WASHINGTON, March 5: Senator Hillary Clinton on Wednesday hinted at the possibility of sharing the Democratic presidential ticket with Barack Obama after three straight wins against her rival.
In the Republican camp, Senator John McCain clinched the party nomination with a clean sweep against his rival Mike Huckabee who conceded his defeat and dropped out of the race for the White House.
On Tuesday night, Mrs Clinton halted Mr Obama’s march to victory with wins in Ohio, Texas and Rhode Island, although she still has fewer delegates than the Illinois senator.
Asked at a TV show on Wednesday morning whether she and Mr Obama should be on the same ticket, Mrs Clinton replied: “That may be where this is headed, but of course we have to decide who is on the top of ticket. I think the people of Ohio very clearly said that it should be me.”
Mr Obama, however, played down Tuesday’s losses, stressing that he still holds the overall lead in delegates.
“We still have an insurmountable lead,” he said. “We’re very confident about where we’re going to be and that we can win the nomination and the general election.”
Mrs Clinton now has 1,365 delegates, including 1,127 elected and 238 super-delegates. Mr Obama has 1,451, including 1,257 elected and 194 super-delegates.
Super-delegates are party officials who are not elected but have the right to vote in the national convention in Colorado this June when the Democratic candidate for the 2008 presidential election will be elected.
Senator Clinton won Ohio comfortably with 55 per cent to 43 per cent and the Texas primary by 51 to 47 per cent. She did well in the Latino belt along the Texas/Mexico border.
Mrs Clinton also won Rhode Island while Mr Obama took Vermont, two smaller states with fewer delegates.
The headline battles in delegate-rich Ohio and Texas were considered crucial contests for both candidates. Ohio has 141 delegates while Texas has 126.
Defeats in Ohio and Texas could have ended Mrs Clinton’s bid for the White House and would have assured Mr Obama’s nomination.
But now the fight goes on till the Democratic national convention as both candidates are still short of the required 2,025 delegates to win nomination.
Mrs Clinton’s victory in Ohio is particularly significant because it is considered the bellwether state. “You know what they say: as Ohio goes, so goes the nation,” said Mrs Clinton while celebrating her triumph in Ohio. “No candidate, Democrat or Republican, in recent history has won the White House without winning the Ohio primary.”
In his speech to supporters, Senator Obama accused Mrs Clinton of employing negative advertising campaign and tough tactics to beat him in Ohio and Texas. Exit polls suggest that her attacks on him, alleging hypocrisy in his position on the North American Free Trade Agreement, were highly effective.
She won among voters who made up their minds in the last three days, 55 per cent to 44 per cent. She also won white men by a solid margin, which suggests that among working-class whites she may have an advantage over Mr Obama, who tends to attract educated, middle-class whites.
WASHINGTON, March 5: Senator Hillary Clinton on Wednesday hinted at the possibility of sharing the Democratic presidential ticket with Barack Obama after three straight wins against her rival.
