US News
Obama takes delegate milestone, splits wins with Clinton (3rd Roundup)
By DPA
May 21, 2008, 4:31 GMT

Washington - Barack Obama said he was 'within reach' of the Democratic presidential nomination after claiming an insurmountable lead Tuesday in delegates elected during five months of intra-party votes, as he and rival Hillary Clinton split Oregon and Kentucky.

Obama stopped just short of declaring victory in a speech from Iowa - which began the nomination process and became his first state victory on January 3 - while Clinton remained defiant that the nomination was still up for grabs.

'We have returned to Iowa with a majority of delegates elected by the American people,' he said as the crowd erupted in the Midwestern state's capital Des Moines. 'You have put us within reach of the Democratic nomination for president of the United States of America.'

Obama has now passed the mark of 1,627 out of 3,252 delegates at stake in the state-by-state contests - a symbolic milestone in the party's nomination battle.

The Illinois senator remains short of the 2,025 total delegates needed to seal his candidacy for the November 4 presidential election. Elite party members known as super delegates make up about one-fifth of the total and could still potentially swing the nomination either way.

Clinton has vowed to stay in the race at least until primaries in South Dakota and Montana, which will be the last states to vote on June 3. The former first lady has continued to lobby undeclared party officials, arguing that she is better placed to beat presumptive Republican nominee John McCain in November.

Clinton thanked her supporters for the 'overwhelming vote of confidence' as official results in Kentucky gave her a landslide victory, 65 per cent to 30 per cent.

'Some have said that your votes didn't matter, that this campaign was over, ... but that didn't stop you,' she told supporters at a rally in Louisville. 'You've never given up on me, because you know I'll never give up on you.'

In Oregon, Obama was leading by 58 per cent to 42 per cent, with 55 per cent of precincts counted in the Pacific North-West state.

Obama, who hopes to become the nation's first African-American president, said it was time to unite the party in a wide-ranging speech that also laid out his general-election strategy against the centre-right McCain.

He paid tribute to Clinton, saying she had 'shattered myths and broken barriers' in her own bid to become the first female president of the United States.

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 result comes on the heels of her victory by a 40-point margin last week in neighbouring West Virginia.

The 46-year-old Obama had been expected to win in Oregon, a state of more affluent, left-leaning and university-educated voters who place a strong emphasis on environmental issues.

Only three more contests remain, concluding on June 3, and many Democratic leaders have pressed undecided super delegates to make up their minds by the end of June.

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 available in Tuesday's two states.

While Obama has increasingly turned his attention to the general election against McCain, Clinton believes her victories in crucial swing states like Ohio and Pennsylvania could convince super delegates to tip the nomination in her favour.

'We have to get this right. We have to select a nominee who is best positioned to win in November,' Clinton said. 'I'm going to keep making our case until we have a nominee, whoever she may be.'