Super Tuesday crowns no nominees

[frigidmagi]

CNN

Super Tuesday failed to spark a decisive battle in the presidential races, with results from two dozen states leaving candidates in both parties far from their respective nominations.
art.mccain.st.afp.gi.jpg

Sen. John McCain of Arizona picked up big wins Tuesday night.
Click to view previous image
1 of 3
Click to view next image

Sen. John McCain took the lion's share of Republican delegates on Super Tuesday, but still had only about 51 percent of the amount needed to secure his party's nomination.

On the Democratic side, Sen. Hillary Clinton comes away with about 41 percent of the delegates needed for the nomination while Sen. Barack Obama sits at 36 percent.

California and New Mexico results are yet to be finalized.

Now the focus of the presidential races is on primaries in Virginia, Maryland and the District of Columbia next Tuesday.

The candidates hope to gain momentum for those with victories in the Louisiana primaries and Washington state caucuses on Saturday. Video Watch why the races will go on »

Both the Obama and Clinton campaigns acknowledge an edge to Obama in those races. Clinton will focus on March 4 primaries in Texas and especially Ohio, said the Web site Politico's executive editor Jim VandeHei.

"There are a lot of working-class whites [in Ohio] and she feels she does extraordinarily well with that demographic," VandeHei said on CNN's "American Morning."

Further along, the Clinton camp sees Pennsylvania on April 22 as a state where the demographics work in her favor.

"I look forward to continuing our campaign and our debates about how to leave this country better off for the next generation, because that is the work of my life," Clinton said Tuesday night.

Although Clinton took the majority of delegates in large states like California, New York and New Jersey on Tuesday, Obama won more states overall, 13 to Clinton's eight. Full February 5 results
Results and Analysis
Live from the CNN Election Center, the best political team covers every race 40 hours nonstop.
Live now
see full schedule »

Obama said Wednesday he scored a "big victory" on Tuesday and that he was overcoming Clinton's "political machine" that made her the front-runner in every race.

"This campaign is gaining momentum by the day," he said at a Chicago news conference, repeating his mantra that he is the Democrat who can bring about change.

Clinton's camp disputed the momentum claims, saying their candidate prevailed Tuesday among late deciders.

Howard Wolfson, Clinton's communications director, called for one debate a week between the two Democrats leading up to the March 4 primaries in Ohio and Texas.

"We won the votes of people who decided on the last day. We did that in large measure ... because of a very strong debate performance," Wolfson said.

Democratic Party chairman Howard Dean expressed satisfaction Wednesday with the primaries and what the Super Tuesday results mean for his party.

"I think it's good that we go deep in the nominating process," Dean said. "I want our candidates to be exposed in all of the states -- in places like Pennsylvania and Washington D.C., and Virginia, Maryland, Wisconsin. Good for the Democratic Party, good for the country to see candidates up close," Dean said on "American Morning."

Democrats award delegates based on a proportion of the vote -- so Tuesday's primaries and caucuses were less decisive than in the Republican races, where many states awarded delegates on a winner-take-all basis. More about delegates

Despite being only about halfway to the delegates needed for the nomination, McCain, an Arizona senator, has become the clear favorite in the race. He's won more than double the number of delegates than those for former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney and more than three times those earned by former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee.

"Tonight I think we must get used to the idea that we are the Republican Party front-runner for the nomination of president of the United States. And I don't really mind it one bit," McCain said as results came in Tuesday.
Don't Miss

* Complete Super Tuesday results
* McCain pulls ahead in GOP race
* Analysis: Split decision may help Obama

Huckabee, buoyed by victories Tuesday in Arkansas, West Virginia, Georgia, Tennessee and Alabama, pledged Wednesday to stay in the race until the end.

"It may be that none of us have enough [delegates] to win the whole thing until we get to the convention," he said. "If I don't stay in the race, I can't win."

Romney on Tuesday won Massachusetts and Utah and came out on top in caucuses in Alaska, Montana, North Dakota and Minnesota. It was enough to keep him plugging.

"We're going to battle, go all the way to the convention, win this thing, and get to the White House," Romney said Tuesday night.

But top Romney advisers acknowledged that it will be difficult to overcome McCain's lead in the delegate count.

"It is tough to saddle up this a.m.," one Romney adviser told CNN.
advertisement

CNN analyst and Slate.com chief political correspondent John Dickerson said Wednesday that if McCain can nail down the nomination quickly, it could help him in a November matchup against either Obama or Clinton if the Democratic primary race remains close. Video Watch why analyst says Super Tuesday not decisive »

"The problem with the Democratic Party is if this gets ugly," Dickerson said. "If you start to get a breakdown along racial and gender lines -- which can get very ugly very fast ... McCain has a period of time to relax while the Democrats tear each other apart