With the race to the democratic nomination proving to be close down to the wire, the minority vote could prove to be the deciding factor in who comes away with the nod come August.

Sen. Hillary Clinton was once thought to be the favorite among both black and Hispanic voters, but has lost ground over the past few months. Her rival, Sen. Barack Obama, has established himself as the favorite among African-American voters.

According to a CNN report, Sen. Obama has picked up nearly 84 percent of the black vote nationwide, and his Jan. 26 South Carolina primary win came largely in part because of his support from black Americans.

"Exit polls estimated Obama took more than 80 percent of the African-American vote, which made up about half of Saturday's turnout," CNN reported.

While Obama appears to have locked up the black vote, exit polls indicate that Clinton still has a strong hold on the Hispanic demographic. Nancy Cook of NPR reported that Clinton took home the Latino vote convincingly in key states on Feb. 5's Super Tuesday.

"New York Sen. Hillary Clinton won the Latino vote on Super Tuesday by a 2-to-1 margin in key states such as New York, California and New Jersey," Cook said.

With the tight nature of the democratic race, many political pundits predict the nomination will be decided by super delegates.

If this scenario plays out, the minority vote will prove to be pivotal in deciding the democratic candidate, and without a question will be just as important in the presidential election.