Clinton, Obama battle to end in Ohio, Texas races
Updated: 2008-03-04 15:42
TOLEDO, Ohio -- Barack Obama and Hillary Rodham Clinton reached for the finish line of contentious Ohio and Texas primary campaigns as senior Democrats expressed concern the party could suffer this fall if their struggle goes much longer.
Clinton suggested she will press on with her campaign beyond Tuesday's primaries, arguing that momentum was on her side despite 11 straight losses to Obama that have imperiled her Democratic presidential nomination bid.
Four states vote Tuesday, but the focus is on the races in Texas and Ohio. The former first lady desperately needs wins in both states to salvage her bid to become the first female US president.
"I'm just getting warmed up," Clinton told reporters Monday, at the start of a busy day of campaigning in Ohio and Texas.
Former President Bill Clinton has asserted that his wife must win both Texas and Ohio to keep her campaign alive. On Friday, Hillary Clinton's advisers recast the stakes, saying if Obama lost any of the four presidential primaries - Rhode Island and Vermont also vote Tuesday - it would show Democrats are having second thoughts about him.
Hillary Clinton predicted success on Tuesday and looked ahead to the next big contest - Pennsylvania on April 22.
"I think I know what's happening and I believe I'm going to do very well tomorrow," she said. "I think that's going to be a very significant message to the country, and then we move on to Pennsylvania and the states coming up."
In San Antonio, Texas, Obama told reporters he was optimistic about Tuesday's primaries, but was not counting Clinton out.
"Senator Clinton is running a tenacious campaign. She is a hardworking candidate who brings to bear enormous resources. (Former) President Clinton is working hard on her behalf. We know this has been an extraordinary election. It continues to be.
"We're working as hard as we can to try to do well," Obama said.
Obama campaign manager David Plouffe called Tuesday "the last big window of opportunity" for Clinton, noting that "enormous leads" she enjoyed as recently as two weeks ago had dwindled or evaporated.
Obama has won 11 straight contests since February 5, Super Tuesday, and leads in the Associated Press delegate count, 1,386-1,276. His margin is greater among delegates chosen in the primaries and caucuses, 1,187-1,035, while Clinton leads among party officials, known as superdelegates, 241-199.
Obama has been gaining ground among superdelegates in recent weeks as his victories have piled up, and Clinton's support has begun to erode.
A total of 2,025 delegates is needed to secure the Democratic nomination at the party's convention in late August in Denver.
On the Republican side, John McCain could clinch his party's nomination with a strong showing in Tuesday's contests with a total of 256 delegates at stake.
The Arizona senator goes into Tuesday's contests with 1,014 delegates - 177 short of the 1,191 needed for the nomination. Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee is far behind with 257 delegates.
Huckabee campaigned across Texas on Monday with tough-guy actor Chuck Norris at his side. The Baptist preacher-turned-politician hoped for a surprise victory in Texas that would prevent McCain from clinching the nomination.
A total of 370 Democratic delegates are at stake Tuesday. Clinton must win by a sizable margin in Ohio and Texas to cut into Obama's lead in the delegate count, since they are rewarded proportionally.
And even if Clinton wins the popular vote in Texas, she could wind up with fewer delegates in the state than Obama because of the state's unique same-day primary and caucus system.
A series of polls over the weekend has shown Clinton maintaining her lead in Ohio, even though Obama has narrowed the gap. Some polls showed Clinton with a slim lead; others with an advantage of up to 12 percentage points.
Senior Democrats have begun to speak out in private as well as public about the impact a continuation of the bruising campaign might have in a fall confrontation with McCain.
Several Democrats said the party's chairman, Howard Dean, told House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid last week he was concerned about the possible impact of a nominating campaign that stretched through the end of the primaries in early June.
Dean, Reid and Pelosi, all superdelegates, are neutral in the race between Clinton and Obama.
Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse of Rhode Island, told Providence radio station WPRO on Monday, "We can't go all the way through to the convention fighting with each other while McCain and the Republicans lob in whatever free shots they want." Whitehouse, a superdelegate who supports Clinton, added, "Let's see how Tuesday plays out, and then let's start thinking about how we're going to get behind a candidate."
Speaking with reporters on her campaign plane, Clinton argued that the competitive primary contest would be good for the party heading into the November elections.
"Hard-fought primary contests are a part of American politics," Clinton said. "We're going to have a hard-fought contest, we're going to have a unified Democratic Party, we're going to get behind whoever our nominee is and we're going to win in November."
The former first lady campaigned from Ohio, where she accused Oll meeting where she sought to underscore her argument that she's the more experienced candidate.
She answered questions on an array of issues from expanding health care to aiding veterans to boosting education. Her campaign bought time on a cable television network to broadcast the event statewide.
"We've got to have a new commitment to ending poverty," said Clinton, calling for a string of expanded anti-poverty programs.
She was returning to Ohio on Tuesday to await election returns, while Obama was staying in Texas to follow the results.
Obama ended his day - and his campaigning in Texas - with a noisy late-night rally in Houston. Repeating a signature election refrain, he shouted: "I have only one question for you: Are you fired up? Ready to go?" When the crowd roared its approval, he added, "Let's go change the world."
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