Special Report: U.S. presidential election 2008

US Democratic presidential candidate and Senator Barack Obama (D-IL) (C) arrives to speak in Laramie, Wyoming, March 7, 2008. (Xinhua/Reuters Photo) Photo Gallery>>>

    WASHINGTON, March 8 (Xinhua) -- Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama beat his rival, Hillary Rodham Clinton in the Wyoming caucuses on Saturday.

    As of 96 percent of precincts reporting, Obama led Clinton at 59 percent to 40 percent.

    The Republican-dominated state has only 12 delegates who would vote at the Democratic national convention, one of the smallest prize in the party's presidential nomination race. But it became a battlefield this year since every delegate matters in such a close race.

    Illinois Senator Obama has been always doing well in caucuses for his strength in organizing and mobilizing grass-roots voters. Clinton, a New York senator, performed better in primary elections in big states such as California and Ohio.

    According to CNN estimation, the victory in Wyoming would bring Obama's number of delegates to 1,527, and increase Clinton's to 1,428. Either of them has to accumulate 2,025 delegates to secure his or her presidential candidacy.

US Democratic presidential candidate and Senator Barack Obama (D-IL) speaks in Laramie, Wyoming March 7, 2008. (Xinhua/Reuters Photo) Photo Gallery>>>

    "Seriously, I never imagined when I took this job that we wouldsee the day when the two front-runners for the Democratic presidential nomination would hold events in Wyoming on the eve of our country caucuses," Wyoming State Democratic Party spokesman Bill Luckett wrote on the State Party's Website.

    The state that homes to Vice President Dick Cheney, has not voted for a Democrat in the national presidential elections since 1964. But it has a Democratic governor, Dave Freudenthal, who does not endorsed either Obama or Clinton for they mostly neglecting "Western issues," like the environment, water and energy.

    The two candidates did not schedule a post-caucuses rally on Saturday but took a day off at home before they face off in Mississippi on Tuesday and in Pennsylvania on April 22.

Obama's advisor quits over offensive words

    WASHINGTON, March 7 (Xinhua) -- Democratic Presidential candidate Barack Obama's top foreign policy advisor resigned on Friday for her offensive remarks on his rival, Hillary Rodham Clinton in an interview with media.

    Samantha Power, a Pulitzer Prize winner and Harvard University professor, was caught in hot water after she told a Scottish newspaper that New York Senator is a "monster."  Full story

Obama's campaign raises $55 mln in Feb.

    WASHINGTON, March 6 (Xinhua) -- U.S. Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama has raised about 55 million U.S. dollars in February for his campaign, the highest amount of fundraising for any White House contender in a single month, his team said on Thursday.

    The campaign said that a total 727,972 donors contributed to the African American presidential hopeful last month, including 385,101 first-time contributors. Full story

Ohio becomes campaign center for Clinton, Obama

U.S. Democratic presidential candidate Senator Barack Obama speaks during a rally at the Ohio State University in Columbus, Ohio, Feb. 27, 2008.(Xinhua/Reuters Photo) Photo Gallery>>>

    BEIJING, March 3 -- Presidential candidates Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama waged a tight campaign fight across Ohio on Sunday two days before crucial voting that could virtually nail down the Democratic nomination or prolong the party battle into the spring.

    One prominent Democrat worried that extended infighting after the voting in four states on Tuesday could split the party into two camps and give a big boost to the presumptive Republican nominee, Arizona Sen. John McCain. Full story

U.S. Senator Chris Dodd (D-CT) gestures as he speaks at the CNN/Nevada Democratic Party debate at the University of Nevada Las Vegas (UNLV) in Las Vegas, Nevada Nov. 15, 2007.(Xinhua/Reuters Photo) Photo Gallery>>>