Los Angeles
21 May 2008
Hillary Clinton won the Kentucky primary election, Tuesday, by a margin of more than two to one, but Barack Obama won the race in Oregon and passed a milestone in the Democratic Party's presidential contest. Mike O'Sullivan reports Clinton has vowed to stay in the race, while Obama is looking ahead to the presidential election in November.
Hillary Clinton won the Kentucky primary by 35 percentage points. According to exit polls, she did well among women and white voters.
Barack Obama scored well among educated voters to win the primary in the more liberal West Coast state of Oregon.
The primaries and caucuses determine the delegate count to the party's nominating convention, and Senator Obama celebrated another victory Tuesday as he passed the halfway point in committed delegates for the Democratic Party's August convention. Obama spoke in Iowa, where he won his first contest on a cold January night.
"And, tonight Iowa, in the fullness of Spring, with the help of those who stood up from Portland to Louisville, we have returned to Iowa with a majority of delegates elected by the American people and you have put us within reach of the Democratic nomination for president of the United States of America," he said.
Speaking to her supporters, Clinton celebrated her lopsided win in Kentucky and promised that she will stay in the race.
She said "This continues to be a tough fight, and I have fought it the only way I know how, with determination, by never giving up and never giving in."
Clinton is pegging her hopes on disqualified delegates from Florida and Michigan, two states not counted in the total because they broke party rules by holding their primaries early. She hopes to have their votes counted and their convention delegates seated.
She promises to stay in the race through upcoming contests in Puerto Rico June 1, and Montana and South Dakota June 3.
"I'm going on now to campaign in Montana, South Dakota, and Puerto Rico, and I'm going to keep standing up for the voters of Florida and Michigan," she said.
Obama turned his attention beyond the Democratic primaries to urge unity against expected Republican candidate John McCain. He had words of praise for his fellow Democrat, Senator Clinton.
"We've had our disagreements during this campaign. But we all admire her courage and her commitment and her perseverance. And, no matter how this primary ends, Senator Clinton has shattered myths and broken barriers and changed the America in which my daughters and your daughters will come of age and for that we are grateful to her," he said.
Both Clinton and Obama are wooing several hundred of the so-called super-delegates -- party officials and officeholders -- who remain uncommitted and have the power to support either candidate.
Obama is the leader in another important race, for campaign contributions. He reported donations of $31 million in April alone.