Democrat Senator Barack Obama beat rival Senator Hillary Clinton in Wyoming's nominating contest on Saturday, bouncing back from a string of losses that gave Clinton new life in their hotly contested presidential battle.
Obama's victory in the nominating caucus in sparsely populated Wyoming slowed Clinton's momentum after she won three of four contests on Tuesday in their tight duel for the right to face Republican Senator John McCain in November's presidential election.
Obama won 61 percent, or 5,378 votes, Saturday to Clinton's 38 percent, or 3,312 votes, with all 23 Wyoming counties reporting. Obama, who already has a lead in the overall race for delegates at the nominating convention, won seven delegates on Saturday and Clinton won five.
"This is a very important win for us," Obama campaign manager David Plouffe said in a conference call with reporters.
He said Clinton, former US president Bill Clinton and daughter Chelsea all campaigned in the state.
Heavily Republican Wyoming has just 12 delegates to the August convention that will pick the Democratic nominee -- one of the smallest hauls in the race -- but every state has become crucial in the prolonged battle between the two senators.
NEXT BATTLE
Both Obama and Clinton campaigned in Wyoming on Friday, but the two candidates took the day off at home on Saturday. Next up is a primary in Mississippi tomorrow before Obama and Clinton square off in Pennsylvania on April 22.
The win allowed Obama to add slightly to his almost insurmountable lead in the pledged delegates who will help decide the nominee. The exact breakdown of delegates in Wyoming was not immediately clear.
Neither Obama nor Clinton is likely to reach the 2,025 delegates needed to clinch the nomination without help from 796 "superdelegates" -- party officials and insiders free to back any candidate.
The states of Michigan and Florida, which were stripped of their delegates in a dispute with the national party and held unsanctioned contests, also could figure in a final resolution to the tight race.
Officials in both states have discussed redoing their contests so they would produce delegates to the convention, but the candidates, the state parties and national party would have to agree on the timing, funding and formats.
The Wyoming caucus requires voters to turn up at public sites at specific times. Democrats in heavily Republican Wyoming crowded the 23 caucus sites around the state.
Obama has been particularly successful in caucuses, where his organizational strength and grassroots enthusiasm have given him an advantage.
Clinton has complained about the caucus system and said she performs better in primary elections in big states such as Ohio, California and New Jersey that Democrats will have to win to capture the White House.
Obama has generally outperformed Clinton in caucuses, which reward organization and voter passion more than do primaries. The Illinois senator has now won 13 caucuses to Clinton's three.
Her campaign also holds out little hope for tomorrow's primary in Mississippi. The Southern state has a large black population, who have largely supported Obama in his bid to become the first black US president.
In the overall race for the nomination, Obama led 1,578 to 1,468, the latest Associated Press tally. It will take 2,025 delegates to win the Democratic nomination.
ILLINOIS
Meanwhile, a Democrat captured on Saturday an Illinois US House of Representatives seat that had been a Republican stronghold, in a symbolic blow to US President George W. Bush's party ahead of November elections.
Returns showed physicist and businessman Bill Foster beating dairy owner Jim Oberweis by 52 percent to 48 percent of the vote in the district that had been held by former House of Representatives Speaker Dennis Hastert for more than two decades.
OPTIMISTIC: A Philippine Air Force spokeswoman said the military believed the crew were safe and were hopeful that they and the jet would be recovered A Philippine Air Force FA-50 jet and its two-person crew are missing after flying in support of ground forces fighting communist rebels in the southern Mindanao region, a military official said yesterday. Philippine Air Force spokeswoman Colonel Consuelo Castillo said the jet was flying “over land” on the way to its target area when it went missing during a “tactical night operation in support of our ground troops.” While she declined to provide mission specifics, Philippine Army spokesman Colonel Louie Dema-ala confirmed that the missing FA-50 was part of a squadron sent “to provide air support” to troops fighting communist rebels in
PROBE: Last week, Romanian prosecutors launched a criminal investigation against presidential candidate Calin Georgescu accusing him of supporting fascist groups Tens of thousands of protesters gathered in Romania’s capital on Saturday in the latest anti-government demonstration by far-right groups after a top court canceled a presidential election in the EU country last year. Protesters converged in front of the government building in Bucharest, waving Romania’s tricolor flags and chanting slogans such as “down with the government” and “thieves.” Many expressed support for Calin Georgescu, who emerged as the frontrunner in December’s canceled election, and demanded they be resumed from the second round. George Simion, the leader of the far-right Alliance for the Unity of Romanians (AUR), which organized the protest,
ECONOMIC DISTORTION? The US commerce secretary’s remarks echoed Elon Musk’s arguments that spending by the government does not create value for the economy US Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick on Sunday said that government spending could be separated from GDP reports, in response to questions about whether the spending cuts pushed by Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency could possibly cause an economic downturn. “You know that governments historically have messed with GDP,” Lutnick said on Fox News Channel’s Sunday Morning Futures. “They count government spending as part of GDP. So I’m going to separate those two and make it transparent.” Doing so could potentially complicate or distort a fundamental measure of the US economy’s health. Government spending is traditionally included in the GDP because
Hundreds of people in rainbow colors gathered on Saturday in South Africa’s tourist magnet Cape Town to honor the world’s first openly gay imam, who was killed last month. Muhsin Hendricks, who ran a mosque for marginalized Muslims, was shot dead last month near the southern city of Gqeberha. “I was heartbroken. I think it’s sad especially how far we’ve come, considering how progressive South Africa has been,” attendee Keisha Jensen said. Led by motorcycle riders, the mostly young crowd walked through the streets of the coastal city, some waving placards emblazoned with Hendricks’s image and reading: “#JUSTICEFORMUHSIN.” No arrest
RSS