Obama, McCain win Virginia, D.C., Maryland primaries

~ Exit polls in Maryland and Virginia showed Obama split the white vote with Clinton

WASHINGTON -- Sen. Barack Obama won primaries in Maryland, Virginia and the District of Columbia with ease Tuesday night in a determined drive to erase Hillary Rodham Clinton's delegate lead in the Democratic presidential race.

"Tonight we're on our way," he told cheering supporters in Madison, Wis. "But we know how much further we have to go on," Obama added, as he celebrated eight straight victories over Clinton, the former first lady now struggling in a race she once commanded.

His victories were by outsized margins -- he was gaining about 75 percent of the vote in the nation's capital and about two-thirds in Virginia.

The Illinois senator was gaining more than 60 percent of the Virginia vote, and Clinton, senator from New York, less than 40 percent.

The Associated Press made its call in the Maryland race based on surveys of voters as they left the polls.

Republican front-runner John McCain won both states and Washington, D.C., adding to his insurmountable lead in delegates for the GOP nomination.

Interviews with voters leaving the polls in Maryland and Virginia showed Obama split the white vote with Clinton, and his share of the black vote approached 90 percent. She led among white women, but he was preferred by a majority of white men.

Icy roads in Maryland prompted a judge to order a 90-minute extension in voting hours, delaying returns and the allocation of delegates there.

In all, there were 168 delegates at stake in primaries in those states and the District of Columbia.

Overall, Clinton had 1,164 delegates to 1,154 for Obama. Both are far from the 2,025 needed to win the nomination at the Democratic National Convention this summer.

McCain's victory in Virginia was a close one, the result of an outpouring of religious conservatives who backed former Arkansas governor Mike Huckabee.

Four in 10 Republican voters said they were born again or evangelical Christians -- twice as many as called themselves members of the religious right in 2000 -- and nearly 70 percent of them supported Huckabee, an ordained Baptist minister.

Virginia voters could vote in either primary in their state. In a twist, Huckabee was running slightly ahead of McCain among independents, who cast about a fifth of the Republican votes there.

There were 113 delegates at stake in the three GOP races.

The AP count showed McCain with 789 delegates. Former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney, who dropped out of the race last week, had 288. Huckabee had 241 and Texas Rep. Ron Paul had 14.

It takes 1,191 delegates to clinch the Republican nomination, and McCain appears to be on track to reach the target by late April.

The Democratic race was the definition of unsettled, with Clinton on the verge of surrendering her long-held lead in delegates, having shed her campaign manager and loaned her campaign $5 million in recent days, and facing defeats next week in Wisconsin and Hawaii.

As the votes were counted in her latest setbacks, her deputy campaign manager stepped down. Mike Henry announced his departure one day after Patti Solis Doyle was replaced as campaign manager with Maggie Williams, a longtime confidante of the former first lady.

Clinton hopes to respond with victories in Texas and Ohio on March 4, states where both candidates have already begun television advertising.

Since last week's Super Tuesday contests in 22 states, Obama has won a primary in Louisiana as well as caucuses in Nebraska, Washington and Maine, all of them by large margins.

Obama has campaigned before huge crowds in recent days, and far outspent his rival on TV advertising in the states participating in the regional primary in Maryland, Virginia and the District of Columbia.

He began airing commercials in the region more than a week ago, and spent an estimated $1.4 million. Clinton began hers last Friday, at a cost estimated at $210,000.

With Clinton facing a series of possible defeats, and Obama riding a wave of momentum, the two camps debated which contender is more likely to defeat McCain in the general election.

An Associated Press-Ipsos poll found Obama with a narrow lead over the Arizona senator in a potential match-up, and Clinton running about even.

"We bring in voters who haven't given Democrats a chance" in the past, said Obama pollster Cornell Belcher, citing support from independents.

Mark Penn, Clinton's chief strategist, countered that she holds appeal for women voters and Hispanics. "Hillary Clinton has a coalition of voters well-suited to winning the general election," he said. Clinton hopes to respond with victories in Texas and Ohio on March 4, states where both candidates have already begun television advertising.

Since last week's Super Tuesday contests in 22 states, Obama has won a primary in Louisiana as well as caucuses in Nebraska, Washington and Maine, all of them by large margins.

Obama has campaigned before huge crowds in recent days, and far outspent his rival on TV advertising in the states participating in the regional primary in Maryland, Virginia and the District of Columbia.

He began airing commercials in the region more than a week ago, and spent an estimated $1.4 million. Clinton began hers last Friday, at a cost estimated at $210,000.

With Clinton facing a series of possible defeats, and Obama riding a wave of momentum, the two camps debated which contender is more likely to defeat McCain in the general election.

An Associated Press-Ipsos poll found Obama with a narrow lead over the Arizona senator in a potential match-up, and Clinton running about even.

"We bring in voters who haven't given Democrats a chance" in the past, said Obama pollster Cornell Belcher, citing support from independents.

Mark Penn, Clinton's chief strategist, countered that she holds appeal for women voters and Hispanics. "Hillary Clinton has a coalition of voters well-suited to winning the general election," he said.