Date:06/03/2008 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2008/03/06/stories/2008030650060100.htm

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Hillary ends string of defeats

With victories over Obama in Ohio and Texas, she keeps her candidacy alive

Washington (PTI): Democrat Hillary Clinton on Wednesday scripted a spirited comeback with wins in key states of Ohio and Texas, ending party rival Barack Obama's impressive 12-win streak, while John McCain easily captured the Republican mantle for the November showdown for the White House.

"This nation is coming back and so is the campaign," a beaming Clinton, who is bidding to be the first woman President of the United States, told supporters in Ohio.

With 76 per cent of the precincts reporting in Texas, Clinton had taken 51 per cent of the vote to 47 per cent for Obama, who is hoping to be the first African-American president of the US, TV channels reported.

A total of 355 delegates were at stake in Texas, Ohio and Rhode Island which were grabbed by the 60-year-old former first lady who had been facing mounting pressure to call it quits in case of a defeat in these contests.

With today's victories, Clinton will dent Obama's lead in the delegate race. Before the latest contests, Obama had 1,385 delegates compared to Clinton's 1,276. A total of 2,025 is needed to secure the Democratic Party nomination at its national convention to be held in Denver in August.

In Ohio, which has 141 delegates at stake, polls projected at least 16 percentage points lead for Clinton.

Earlier, Obama won the Vermont primary (15 delegates), clinching his 12th straight win over Clinton.

Septuagenarian John McCain surpassed the magic number of 1,191 delegates to clinch the Republican presidential nomination with victories in all the four states at stake.

The victory marked a remarkable return from wilderness eight years after losing a similar bid to US President George W Bush.

"It's a very humbling thing," said McCain, a former Vietnam war veteran who spent over five years as a POW, said. -- PTI