May 7 (Bloomberg) -- Barack Obama decisively defeated Hillary Clinton in North Carolina, while holding her to a narrow victory in Indiana, moving him closer to gaining enough delegates to clinch the Democratic presidential nomination.
Voters turned out in record numbers, handing Obama a 15- point victory in North Carolina, the more-populous and delegate- rich of the two states holding primaries yesterday. Clinton won by 2 points in Indiana.
``Once Obama won big tonight in North Carolina, he stopped her momentum train and picked up some serious steam of his own,'' Jenny Backus, an unaligned Democratic strategist, said after the vote. He ``rallied and turned the corner.''
Clinton isn't likely to make a dent in Obama's delegate lead in the five remaining states, plus Puerto Rico, that will hold contests in the next month. Before yesterday, he led 1,748 to 1,613 in delegates to the nominating convention, according to unofficial tallies by Bloomberg News and the Associated Press. A candidate needs 2,025 to win.
Obama won 19 more delegates than Clinton in the two states, according to a preliminary tally by AP.
Obama could seal the nomination if there's a rush of endorsements during the next week by superdelegates -- the 795 party officials and lawmakers who aren't bound by the results of primaries and caucuses. He has outpaced Clinton 51 to 23 in support from superdelegates since the March 4 primaries in Texas and Ohio, which Clinton won.
Time to Unite
Before yesterday's primaries, Clinton's lead in superdelegate endorsements was less than 20, according to a Bloomberg News analysis based on lists from the campaigns and public announcements. Obama's campaign says he's likely to erase that lead soon.
``I think we will see, with these outstanding results, a very logical increase in the number of superdelegates who support Barack,'' said campaign co-chairman Eric Holder. ``It is finally time to unite this party and get ready for the general election.''
Supporters of Obama, 46, an Illinois senator, say the superdelegates should follow the ``will of the people'' reflected in the results of primaries and caucuses that have favored him in the popular vote and delegate count. Clinton, 60, a New York senator, says she's the better candidate to take on presumptive Republican nominee John McCain.
McCain, who sewed up the Republican nomination in March, also posted victories in Indiana and North Carolina yesterday. Still, more than 20 percent of voters in each state opted for someone else in the Republican primaries, raising the prospect of support for a third party in November.
`Bruised Feelings'
Obama, speaking to supporters in Raleigh, North Carolina, last night, promised unity for the Democratic Party.
``Yes, there have been bruised feelings on both sides; yes, each side desperately wants their candidate to win,'' he said. Even so, ``we intend to march forward as one Democratic Party,'' he said.
He won North Carolina, which had 115 pledged delegates at stake, by more than 232,000 votes, topping the 214,000-vote edge Clinton took out of the April 22 Pennsylvania primary.
Clinton wasn't showing any sign of giving up. ``Thanks to you, it's full speed onto the White House,'' she told supporters in Indianapolis, while the votes were still being tallied in Indiana. ``Tonight, Hoosiers have said that you do want a president who stands strong for you.''
Racial Divide
Obama, who would be the nation's first black president, benefited from a racial divide in both states. He won 92 percent of black voters in Indiana and 91 percent in North Carolina, where they represented a third of the total number casting ballots, television networks reported, citing exit polls.
Clinton, the former first lady, captured majorities among her traditional constituencies in Indiana, drawing the support of 58 percent of white men, 71 percent of senior citizens and 51 percent of lower-income workers, according to exit polls cited by Fox News.
Obama's long-held lead in North Carolina polls narrowed in recent days as Clinton put up a fight for the state and Obama struggled through what he called ``a rough couple of weeks'' amid a controversy surrounding comments made by his former pastor, the Reverend Jeremiah Wright.
Tax `Holiday'
Much of the back-and-forth between the two candidates over the last week involved Clinton's proposal for a ``holiday'' from the gas tax over the summer months. She criticized Obama for not doing enough for consumers because he opposed the plan.
Obama called the idea an election-year ``gimmick'' and said it wouldn't save consumers money because oil companies would probably pocket the money. Economists agreed with him.
The Obama campaign also said exit-polling data suggested some Republicans voted in the open Indiana primary just to prolong the race. Conservative talk show host Rush Limbaugh urged his listeners to vote for Clinton to make it easier for McCain in November.
In the end, it wasn't enough. ``There just isn't much time left for Clinton to make up lost ground,'' said Barry Burden, a political science professor at the University of Wisconsin in Madison.
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