Special Report: U.S. presidential election 2008

Calender: U.S. 2008 presidential primary, caucus 

Backgrounder: Super Tuesday in 2008, biggest in history

U.S. Democratic presidential candidate Senator Barack Obama (D-IL) applauds at the end of his speech at the Virginia Democratic Party Jefferson Jackson dinner in Richmond, Virginia Feb. 9, 2008. (Xinhua/Reuters Photo) Photo Gallery>>>

    WASHINGTON, Feb. 10 (Xinhua) -- U.S. Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama prevailed in all of the four primaries and caucuses on Saturday, a big boost to his campaign to gain the edge in the presidential nominating races.

    Republican No. 2, Mike Huckabee also swept the three primaries and caucuses in the first round of the post-Super Tuesday races, and only had two percentage points in the Washington caucuses behind his rival, John McCain.

U.S. Republican Presidential candidate and former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee delivers his morning speech to the Conservative Political Action Conference in Washington Feb. 9, 2008. (Xinhua/Reuters Photo) Photo Gallery>>>

    Obama, the Illinois senator, completed the triumph with his win of Louisiana at 53 percent, while New York Senator Hillary Clinton gained 39 percent.

    In Nebraska, Obama led Clinton by 68 percent to 32 percent. He also led the New York senator with a similar edge in Washington state with 68 percent, 31 percentage points ahead of Clinton's supporting rate.

    An overwhelming win was recorded by Obama in Virgin Islands at more than 90 percent.

    "The stakes are too high and the challenges are too great to play the same old Washington game with same old Washington players and expect a different result," Obama told a Democratic gathering on Saturday night in Virginia, "People want to turn the page. They want to write a new chapter in American history."

    Speaking at the same gathering earlier, Clinton did not mention the night's voting, and instead, she turned against McCain. "We have tried it President Bush's way," the former first lady said.

    "And now the Republicans have chosen more of the same," she said.

    CNN exit polls in Louisiana, the most important battlefield on Saturday, showed that Obama dominated in the African-American votes with 82 percent of the total, but he was beaten by Clinton in the popularity among white voters by 26 percent to 70 percent.

    Obama retained his huge influence in the young educated voters, winning 57 percent of Louisiana college students' votes, according to the polls.

    In the state badly hit by Hurricane Katrina in 2005, among the 15 percent of voters who said they had been affected by the disaster and had yet to recover, 58 percent supported Obama while 39 percent preferred Clinton. For those who said they had recovered, Obama had a smaller margin over Clinton with 11 percentage points.

    A total of 2,025 delegates are required to win the Democratic nomination at the national convention in Denver in late August.

    On the Republican side, Saturday was considered as Huckabee's day for his victories in Kansas and Louisiana.

    "People across America are gravitating toward our campaign and realizing that there is still a choice. And that's what we've said all along, that this race is far from being over," the former Arkansas governor said after gaining a lead in the two states.

    Huckabee slightly led McCain in Louisiana by 44 percent to 42 percent. Earlier in the day, he took away all of the 36 delegates with a 60 percent vote in Kansas, compared to McCain's 24 percent. However, his victory poses little threat to the front-runner status of McCain, who won the Washington state caucuses.

    On Sunday, Obama and Clinton will compete in caucuses in Maine, vying for the 24 delegates. Following the weekend contests, Clinton and Obama will continue their race Tuesday in Virginia, Maryland and Washington D.C., where Huckabee and McCain, the two Republican candidates, will also compete on the same day.

    On March 4, voting will take place for the candidates in Ohio, Texas, Rhod Island and Vermont.

>>>Super Tuesday winners <<<

U.S. presidential nominee races resumed after Super Tuesday

    WASHINGTON, Feb. 9 (Xinhua) -- U.S. post-Super Tuesday presidential nominee races were resumed with five primaries and caucuses in four states held on Saturday.

    After Super Tuesday when a total of 24 states and American Samoa held their primaries and caucuses, Democratic presidential candidates Barack Obama and Hillary Rodham Clinton are expected to continue with their neck-and-neck competition. Full story

U.S. Republican presidential candidate Huckabee wins Kansas caucuses

    WASHINGTON, Feb. 9 (Xinhua) -- U.S. Republican presidential candidate Huckabee won Kansas caucuses on Saturday.

    With 88 percent of precincts reporting, the former Arkansas governor has won 60 percent of the votes, followed by Arizona Senator John McCain at 24 percent. Texas Congressman Ron Paul stayed at the third place at 11 percent. Full story

Obama sweeps primary contests in three states

    WASHINGTON, Feb. 9 (Xinhua) -- U.S. Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama was projected to beat Hillary Rodham Clinton in the Nebraska and Washington caucuses and Louisiana's primary on Saturday as the two are in a tied race for the party's presidential nomination.

    In the mean time, Republican candidates John McCain and Mike Huckabee were too close to call in the Louisiana primary after Huckabee had won Kansas caucuses earlier the day. Full story