Obama takes Ohio to set himself up for victory

Published on Wednesday 5 November 2008 02:28

DEMOCRAT Barack Obama defeated Republican rival John McCain in the Ohio presidential vote tonight, carrying a key battleground state that has backed the winning White House candidate since 1964, Fox News projected.

Most opinion polls before the election showed Obama with a narrow lead in Ohio, but the state, which provided a critical win for President George W. Bush in 2004, was considered a tossup. No Republican has won the White House without carrying Ohio.

The victory gave Obama all of Ohio's 20 electoral votes, providing a big boost toward the 270 needed to win the presidency in the United States' indirect system of choosing a leader.

Latest Electoral College votes:

MCCAIN: 109

OBAMA: 200

States where McCain is projected to have won:

KANSAS 6

TEXAS 34

GEORGIA 15

ALABAMA 9

ARKANSAS 6

KENTUCKY 8

WEST VIRGINIA 5

SOUTH CAROLINA 8

OKLAHOMA 7

TENNESSEE 11

States where Obama is projected to have won:

OHIO 20

NEW YORK 31

NEW MEXICO 5

RHODE ISLAND 4

MICHIGAN 17

MINNESOTA 10

WISCONSIN 10

CONNECTICUT 7

DELAWARE 3

DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA 3

ILLINOIS 21

MAINE* 4

MARYLAND 10

MASSACHUSETTS 12

NEW HAMPSHIRE 4

NEW JERSEY 15

PENNSYLVANIA 21

VERMONT 3