Wednesday, March 5, 2008

Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama face off in crucial Texas and Ohio primaries

By Alex Spillius in San Antonio, Texas

Voters in four US states today decide if Barack Obama will represent the Democratic Party in November's presidential election or if Hillary Clinton will live to fight another day in their epic struggle for the nomination.

The former First Lady refused to rule herself out, while her aides forecast that they would achieve good enough result in Ohio, Texas, Rhode Island and Vermont to keep going.

If Hillary Clinton loses Texas and Ohio, she will face pressure from senior party figures to step aside

Asked what she would do tomorrow if she lost, she told reporters: "I don't think like that. We're working hard. We think we're going to do really well here in Texas and in Ohio."



The latest polls showed the New York senator has stopped her young challenger's advance, with neither candidate having a lead greater than the four per cent statistical margin of error in either Texas or Ohio, the states which matter most.

A cautious-sounding Mr Obama told reporters on his campaign plane that he thought the race would be "very, very tight".

"We started 20 points behind in Texas and Ohio," he said on the flight from Houston to San Antonio.

"We've closed the gap but whether it's going to be enough to actually win is going to depend on what turnout looks like in both states."

"What my head tells me is we've got a very sizable delegate lead that is going to be hard to overcome," he added.

After 11 straight victories, the Illinois senator had the momentum and led in the contest for delegates who appoint the nominee chase by 1,386 to 1,276, according to a count by the Associated Press.

It takes 2,025 delegates to win the Democratic nomination, and 370 are up for grabs today, the vast majority in Texas and Ohio.

If she loses both, Mrs Clinton will face pressure from senior party figures to step aside, and let Mr Obama become the first black American presidential nominee.

Even former President Bill Clinton has said his wife must win both those major states to continue in the race, but advisers are now suggesting that one victory and a narrow loss might be sufficient justification.

Voters in four US states today decide if Barack Obama will represent the Democratic Party in November's presidential election or if Hillary Clinton will live to fight another day in their epic struggle for the nomination.


If Hillary Clinton loses Texas and Ohio, she will face pressure from senior party figures to step aside

Asked what she would do tomorrow if she lost, she told reporters: "I don't think like that. We're working hard. We think we're going to do really well here in Texas and in Ohio."

The latest polls showed the New York senator has stopped her young challenger's advance, with neither candidate having a lead greater than the four per cent statistical margin of error in either Texas or Ohio, the states which matter most.

A cautious-sounding Mr Obama told reporters on his campaign plane that he thought the race would be "very, very tight".

"We started 20 points behind in Texas and Ohio," he said on the flight from Houston to San Antonio.

"We've closed the gap but whether it's going to be enough to actually win is going to depend on what turnout looks like in both states."

"What my head tells me is we've got a very sizable delegate lead that is going to be hard to overcome," he added.

After 11 straight victories, the Illinois senator had the momentum and led in the contest for delegates who appoint the nominee chase by 1,386 to 1,276, according to a count by the Associated Press.



It takes 2,025 delegates to win the Democratic nomination, and 370 are up for grabs today, the vast majority in Texas and Ohio.

If she loses both, Mrs Clinton will face pressure from senior party figures to step aside, and let Mr Obama become the first black American presidential nominee.

Even former President Bill Clinton has said his wife must win both those major states to continue in the race, but advisers are now suggesting that one victory and a narrow loss might be sufficient justification.

Meanwhile John McCain was hoping to secure the Republican nomination, needing to win a further 177 delegates out of the 256 available in contests in the same four states.

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