Much has been made of the ideological fault lines among Republicans in this year's presidential primaries -- conservatives holding their noses at John McCain; evangelical voters disapproving of former candidate Mitt Romney's Mormonism; secular Republicans unhappy with Baptist minister Mike Huckabee's open religiosity.

But what of divisions on the Democratic side? Exit polls show blacks breaking overwhelmingly for Barack Obama, women going slightly for Hillary Clinton and Hispanics voting heavily for Clinton.

Local Democrats offered different explanations of the pattern.

Some believe that the reluctance of many Hispanics to vote for Obama reflects racial tensions between Hispanics and blacks.

"I think it does. I wish it wouldn't, and I really can't tell you why," said Hanford resident Margaret Crawford.

Crawford, who is black, said she grew up in Hanford among Hispanics without any friction. She thinks there's been tension generated by the replacement of black neighborhoods in Los Angeles with Hispanic immigrants competing for jobs, a pattern she believes has been repeated in other cities.

She thinks leaders of both groups need to sit down and "talk about it."

Hanford resident Walter Johnson also thinks there might be a racial element involved.

Johnson, who is black, was born and raised north of Houston, where he said he saw Hispanics making headway in areas among blacks still climbing out of poverty.

"I guess blacks felt, hey, you're stepping on my territory," he said.

Johnson, who supports Hillary Clinton, said he "disapproved totally" of any divisions between the two ethnic groups.

Other local residents rejected the idea that Clinton's support among Hispanics has anything to do with Obama's skin color.

"I don't think it's that Obama is black. I think (Hispanics) admire former President Clinton," said Corcoran resident Raymond Lerma.

"To me, Hillary has been around a long time. She and her husband have gone through a lot. They know what it takes to get things done," said Corcoran resident Angel Martinez.

Martinez called it a "natural pattern" for blacks to be attracted to Obama and women to look up to Hillary.

"People see them most likely to accomplish things for their group," he said.

Nora Vargas, executive director of the Latino Issues Forum in Fresno, said Hispanics "know (Clinton) and they know the name."

"Absolutely not," she answered, when asked if she thought possible Hispanic distrust of blacks explained the pattern.

Vargas noted that when the Obama campaign has "really reached out" to Hispanic voters, they have been able to "peel off a lot of voters from Hillary Clinton."

Indeed, in recent primaries, Obama has been making inroads among Hispanic voters after exit polls indicated that Clinton racked up 63 percent of the Latino vote on Super Tuesday.

"In the end, I think you will get people voting for a candidate because of what they stand for," Vargas said.

Hanford resident Simon Lakritz was uncomfortable with breaking down the Democratic vote by gender and race.

"Leave that alone. We don't need that crap. We're all people together," he said.

Martinez said that media talk of a so-called black-brown divide is "a bunch of agitators trying to get things going, and I don't believe it's going to happen, because it's not there."

Stephen Nicholson, a political science professor at University of California Merced said he was "skeptical" of the idea of a black-brown divide.

"My guess is among Democratic voters, when all is said and done, most everybody is probably going to back the candidate regardless of who is chosen. The ideological differences don't run that deep between Clinton and Obama," he said.

Nicholson noted that a majority of blacks had supported Clinton a few months ago, with the split moving closer to 50/50 before ratcheting up to the overwhelming black support Obama is enjoying today.

Nicholson thinks considerations of electability and black unfamiliarity with Obama are better explanations than race.

Still, many local blacks are excited about the prospect of the first black president in American history.

Mark Trezza, a Hanford resident and Fresno City College teacher who chairs the Kings County Democratic Central Committee, said a lot of older Democratic women are excited about Clinton being the first woman in the White House.

"Neither one has made it this far. They both want it so bad," Walter Johnson said.

"To the end of this primary (season), it's going to be race and gender. After that, it's going to be the Democratic Party coming together," Johnson predicted.

The reporter can be reached at 583-2432

(Feb. 17, 2008)