By IRNA
New York : US presidential hopeful Hillary Clinton has rejected calls by supporters of her rival, Barack Obama, to abandon her campaign for the Democratic nomination.
Senator Patrick Leahy, an influential Democrat and Obama supporter, had said that by remaining in the race she was helping the Republican party.
Mrs Clinton told supporters she had no intention of abandoning the race.
She is trailing Obama in the number of delegates needed to obtain the nomination.
But the latest opinion polls show her leading Obama by more than ten points in the next major primary in Pennsylvania on April 22.
Senator Leahy, who chairs the powerful Senate Judiciary Committee, said in a statement on Friday that Mrs Clinton “has every right, but not a very good reason, to remain a candidate for as long as she wants to”.
“As far as the delegate count and the interests of a Democratic victory in November go, there is not a very good reason for drawing this out,” he said, arguing that she had scant chance of winning the nomination.
Obama currently leads by 1623 delegates to the party convention in August to Mrs Clinton’s 1499.
To secure the nomination, the winner must secure 2024 delegates.
IRNA reporter in New York said that neither candidate will be able to do on the basis of delegates won in the remaining primary elections alone.
If Mrs Clinton manages to win a larger share of the popular vote overall, it is thought that she may secure the backing of the super-delegates who could tip the balance.
“There are some folks saying: ‘Well, we ought to stop these elections,” she told a cheering crowd at a high school in
Indianapolis, Indiana.
“I didn’t think we believed that in America. I thought we of all people knew how important it was to give everyone a chance to have their voices heard.”
Obama distanced himself from Mr Leahy’s comments.
“My attitude is that Senator Clinton can run as long as she wants.
Her name is on the ballot and she is a fierce and formidable competitor,” he said.
“I think that she should be able to compete, and her supporters should be able to support her, for as long as they are willing or able.”
A bitter, drawn-out fight between the two contenders, going right up to the Democratic convention in August, could damage the eventual nominee’s chances of beating their Republican rival, John McCain, according to IRNA reporter in New York.