New York Sen. Hillary Clinton won a landslide victory in West Virginia's Democratic primary Tuesday, defeating Illinois Sen. Barack Obama by a margin of more than 2 to 1.
The state's demographics favored Clinton: West Virginia voters are older, less educated and overwhelmingly white, groups which have flocked to her in past voting. But the results will do little to change the course of the race for the Democratic nomination for president.
In her victory speech, Clinton seemed to be addressing Democratic Party superdelegates and voters in the five upcoming contests, more than the cheering throng of supporters in front of her in Charleston, W. Va.
"I want to send a message to everyone still making up their mind," she said. "I am in this race because I believe I am the strongest candidate. ... I can win this nomination if you decide I should, and I can lead this party to victory in the general election, if you lead me to victory now."
But Clinton also was conciliatory toward Obama. She said she admired the Illinois senator and that they shared "a commitment to bring America new leadership."
Obama all but conceded the state the day before the election. His dramatic loss to Clinton in West Virginia is likely to revive lingering doubts about his lack of appeal for white, working class voters and his electability in November.
Clinton campaign chairman Terry McAuliffe told NPR that the New York senator would "absolutely" continue to campaign through the final primaries on June 3.
"We're winning this," McAuliffe said. "We will be ahead in the popular vote by the end of it. We will be very close on delegates. ... And then the superdelegates will have to make up their minds."
Delegate Math Favors Obama
But increasingly, the superdelegates are moving into the Obama camp. He gained 30 in just the past week, negating any advantage Clinton might have had from the 16 or more pledged delegates she won in West Virginia.
So while the drubbing in West Virginia may be embarrassing for Obama, he still leads Clinton by any tangible measurement: pledged delegates, superdelegates and the popular vote, and there just aren't enough contests left for her to catch up.
And while Obama is setting new fundraising records, Clinton's campaign debt is estimated to be more than $20 million and rising.
In a conference call Tuesday, Roy Romer, a superdelegate and former chair of the Democratic Party, announced his support for Obama, saying, "This race, I believe, is over." It's up to Clinton, he said, to decide when to drop out.
Obama Looks to General Election
Obama is increasingly focusing on the general election and courting the white, blue-collar voters who have tended to favor Clinton. He visited the swing state of Missouri on Tuesday, holding a town hall meeting on the economy at a clothing factory in Cape Girardeau. There he went after the presumptive Republican nominee, Arizona Sen. John McCain, saying, "A vote for John McCain is a vote for George Bush's third term."
On Wednesday, Obama campaigns in Michigan. He'll stop by a Chrysler plant and hold another economic town hall. A rally in Republican-dominated Grand Rapids is planned for the evening.
Over the next week, Obama also plans to visit politically neglected Florida and Michigan, which were stripped of their delegates to the Democratic National Convention after they broke party rules by moving their primaries up to January. Both will be important swing states in November.
Clinton has no campaign appearances for Wednesday. Thursday she campaigns in South Dakota which, along with Montana, closes out the primary season with a vote on June 3.
The Demographic Story
West Virginia's voters are typical of those that have been drawn to Clinton from the beginning. The state is 96 percent white. Only Florida has a higher percentage of seniors. A mere 16 percent of West Virginians hold a college degree, the lowest percentage in the nation, and 25 percent lack a high school diploma. West Virginia also ranks near the bottom nationally in median household income.
According to Associated Press exit polls, about 60 percent of voters picked the economy as the most important issue. Clinton voters were more likely than those who supported Obama to say the economy had significantly hurt their families. Seventy percent of Clinton voters supported her proposal for a summer gas tax holiday. Obama has called the idea a gimmick. Only about a fifth of voters picked the war in Iraq as their top issue.
About half of West Virginia voters told pollsters that they believe Obama shares the views of his controversial former pastor, the Rev. Jeremiah Wright, either "a lot" or "somewhat," though Obama has repudiated Wright's inflammatory statements. And about one fifth of Clinton's supporters said race was a factor in their vote, a higher percentage than in most of the states that have voted so far. About 60 percent of whites who said race didn't matter also voted for Clinton.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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