Democrat Network, a partisan think tank in Washington, noted that Latinos have voted in record numbers during the primaries, tripling their turnout compared with 2004. Of those, 78% percent have voted Democratic, according to the report.