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WASHINGTON — Hillary Clinton won the Pennsylvania primary last night, preserving her hopes of becoming the Democratic presidential candidate if front-runner Barack Obama stumbles.
“You listened and today you chose,” a beaming Ms. Clinton told exultant supporters at a victory rally in Philadelphia. “I thank you Pennsylvania for deciding I can be that president,” she said, adding she is ready to take charge of two wars and a faltering economy on “Day 1.”
The former first lady's victory in the last big state to vote – and more crucially a key swing state that Democrats need to win to take back the Oval Office in November – still leaves her behind Mr. Obama in overall delegates, popular vote and contests won. It will, however, prolong an increasingly bitter, divisive and expensive battle that threatens to cleave the party as it prepares to face the Republican contender, Senator John McCain.
Nearly complete returns – with 85 per cent of the vote counted – showed Ms. Clinton outpolling Mr. Obama 55 per cent to 45 per cent; the kind of clear 10-point margin that many pundits had said she must achieve to be able to claim a resounding victory.
Democratic presidential candidate Senator Hillary Clinton celebrates with Pennsylvania Governor Ed Rendell during a primary night rally in Philadelphia on Tuesday. (Win McNamee/Getty Images)
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“A win is a win,” Ms. Clinton had said before the polls closed. “I don't think the margin matters.”
But it will matter, especially as her cash-strapped campaign struggles to refill its coffers and keep on fighting.
“Tonight more than ever I need your help,'' she told supporters in an unambiguous plea for money. “We can only keep winning if we can keep competing,” she added.
Mr. Obama was gracious in defeat and characterized the loss as a temporary setback. “I want to congratulate Ms. Clinton on her victory,” he said and as a chorus of boos from his supporters filled the hall, he added, “No, No, she ran a terrific race.”
But the Illinois senator also looked for a silver lining in the result.
“A lot of folks thought we were going to get blown out,” he said. “But we closed the gap,” attempting to claim significant achievement, if not victory from the outcome in Pennsylvania.
Ms. Clinton asserted the Pennsylvania voting recast the race for the Democratic nomination.
“Because of you, the tide is turning,” she told her supporters.
Her win in Pennsylvania may also persuade some of the pivotal superdelegates – party luminaries, governors, members of Congress – to declare their support for Ms. Clinton as she struggles to thwart an Obama victory.
Mr. Obama left Pennsylvania before the polls closed, heading to Indiana where the next battle looms.
As the long, nearly deadlocked Democratic process grinds on – possibly toward a final showdown at the convention in Denver in August – Ms. Clinton needs to keep winning. The next pair of states, Indiana and North Carolina, vote in two weeks. While Mr. Obama seems certain to win in North Carolina, Indiana will be another “must win” for Ms. Clinton.
Oregon, Kentucky, West Virginia, Montana, South Dakota, Puerto Rico and Guam also have yet to vote.
Mr. Obama seems to have abandoned hope that his rival will bow out any time soon, despite the harsh mathematical reality that she cannot overtake his lead in delegates in the remaining states.
“I have come to the conclusion that this race will continue until the last primary or caucus vote is cast,” Mr. Obama said yesterday.
By adding Pennsylvania to her unbroken string of victories in crucial battleground states, Ms. Clinton added credence to her argument that she is better placed to take on Mr. McCain in the fall.
Exit polls showed she garnered strong support from key Democratic constituencies including blue-collar, white voters. While a majority of blacks and rich, well-educated urban Democrats voted for Mr. Obama, he failed to make significant inroads into the rural heartlands. His incautious comments saying small-town, less-educated voters turn to their guns and religion for comfort when economic times are hard may have hurt him despite his belated attempts to explain them away.
Roman Catholics and union members were also voting disproportionately for Ms. Clinton.
Mr. Obama outspent Ms. Clinton in Pennsylvania by at least a 2-to-1 margin and closed a yawning gap that started at about 20 per cent in opinion polls, but still failed to find the knockout punch that would end the long-running Democratic battle.
As record numbers of Democrats flocked to the polls, both candidates sought to play down expectations. “It's an uphill battle,” Mr. Obama said after campaigning at a Pittsburgh diner. He said that Pennsylvania's demographics, somewhat older, whiter and poorer than most states, meant “we still, I think, have to consider ourselves the underdog.”
Even before the win, Ms. Clinton took a jab at her front-running rival.
“Why can't he win a state like this one,” she said. Mr. Obama has so far failed to find victory in “big states, states that Democrats have to win,” she added.
Pennsylvania has been the focus of both candidates' attention for more than a month, a rarity for the state where voters usually have no impact on a race already decided long before in most election cycles.
Instead, both campaigns spent millions blanketing the state with television ads and both candidates slogged around the state for the past six weeks.
