Barack Obama regained his winning streak on Saturday with a convincing victory over Hillary Clinton in the Wyoming caucuses, as the two candidates dig in for a long and potentially bruising haul to the Democratic presidential nomination.
The result gave Obama a much-needed boost just four days after his rival had clawed her way back into the contest with wins in Ohio and Texas. He trounced her with 61% to 38%.
The victory underlined yet again his campaign’s superior ability to mobilise voters in caucuses, which require commitment from supporters to turn out and engage in debates.
More than 8,000 people attended the caucuses – a striking number in an overwhelmingly Republican state where only 675 bothered to participate in the 2004 caucuses.
The win also re-emphasised how well he has done in smaller states across the country, having notched up 28 victories. His campaign argued that this gave him an advantage in taking the fight to the Republicans’ John McCain in November.
But the Clinton camp also drew succour from the Wyoming result. Despite the marked gulf in the popular vote, Obama walked away with only two more delegates than his opponent — seven to five. That allowed Clinton’s team to claim she had taken the wind out of his sails.
More pertinently, it reaffirmed that neither candidate is likely to be able to cross the finishing line on the strength of electoral delegates alone. According to Associated Press, the tally after Wyoming now stands at 1 578 delegates for Obama, 1 468 for Clinton, with the winner needing to take 2 025.
Mississippi comes on Tuesday, where Obama is again expected to triumph by dint of its large African-American population. The state commands 33 delegates.
Pennsylvania, with 158 delegates, is on April 22, and Clinton needs to win it to cement her claim to the big states.
But behind the scenes, the importance of the headline results is receding as the real battle — over the 350 or so undecided super delegates — intensifies. They hold the balance of power, and it is to them that much of the rhetoric is now directed. – guardian.co.uk Â