Fresh momentum for Obama after win in Wyoming

Published on Sunday 9 March 2008 21:13

BARACK Obama enjoyed an easy victory over Hillary Clinton in Wyoming yesterday, regaining momentum after recent setbacks in the fierce tug-of-war for the Democratic presidential nomination.

Mr Obama won 61 per cent (5,378 votes) in the Wyoming caucuses, against Mrs Clinton's 38 per cent, or 3,312 votes.

The first-term Illinois senator, who has a lead in the overall race for delegates at the nominating convention, won seven delegates and Mrs Clinton won five in the battle to see who faces Republican John McCain in the November election.

The former first lady's campaign team holds out little hope for tomorrow night's primary in Mississippi, where 33 delegates are at stake. The Southern state has a large black population, and African-American voters have overwhelmingly supported Mr Obama. Their next major contest is not until 22 April in Pennsylvania, a race that offers 158 delegates.

The Wyoming victory offered Mr Obama good news after his top foreign policy adviser, Samantha Power, quit after calling Clinton "a monster" in an interview with The Scotsman that made headlines around the world.

In the overall race for the Democratic nomination, Mr Obama leads with 1,578 delegates to Mrs Clinton's 1,468. It will take 2,025 delegates to win the nomination at the party's convention in late August in Denver.

The rivals were neck-and-neck in a national poll that Newsweek magazine carried out just after last week's primaries. Mr Obama had 45 per cent to Mrs Clinton's 44 per cent, with a margin of error of 3.5 percentage points.

But despite reviving her campaign with victories in three out of four states holding primaries last week, Mrs Clinton barely made a dent in Mr Obama's overall lead because Democrats award delegates proportionally.

Neither candidate is likely to win enough delegates to secure the nomination outright. Instead, they will need the help of the almost 800 "super delegates" – party officials and elected leaders who are not bound by state contest results and can choose who to back – to secure the nomination.

Mrs Clinton has hinted recently that if she wins the nomination she would consider sharing the ticket with Mr Obama. But in a recent interview, Mr Obama shied away from that possibility.

He said: "I think it's premature. You won't see me as a vice-presidential candidate – you know, I'm running for president. We have won twice as many states as Senator Clinton, and have a higher popular vote, and I think we can maintain our delegate count."