In Barack's victory in Virgina last night, we won 142,000 more votes than all of the Republicans combined, and his victory margin over Senator Clinton is larger than John McCain's entire vote total.
(SALEM, Ore.) - Three more Democratic primaries went to Barack Obama last night as he continues to close the small lead held by Hillary Clinton. This is Obama's eighth consecutive win and it puts him in the front position in the race for delegates.
Obama's victories in Virginia, Maryland and Washington, D.C. come on the heels of wins in five recent runoffs that were held over the weekend. Now the candidates are looking toward February 19th when voters in Hawaii and Wisconsin will cast their votes. Obama grew up in Hawaii and already has the support of Wisconsin's governor.
His campaign is gaining momentum on a fairly equal footing, and Obama says it is about all Americans, and not necessarily a partisan issue any longer.
"We have now won east and west, north and south, and across the heartland of this country we love. We have given young people a reason to believe, and brought folks back to the polls who want to believe again. And we are bringing together Democrats and Independents and Republicans; blacks and whites; Latinos and Asians; small states and big states; Red States and Blue States into a United States of America."
The upcoming March 4th showdown between Clinton and Obama in the delegate-rich states of Texas and Ohio is now the focus of concentration. Ohio saw former Astronaut John Glenn's endorsement of the Clinton campaign yesterday, but after her series of losses to Obama, Clinton needs to win in both states to regain momentum. Her campaign does express confidence in a Texas win.
"We're going to sweep across Texas in the next three weeks, bringing our message about what we need in America," Clinton told supporters last night in El Paso. "I'm tested, I'm ready, let's make it happen."
Former Presidential Candidate John Kerry says the Obama campaign is exciting, "Because I have seen so much hope out there as I’ve traveled the country for Barack. Excited, because as frustrated as I’ve been that the three words 'George W. Bush' silenced any conversation at dinner tables around the country the last eight years, I think we’ve found three words that will open a conversation across the old divides, regardless of race, religion, gender, or income level -- and those three words are 'President Barack Obama'.
Obama has gained a clear advantage over Clinton in the race for delegates, and that is a big turnaround from last week. The delegates will cast the votes for the Democratic party's nominee at the national convention in August.
The non-partisan Web site thegreenpapers.com shows Obama ahead of Clinton by 1,029 delegates to 952. A candidate needs 2,025 delegates to win the Democratic nomination.
Barack Moves Ahead in 3 State PrimariesSalem-News.com