Clinton, Obama Deadlocked

Barack Obama (top), Hillary Clinton (middle) and John McCain (bottom)are happy with the primary results.

Geoff Elliott,

Chicago

February 07, 2008

HILLARY Clinton and Barack Obama split the spoils on Super Tuesday in the Democratic Party race for the US presidential nomination, but John McCain emerged as the clear Republican frontrunner.
In the tightest race for power within the Democratic Party in modern political history, Senator Clinton pulled off the two biggest prizes - California and her home state of New York.
But Senator Obama won 13 of the 22 states up for grabs, including his home state of Illinois and battlegrounds Connecticut and Missouri, and celebrated a landslide in Georgia. Crucially for Senator Obama, Missouri is considered a bellwether state for picking presidents.
New Mexico was too close to call last night, but was leaning towards Senator Obama.
McCain, a Vietnam War hero, went into yesterday trying to take a stranglehold on the nomination, and picked up wins in nine of the 21 states holding Republican primaries: the delegate-rich California and New York as well as Illinois, Connecticut, Delaware, New Jersey, Missouri, Oklahoma and his home state of Arizona.
A running count of delegates gave Senator Clinton 845, more than a third of the 2025 she needs for the nomination. Senator Obama had 765. The Obama camp had predicted that a good result would be to get within 100 delegates of Senator Clinton.
However, on the Republican side, McCain had 613 delegates with daylight separating him from rivals Mitt Romney (269) and Mike Huckabee (190). Republicans need 1191 to capture their nomination.
As senators Clinton and Obama are forced to slug it out for the nomination in the weeks ahead, the clear frontrunner status will give Senator McCain clear air to launch attacks on the Democratic contenders.
His campaign ruled dead and buried just a few months ago, Senator McCain, a superstitious man, finally had the nerve to call himself the frontrunner, adding "I don't really mind it one bit".
"We are much closer to the victory we have worked so hard to achieve, but I am confident we will get there," he declared at his victory rally in Phoenix, Arizona.
But ordained Baptist pastor Mike Huckabee snatched victories in the southern states of Georgia and Alabama and won over conservatives in West Virginia, where he captured the state's caucuses, his home state of Arkansas and Tennessee.
"Over the past few days a lot of people have been trying to say that this is a two-man race - well, you know what? It is, and we're in it!" said Mr Huckabee at his campaign headquarters in Little Rock, Arkansas.
Mr Romney, the millionaire businessman hoping also to corral conservatives against Senator McCain and be the first Mormon in the White House, hung on to his home state of Massachusetts, as expected the Mormon state of Utah, Colorado, North Dakota, Minnesota, Alaska and Montana.
But the loss of California, where he had hoped to halt Senator McCain's march, left sharp questions for Mr Romney. A campaign aide said the Romney camp would have "frank discussions" about the future today, NBC reported.
The two titans of the Democratic race are now locked in a slugfest, trying to win the advantage in more statewide votes to come, starting this Saturday when Washington state, Nebraska and Louisiana go to the polls.
Senators Clinton and Obama congratulated each other on their victories and vowed to fight on.
"I look forward to continuing our campaign and our debate about how to leave this country better off for the next generation," the former first lady said in New York.Senator Obama was in Chicago, where he told a fervent election night rally: "Our time has come. Our movement is real. And change is coming to America."
Senator Obama's camp predicted the Illinois senator, who could be the US's first black president, might emerge from Super Tuesday with more presidential nominating delegates than Senator Clinton.
That underlines the surge in support for Senator Obama in recent days. "In the last two weeks we closed a 20-point gap in the national polls," said David Axelrod, his top political adviser.
And Obama campaign manager David Plouffe said: "Maybe we end up winning more states and delegates, and we think that is a remarkable night for us."
But Senator Clinton picked up Arizona, Oklahoma, her husband's home state of Arkansas, Tennessee, New Jersey and Massachusetts, on top of the key states of California and New York.
Senator Clinton's win in Massachusetts was a big upset because of the campaign for Senator Obama by Boston heavyweights Ted Kennedy and John Kerry.
"This is a strong victory and shows Hillary Clinton has strength in places where Barack Obama was expected to win," her office said.
But Senator Obama could still take a fair share of the Massachusetts delegates under the proportional system used in that state - a huge shift considering he was trailing in the state polls by more than 30 points two weeks ago.
Senator Obama's win in Connecticut was significant, as it borders Senator Clinton's New York. As well as Illinois, Missouri and Georgia, he won Kansas, Delaware, Utah, North Dakota, Alabama and Minnesota, Colorado, Idaho and Alaska - a big victory given concerns that a black man could not sweep as many states across the US.
His surge appears fuelled not only by African-Americans but also by young voters, whom Senator Obama has mobilised in huge numbers. Exit polls indicated he was cutting into Senator Clinton's strength with Jewish voters, women and Hispanics.
Unlike the Republican system, which is mostly winner-takes-all, delegates to the Democratic presidential convention will be appointed proportionally on the size of the vote in each state.