Will Rhode Island Actually Count This Year?

According to the Providence Journal, this year, Rhode Island might mean something in the 08 primary election!

The article begins,

"Known for years as the afterthought of American politics, Rhode Island’s March presidential primary may prove meaningful in the 2008 presidential election campaign, particularly if the Republican and Democratic contests remain unsettled after the string of contests on Feb. 5.

“Rhode Island may be very relevant here, and I’m not just saying that,” says Tad Devine, the Providence native and top Democratic consultant who is an expert on the presidential nominating process."

Regarding Huckabee's support in the state,
"Huckabee’s delegates include a number of people who are not GOP activists and [some] longtime party members, including Scott Bill Hirst and Robert Tingle, who has run unsuccessfully against Democratic Sen. Jack Reed."

See the full article here

Again, it would be amazing if Rhode Island would actually have an impact on who was the Democrat's or Republican's candidate in 2008. Ohio, Texas, and Vermont all have primary's on the same day, March 4, as Rhode Island and all those states, with the exception of Vermont, have far more delegates then Rhode Island.

Here are the delegates up for grabs on March 4th:
Texas: 228 Democrat delegates & and 140 Republican
Ohio: 116 Democrat delegates and the 88 Republican
Rhode Island: 32 Democratic delegates & 20 Republican
Vermont: 23 Democrat delegates and 17 Republican

As you can see, Texas and Ohio mean a whole lot more then Vermont or Rhode Island but on the other hand, 37 delegates could mean a whole lot at the National Convention.

So will the Ocean State end up counting in 08? We shall see...