Special Report: U.S. presidential election 2008

    WASHINGTON, May 20 (Xinhua) -- U.S. Sen. Barack Obama of Illinois and Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton of New York are competing in the states of Kentucky and Oregon Tuesday, as the Democratic presidential nomination race approaches to the end.

    In Kentucky, polling hours of most areas are be from 1000 GMT to 2200 GMT, and in a few areas the closing time will be postponed for one hour.

    The state was allocated 60 delegates to the 2008 Democratic National Convention.

    Of these, 51 are pledged delegates tied to the results of the May 20 primary, and 9 are so-called super delegates.

    Those wishing to participate in the primary had to register as Democrats 28 days prior to the primary.

    As of April 30th, 2 super delegates had pledged support for Obama, and 3 for Clinton.

    There are 3,545 precincts in 120 counties with 1,629,845 Democratic registered voters in Kentucky.

    Kentucky's population of 4.2 million includes a higher percentage of the non-Hispanic white-alone population and a lower percentage of people who received a bachlor's degree or higher, which gives Clinton a natural advantage.

    Pre-primary surveys show polls show Clinton leading Obama by a 52-25 percent margin.

    Kentucky is famous as the home of bourbon whiskey, bluegrass music and the Kentucky Derby horse race.

    Tobacco farming and coal mining remain important industries in this largely rural state.