Democrats - Republicans - Super Tuesday

Clinton, McCain take California, New York

Wednesday 06 February 2008

Democratic and Republican frontrunners Hillary Clinton and John McCain have won Super Tuesday primaries in the key states of New York and California, according to US media projections. (Report: C.Norris-Trent).

Wednesday 06 February 2008

By by FRANCE 24 with agencies

See all the results state by state on our map by clicking here

Read the blog coverage on our Observers site.

Feb. 6, 2008 – A night of Super-Tuesday drama gave a clear lead to Republican hopeful John McCain but amounted to a draw for Democrats Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama, according to US media projections.

As results rolled in, there were upsets as well as much-anticipated results in the race to nail down Republican and Democratic presidential candidates. Clinton and McCain secured key wins in California and New York, confirming US media forecasts.

McCain surged ahead in the bid for the Republican Party's presidential nomination, defeating his closest rival Mitt Romney in California after receiving words of support from state governor Arnold Schwarzenegger. Speaking to a rapturous crowd in Arizona, McCain said “Tonight I think we must get used to the idea that we are the Republican Party frontrunner for the nomination for the president of the United States. And I don’t really mind it one bit.”

Mitt Romney, a former governor of Massachusetts, won in his home state and a handful of others, including Utah and Minnesota. Former Arkansas Gov. Former Republican governor in Arkansas Mike Huckabee made a surprising comeback with victories in several southern states. The three candidates split the conservative Republican vote – to Romney’s detriment, analysts said. “He just didn’t convince the right wing of his party that he’s going to be their standard bearer,” said Michael Oreskes, executive editor of the International Herald Tribune.

Obama and Clinton finished their Super Tuesday sprint with a draw. Obama won a string of victories in no less than 13 states, but lost delegate-rich states New York, his stamping ground, and California to his rival, the former First Lady.

According to Realclearpolitics, an independent US political Web site, Clinton’s result translates into 764 delegate votes for the summer convention where the party will nominate its candidate, versus 716 for Obama. A total of 2,025 votes are needed to secure the nomination of the Democratic Party.

On the Republican side, Realclearpolitics estimates that McCain has bagged 530 delegates, against 105 for Romney and 29 for Huckabee, giving McCain a more than comfortable lead in the Republican nomination race.

List of projected winners

Here are the projected winners so far:

DEMOCRATS

- Barack Obama: Georgia, Illinois, Delaware, Kansas, Alabama, North Dakota, Missouri, Utah, Connecticut, Minnesota, Alaska, Colorado, Idaho

- Hillary Clinton: California, New York, New Jersey, Massachusetts, Arizona, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Tennessee

REPUBLICANS

- John McCain: California, New York, New Jersey, Illinois, Arizona, Connecticut, Oklahoma, Delaware, Missouri

- Mike Huckabee: Georgia, Tennessee, Alabama, Arkansas, West Virginia

- Mitt Romney: Massachusetts, Utah, North Dakota, Alaska, Colorado, Minnesota, Montana

More than half the total Democratic delegates and about 40 percent of the Republican delegates were at stake in this year’s Super Tuesday.

Looking ahead

Clinton and Obama’s rollercoaster ride from East to West coast has drawn both candidates into an even tighter race for the Democratic nomination. All eyes are now turning to the upcoming primaries in Texas on March 4.

According to Oreskes, Clinton has demonstrated she does well in Hispanic states like California and could seduce the Latino voters in Texas.

In California, Hispanics backed Clinton, says FRANCE 24’s Gallagher Fenwick. “A lot of Latinos enjoyed Bill Clinton’s presidency and many believe that Senator Obama has a more negative stance on immigration.”

As Clinton and Obama sharpen their swords for a new round of primaries, Democratic “superdelegates” are becoming more and more important. Superdelegates are members of the establishment of the Democratic Party who automatically get to vote during the convention. “They’re generally favourable to Clinton,” says Oreskes, “but the superdelegates will now have to ask themselves who would actually win the election.”

A valiant Romney vowed to go on despite McCain’s overwhelming victory. “The one thing clear is that this campaign’s going on,” he said. But NBC reported that he was planning “frank discussions” about the future of his bid on Wednesday. McCain may has secured 530 delegate votes, according to RealClearpolitics, but needs 1,191 votes to be anointed as the Republican nominee.