Clinton stays in race with key Pennsylvania win
Wednesday, 23 Apr 2008 16:18
Hillary Clinton achives ten-point win in Pennsylvania primary
US In Focus
Hillary Clinton was the favourite for the Democratic nomination long before Barack Obama emerged as her main challenger. Full Story
Hillary Clinton's bid for the White House is still alive after she achieved a convincing win in the Pennsylvania primary.
The former first lady had needed to secure a double-digit victory to maintain her campaign for the Democratic nomination for the United States presidency, with rival Barack Obama having acquired both more delegates and more votes.
But after 99 per cent of the votes in Tuesday's primary were counted, the New York senator led Mr Obama 55 per cent to 45 per cent, keeping her in the race to secure her party's approval to run against Republican presidential candidate John McCain.
Ms Clinton still trails Mr Obama in terms of delegates but her ten-point win last night adds weight to her claim that, compared with the Illinois senator, only she has the experience to secure wins in major US states should she receive the Democratic nomination.
"Some people counted me out and said to drop out, but the American people don't quit and they deserve a president who doesn't quit either," she said after her victory.
"Because of you, the tide is turning".
Mr Obama has dismissed his rival's 'big state' argument and said the Pennsylvania primary was, despite his loss, still an indication of the momentum of his campaign.
"There were a lot of folks who didn't think we could make this a close race when it started," he said.
"Six weeks later, we closed the gap. We rallied people of every age and race and background to our cause."
The next Democratic primary is held on May 6th in North Carolina, before the contest moves to Indiana.