By DPA,
Washington : Hillary Clinton was headed for a convincing victory in the Kentucky Democratic presidential primary Tuesday over front-running rival Barack Obama in the final weeks of the party’s nomination battle.
The former first lady’s victory was projected as soon as polls closed across the southern state. Early official results gave her a lead of 65 percent to 31 percent with 69 percent of precincts reporting.
Primary results from the Pacific North-West state of Oregon, where Obama was favoured, were expected late Tuesday. Only three more contests remain, concluding on June 3.
After Tuesday’s votes are counted, Obama might have captured a majority of delegates elected in the series of state-by-state contests for the nomination. It is a milestone he was expected to highlight in a victory speech from the state of Iowa, which began the months-long process and scored his first victory on Jan 3.
Clinton will still fall short of the 2,025 delegates needed to seal his candidacy for the November 4 presidential election. Party elite known as super delegates make up about one-fifth of the total and could still potentially swing the nomination either way.
Clinton, 60, had been clearly favoured to win in Kentucky, a rural state with a large population of the working-class voters who have recently favoured her over Obama.
The 46-year-old Obama was seen as leading in Oregon, a more affluent, left-leaning state that places a strong emphasis on environmental issues.
Even if Clinton were to win both states, she was unlikely to make much of a dent in Obama’s overall lead in the delegate count that decides the party nomination.
Obama began the day a little more than 100 delegates from the finish line of 2,025. Clinton, who represents New York state in the US Senate, was about 200 delegates behind, with 103 delegates up for grabs in Tuesday’s vote.
Clinton has vowed to fight on until all votes have been counted, pledging to stay in the race at least until June 3, when Montana and South Dakota cast the final ballots of the campaign.