United States

02/06/2008

Race For Nomination Remains Open

Clinton, Obama Draw in Super Tuesday Primaries

The race for the Democratic nomination remains open after Super Tuesday as Hillary Clinton won the California primary and most states on the wealthy East Coast, but Barack Obama won more states overall. John McCain clinched delegate-rich primaries to strengthen his lead in the Republican race.

Democrat Barack Obama and rival Hillary Clinton fought to a draw on Super Tuesday's marathon of 24 primaries, setting the stage for what could be a long fight for the party's nomination.

Obama won 12 states and Clinton took eight. Clinton's wins included the key prizes of California and New York on the biggest day of presidential voting in the United States ahead of November's election.

"There is one thing on this February night that we do not need the final results to know: Our time has come," Obama told cheering supporters in Chicago. "Our movement is real, and change is coming to America."

Republican contender John McCain won nine states, including key victories in California and big Northeastern states to take a strong lead in the Republican race. But Republican rivals Mitt Romney and Mike Huckabee kept their hopes alive and vowed to fight on. Romney won six states and Huckabee won five.

"Tonight, I think we must get used to the idea that we are the Republican Party frontrunner for the nomination," McCain told supporters in Scottsdale, Arizona. "And I don't really mind it one bit."

The mixed outcome in the coast-to-coast voting, with all contenders in both parties scoring at least five wins, appeared certain to prolong the nominating races in both parties.

A new round of contests in a half-dozen states are scheduled this weekend and in the coming week.

The Clinton and Obama camps said they expected the count of delegates for the night to be relatively even.

cro/Reuters/AP

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