Hillary Clinton, fighting for the Democratic presidential nomination against Barack Obama, today won the primary in the Pennsylvania state.
Philadelphia, Apr 23 : Hillary Clinton, fighting for the Democratic presidential nomination against Barack Obama, today won the primary in the Pennsylvania state.
Out of the 86 percent of votes counted so far, Clinton was leading over Obama by 55 to 45 per cent in the primary which would send 158 delegates to the Democratic national convention to be held in August this year.
Though she is still trailing behind Obama in terms of delegates, this win will keep Clinton's campaign alive. In the total votes cast, she has won most of the contests in big states like Florida, Texas and New York.
"Some people counted me out and said to drop out, but the American people don't quit and they deserve a president who doesn't quit either," Clinton told her cheering supporters.
Obama, who is already campaigning in Indiana, which along with North Carolina, would have the primary on May 6, congratulated Clinton.
He claimed that his campaign had done better than expected in Pennsylvania
"There were a lot of folks who didn't think we could make this a close race when it started. Six weeks later, we closed the gap. We rallied people of every age and race and background to our cause," Obama said.
Prior to Pennsylvania primary, Obama led in the number of Democratic convention delegates by 1,648 to 1,509.
Clinton's 10-point win paid immediate dividends in fund-raising for the cash-strapped New York senator and shaved off some of Obama's lead in popular votes and in delegates who select the Democratic nominee at the August convention.
Both candidates immediately looked to the next round of contests on May 6 in North Carolina, where Obama is favored, and Indiana, which is considered a toss-up.
The victory in Pennsylvania cut Obama's lead in votes won during the nomination battle to about 500,000. A partial delegate count in the state gave Clinton 75 delegates to Obama's 65, according to MSNBC.
The MSNBC count gave Obama 1,720 delegates overall to Clinton's 1,588, well short of the 2,024 needed to clinch the nomination, something that neither candidate is expected to wrap up prior to the August convention.
ANI