Clinton wins in West Virginia
Obama still holds lead in overall delegates
"The White House is won in the swing states. And I am winning the swing states," Clinton told cheering supporters at a victory rally.
She coupled praise for Obama with a pledge to persevere in a campaign in which she has become the decided underdog. "This race isn't over yet," she said. "Neither of us has the total delegates it takes to win."
Obama looked ahead to the Oregon primary later in the month and to the general election campaign against Republican John McCain, but the West Virginia defeat underscored his weakness among blue-collar voters who will be pivotal in the fall.
"This is our chance to build a new majority of Democrats and independents and Republicans who know that four more years of George Bush just won't do," Obama said in Missouri, which looms as a battleground state in November.
"This is our moment to turn the page on the divisions and distractions that pass for politics in Washington," added the man seeking to become the first black presidential nominee of a major party.
Clinton's triumph approached the 70 percent of the vote she gained in Arkansas, her best state to date. It came courtesy of an overwhelmingly white electorate comprised of the kinds of voters who have favored her throughout the primaries. Nearly a quarter were 60 or older, and a similar number had no education beyond high school. More than half were in families with incomes of $50,000 or less, and the former first lady was wining a whopping 69 percent of their votes.
Clinton won at least 16 of the 28 delegates at stake in West Virginia and Obama won at least seven, with five more to be allocated.
That left Obama with 1,882.5 delegates, to 1,713 for Clinton, out of 2,026 needed to clinch the nomination at the party convention in Denver this summer. The Democratic win on Tuesday in a Mississippi special election increased by one the number of delegates needed to win the nomination.
Clinton's aides contended that her strength with blue-collar voters — already demonstrated in primaries in Ohio, Pennsylvania and Indiana — makes her the more electable candidate in the fall.
In her remarks, Clinton said, "I deeply admire Senator Obama," but she added, "our case is stronger." She said she had won roughly 17 million votes in the primaries and caucuses to date.
Obama also narrowly won Nebraska's nonbinding primary. He had won the state's caucuses earlier in the year and with them, a majority of its delegates.
Recent comments
Obama isn't Jimmy Carter. Just because the two men MIGHT be...
Steve - Re: Carter Obama | May 15, 2008 at 1:14 p.m.
As long as he doesn't pick Hillary I'll be happy... but...
Steve - Obama VP Choice | May 15, 2008 at 12:11 p.m.
Carter was well liked when elected and seen as a breath of fresh...
Carter Obama | May 15, 2008 at 11:35 a.m.
