Obama for the first time has a clear lead in the race for the Democratic nomination, with superior numbers in the popular vote count, the delegate count and with close to twice as many state wins than his opponent New York Senator Hillary Clinton. The Associated Press count of delegates showed Obama with 1,223. Clinton had 1,198, falling behind for the first time since the campaign began. Neither was close to the 2,025 needed to win the nomination. 

Obama's gaining momentum is bound to affect the votes of the superdelegates who were previous pledged to Senator Clinton, the establishment candidate. In the New York Times headline story, Tuesday, a number of superdelegates expressed their hesitation in routing for Clinton,

Some said that they, like the hundreds of uncommitted superdelegates still at stake, might ultimately “go with the flow,” in the words of one, and support the candidate who appears to show the most strength in the primaries to come.

[...]

Some donors also expressed concern about a widening money imbalance between Mr. Obama and Mrs. Clinton: Obama fund-raisers say he is taking in roughly $1 million a day, while Clinton fund-raisers say she is taking in about half of that, mostly online. Mrs. Clinton’s aides say that the campaign was virtually broke as of the Feb. 5 primaries, but that finances have now stabilized.

Obama Clinton   (*Florida and Michigan controversial)

The claim to momentum has been made before, in the name of either candidate but this time there is greater evidence of it than mere consequtive wins. Obama's 10 state uninterrupted winning streak seems to have won over many voters who had previously been assumed to be in the Clinton column. In addition to his core young, white male, affluent, degree-holding and African American voters, Obama won over a substantial number of white women, blue-collar workers, Hispanics and over-65s. 

The erosion of Clinton's core base may give great encouragement to the Obama campaign, but the truth is even with projected victories in Hawaii and Wisconsin next Tuesday, Obama is still far from the safety threshold. It is for this reason that the states of Ohio and Texas will be especially significant. These large states send large delegations to the convention that elects the party's candidate, and are especially significant in persuading the super-delegates who are likely to be the final judge as to who gets the party ticket.

Still, Texas is projected as a state that will likely be split almost evenly between the two candidates and as one of the more expensive American media markets will likely favour Obama's cash rich campaign coffers. The Clintons' difficulties are compounded by resignations in her campaign ranks, especially that of her former campaign manager Patti Solis Doyle, a resignation that may be taken less than favourably in the Hispanic community from which she has roots.

The following are the results of Tuesday's elections:

                 Washington DC       Maryland                        Virginia

Obama   75%   85,534            60%        439,979         64%        619,036  

Clinton    24%    27,326          37%         273,828        35%       345,018

On the Republican side, John McCain is much closer to winning his party's nomination. Mike Huckabee, however, is intent on reaching the finishing line, although it is projected that even if he wins all states McCain will still garner the 1,191 delegates needed.