Clinton, the comeback queen

Wins in Texas and Ohio put Hillary Clinton's campaign for the Democratic nomination back on track. Meanwhile John McCain has the Republican nomination.

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For the Republicans it was all rather simple. John McCain has been confirmed as his party's nominee for president as his last and closest rival, Mike Huckabee, withdrew from the race.

But in the Democratic party last night's comeback victories for Hillary Clinton only added to the internal strife. It means a prolonged fight for the nomination.

Voters had their say in four states. The smaller primaries in Vermont and Rhode Island split one apiece between the candidates.

But in the two biggest contests Hillary Clinton scored substantial twin victories, beating Barack Obama by four per cent in Texas and dominating by nine per cent in Ohio.

Although the Democratic result in Texas was close, Hillary Clinton delivered an emphatic victory in Ohio, winning 55.2 per cent of the vote to Barack Obama's 43 per cent.

The New York Times described the Texas Democratic primary result as "razor thin", with Clinton taking 51 per cent of the votes to Obama's 47.3 per cent.

The Texas victory was announced after most Americans had gone to bed, but Clinton's earlier Ohio win allowed her to deliver a televised victory speech in time for the late-evening news in the United States.

In her speech, she noted that "As Ohio goes, so goes the nation." She went on to point out that "No candidate in recent history - Democratic or Republican - has won the White House without winning the Ohio primary."

Speaking ahead of the Texas result, Obama congratulated Clinton for a "hard-fought race" but focused on November's general election. Referring to John McCain, he said: "In this election we will offer two very different visions of the America we see in the 21st century."

It will be a comfort to Obama that it appears he is still ahead in the delegate count. But the race is far from over. Each candidate needs to secure more than 500 more delegates to secure victory.

The Democratic campaign now moves on to the Wyoming caucus, on 8 March, and the Mississippi primary three days later.

 

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