Neither Democrat to Emerge from Super Tuesday with Commanding Lead

WASHINGTON — New York Sen. Hillary Clinton and Illinois Sen. Barack Obama waged an historic struggle for the Democratic presidential nomination Tuesday, clashing in 22 states from coast to coast that culminated in Clinton's victory in California, the most coveted prize of the day.

The drama of Clinton's victory in California threatened to overshadow the seesaw contest that had occurred throughout the day, as the two Democratic rivals swapped victory for victory as the contest headed for the late night showdown on the West Coast, with Obama ultimately winning the contests in 12 states to Clinton's victories in 8 states. The contests in Missouri and New Mexico were too close to call.

Obama reassembled the coalition of young voters, African Americans, independents and disaffected Republicans that had propelled him to earlier victories in Iowa and South Carolina. But Clinton won a majority of older voters, women, whites and Hispanics, the same voters who gave her earlier victories in New Hampshire and Nevada. In California, she also carried six in 10 Asian voters, an important voting bloc in the Golden State.

Even before the California voting ended, Clinton and Obama appeared before the supporters, striking the poses they are likely to present voters in the coming weeks. Clinton looked past her rival to take aim at President Bush and the Republican Party. Obama reprised his promise of change, the most appealing message to Democrats, according to the Super Tuesday exit polls.

"After seven years of a president who listens only to the special interests, you're ready for a president who brings your voice, your values and your dreams to the White House," she told her supporters in New York. "And tonight, in record numbers, you voted not just to make history but to remake America."

In Illinois, Obama told his supporters that "there is one thing on this Florida night that we don't need the final results to know: our time has come. Our time has come. Our movement is real. And change is coming to America."

It appeared, however, that neither would end Super Tuesday with a collection of large enough to take command of the Democratic race, in part because their party, unlike Republicans, awards delegates in proportion to each candidates' statewide vote and individual congressional district totals. That means a candidate could, in fact, win the popular vote in a state but receive fewer delegates than the second place finisher.

Still, Howard Dean, chairman of the Democratic National Committee, said he doubted the party race would lead to a contested convention in Denver late this summer. "We haven't had one since 1952. The odds are we won't have one this time either."

More than half of the total delegates to the Democratic convention in August will be apportioned in Tuesday's voting.

MSNBC projected that at the end of the day, Obama would have 841 delegates as a result of Tuesday's voting and Clinton would have 837 delegates - "a split decision," said MSNBC political analyst Chuck Todd.

Earlier in the day, Obama predicted as much.

"I don't think it's going to be decisive because of the way Democrats apportion delegates," Obama said. He predicted a "split decision," but added, "I think that our message is starting to break through. And we're very optimistic about our prospects for winning the nomination."

Obama struck the first blow of the day with an important victory in Georgia, his second straight victory in the South, an area that has been a Republican stronghold in recent presidential elections but which he believes he can make competitive with his post-partisanship approach to politics. He followed up with victories in Alabama, Alaska, Delaware, North Dakota, Utah, Kansas, Minnesota, Connecticut, Colorado, Idaho and his home state of Illinois.

"Tonight, he's won in the East, North, South and West," David Axelrod, Obama's chief strategist, told reporters. "He's shown the breadth of his candidacy and why he would be the strongest nominee in the general election." He noted that Obama had succeeded in "swelling the participation" in the voting by appealing to young voters, independents and disaffected Republicans.

But following the victory in California, Clinton spokesman Jay Carson said the New York senator is "a day closer" to the Democratic nomination.

Axelrod also predicted that Obama would get "his share of delegates," providing "a solid foundation" for going forward to other states, beginning next week in Maryland, Virginia and the District of Columbia, followed by the important states of Ohio and Texas on March 4.

But before California, Clinton met almost every one of his victories with one of her own - in Oklahoma, Tennessee, Arkansas, New Jersey, Massachusetts and her home state of New York.

And in the first important western contest, she won in Arizona on the strength of her popularity among Hispanics. About six in 10 Hispanics supported the former first lady, whose husband, former President Bill Clinton, remains a popular figure among Latinos.

The Clinton campaign cited the southern victories to dispute Obama's claim that he is the candidate most capable of breaking the hold the Republican Party has had on these so-called "red states" in presidential general elections.

"The Obama campaign has been spinning that they have a monopoly on red states; tonight we showed they didn't," the Clinton campaign said in a statement. "With these important victories, Hillary Clinton has demonstrated that she can compete and win in red states."

Clinton also played up her victory in Massachusetts, where Sens. Ted Kennedy and John Kerry and Gov. Duval Patrick had endorsed Obama. They called it "one of the biggest surprises of the night."

The Democrats played out a historic struggle between Clinton, seeking to become the first female president, and Obama, hoping to become the first black American to win the White House.

As in his earlier contests, Obama won big among younger voters and African Americans. But on Tuesday, he nearly doubled his vote among whites, to 44 percent, compared to 51 percent for Clinton. Similarly, he got 43 percent of women's votes, compared to 57 percent for Clinton.

Democrats, by a 2-1 margin, told exit pollsters that they preferred a candidate who will bring change to the political arena over a candidate with political experience.