Dems vow to keep going through month
McClatchy Newspapers
-
Campaign says Paul is still running
-
McCain says voters will face 'stark' choice in November
-
Group criticizes financial disclosure
-
Primary excitement drives voter registration sky-high
-
PoliTex blog: On politics from Fort Worth to D.C.
Most-read stories
- Huge Arlington fixer-upper with a shady past could be yours for pittance
- 2 men die in separate Fort Worth motorcycle wrecks
- Four Hurst teens indicted on capital murder charges
- Man died driving home to surprise mom for Mother's Day
- Fired Southlake officer lied, leaked private data, papers say
Most e-mailed stories
- Huge Arlington fixer-upper with a shady past could be yours for pittance
- Schools vie for new teachers at Arlington job fair
- Energy Department says wind could account for 20% of country's power
- Five facts about psychological eating
- Allstate to cut rates in Texas after settlement
EVANSVILLE, Ind. -- Sens. Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama crisscrossed two states Monday, waging a last-ditch push for votes in Indiana and North Carolina even as both vowed to keep campaigning through the month regardless of tonight's primary results.
"This is going to be a tight election here in Indiana. Every poll shows a dead heat," Obama told union members at a morning event in Evansville before jetting off to North Carolina. "We need every single vote."
Clinton launched a new TV ad, pitching her proposal to suspend the federal gasoline tax and ripping Obama for opposing it.
"He is attacking Hillary's plan to give you a break on gas prices because he doesn't have one," the ad said.
Indiana is shaping up as the key battleground, where a Clinton victory in Obama's back yard would be her first in a state bordering the Illinois senator's home and would perhaps reinforce the weakness he has shown in recent contests, where he has lost working-class whites decisively.
An Obama win in Indiana, however, could signal that he has regained his front-runner footing after a firestorm of criticism over his former pastor and his comment about working-class voters clinging to God and guns out of bitterness.
The contest doesn't appear to be as close in North Carolina, where Obama is leading and more than a third of the vote could be cast by African-Americans.
One prominent and neutral Democrat, former Rep. Harold Ford of Tennessee, said Monday that Clinton appeared to be gaining in both states, thanks to her detailed promise to help working-class voters worried about pocketbook issues, particularly her proposal to suspend the federal gas tax.
"She has found some traction with voters that's giving her momentum here at the end," Ford said.
While a split decision -- such as Clinton winning Indiana and Obama winning North Carolina -- could leave the contest unchanged, either candidate could change the dynamic of the race heading into the final weeks by winning both today.
"If he wins both, it's over for her," Ford said. "If she wins both, I don't know how it doesn't move it to her favor."
Battle-scarred operatives in both camps brushed away any hopes of the long campaign ending any time soon.
"My sense is she is going to play this out regardless of what happens [today]," Obama strategist David Axelrod said. Today "may define how this plays out for the next month, but I think the result [under any scenario] is Obama is going to be the nominee for this party. ... Whatever happens is not going to markedly change the delegate situation."
Indeed, with the 115 delegates in North Carolina and 72 in Indiana likely to be closely split, Obama is certain to still lead in delegates. On Monday, Obama had 1,743 delegates and Clinton 1,607, according to The Associated Press.
But neither will win enough in the remaining primaries to reach the 2,025 needed to clinch the nomination. The winner must win the rest from among about 230 still-uncommitted superdelegates, all senior party officials.
Clinton aides vowed again Monday that she'll fight on through the primaries regardless of today's results.
"There are still a lot of people who haven't had the opportunity [to vote] between now and June 3, and Sen. Clinton wants to give them the opportunity," Clinton aide Mo Elleithee said. "There is a clear path to victory, and we're going to see the process through."
That path apparently includes fighting to seat contested delegates from Michigan and Florida, where Clinton won unsanctioned primaries. The Clinton campaign told the Huffington Post on Monday that it will take the Michigan-Florida fight to the Democratic National Committee's Rules Committee meeting in late May.
