WASHINGTON, May 7 (Xinhua) -- Hours after Sen.
Barrack Obama of Illinois scored a comfortable win in North Carolina's
Democratic presidential primary Tuesday, his rival Sen. Hillary Clinton of New
York narrowly won Indiana.
US Democratic presidential candidate
Senator Barack Obama (D-IL) speaks to supporters at his North Carolina and
Indiana primary election night rally in Raleigh, North Carolina May 6,
2008.(Xinhua/Reuters Photo) Photo
Gallery>>>
Obama beat Clinton with 56-42 percent in North
Carolina as 99 percent of precincts had been reported, while Clinton held a
narrow 51-49 percent win over Obama in Indiana, with 99 percent of precincts
reported.
Before the full results come out, Clinton claimed
victory in Indiana at a rally in Indianapolis.
"We've come from behind. We've broken the tide and
thanks to you it's full speed on to the White House!" she told supporters.
In North Carolina, Obama promised to press his case
for the presidency.
US Democratic presidential candidate
Senator Barack Obama (D-IL) speaks at his North Carolina and Indiana
primary election night rally in Raleigh, North Carolina May 6,
2008.(Xinhua/Reuters Photo) Photo Gallery>>>
Speaking to supporters in Raleigh, he congratulated
Clinton on "what appears to be her victory" in Indiana.
He underscored his win in North Carolina, noting he
was less than 200 delegates away from winning the nomination.
"I want to start by congratulating Senator Clinton on
her victory in the state of Indiana," he said.
"And I want to thank the people of North Carolina for
giving us a victory in a big state, a swing state, and a state where we will
compete to win if I am the Democratic nominee for President of the United
States," Obama added.
He also called for unity of the Democratic party.
Exit polls in Indiana show about half the voters
believed the controversy over racially charged comments by Obama's former
pastor, the Rev. Jeremiah Wright, was an important factor in their vote.
The polls also show Clinton is continuing to do
strongly with working-class white voters, a pivotal group that Obama has been
struggling to win over.
Two-thirds of working-class whites are backing
Clinton, while blacks are overwhelmingly supporting Obama.
North Carolina and Indiana also held Republican
presidential primaries, but John McCain already has clinched the Republican
presidential nomination.
Altogether, 187 delegates were on offer in the two
states with 115 in North Carolina and 72 in Indiana. After Tuesday, 217 pledged
delegates are still available in the remaining six contests before voting ends
in a month.
A count conducted by Microsoft and National
Broadcasting (MSNBC) gave Obama a total of 1,876 delegates compared to 1,729 for
Clinton after Tuesday's contests.
But with neither candidate
expected to win the 2,024 delegates needed to clinch the Democratic nomination
by June 3, the end of the primary season, the final decision will most likely
fall to the 796 so-called super delegates including Democratic governors,
members of Congress and party officials.
US Democratic presidential candidate
Senator Hillary Clinton (D-NY) with her husband, former President Bill
Clinton (L) speaks to supporters at her North Carolina and Indiana primary
election night rally in Indianapolis, Indiana, May 6, 2008.(Xinhua/Reuters
Photo) Photo
Gallery>>>
WASHINGTON, May 6 (Xinhua)
-- Top U.S. Democrats said Tuesday that they expected the presidential
nomination race between Senator Barrack Obama and Hillary Clinton to end soon
after June 3,the last day of the primary season.
In an interview on National Public Radio, former vice
presidential Gore expressed confidence that a Democratic presidential nominee
will be decided soon after the last nomination contests on June 3. Full story
WASHINGTON, May 6 (Xinhua) -- Sen. Barrack Obama of
Illinois and rival Sen. Hillary Clinton of New York are competing fiercely in
the North Carolina and Indiana primaries Tuesday, the latest critical day in the
Democratic presidential nomination race.
For front-runner Obama, the primaries present an opportunity to wipe out
doubts about him being a "flawed" candidate in the general election. Full story
