Hillary wins Nevada, McCain takes South Carolina

WASHINGTON: Democrat Hillary Clinton has won the Nevada caucuses, defeating her main rival Barack Obama as Republican John McCain posted a significant victory in the South Carolina primary in the long drawn out process of the two parties selecting their candidates for the US presidential race.

With 98 percent of caucus sites reporting in Nevada, Senator Clinton on Saturday led the Democratic vote with 51 percent, doing well among women and Hispanics. Fellow Senator Obama secured 45 percent. John Edwards, former North Carolina senator, was a distant third with four percent.

The response of Hispanic voters in the state was closely watched ahead of the upcoming contests in California, New York and New Jersey, which too have large Hispanic populations.

Obama won about 80 percent of the black votes. He had pinned his Nevada hopes on support from the 60,000-member culinary union. But that turnout was lighter than expected at nine caucuses established along the Las Vegas strip.

Nevada again showed that the Democratic contest is turning into a protracted battle between Clinton and Obama, with the former having an edge. Earlier she had won New Hampshire, where Obama was seen as favourite after taking Iowa.

Nevada drew record turnout among Democratic caucusgoers, a reflection of the intensity of the race. Though Clinton polled more votes, the delegate count under the rules of the caucuses appeared to favour Obama because of his support from a wide swathe of the state, giving him 13 delegates compared to 12 for Clinton.

Overall, Clinton leads the delegate race with 236, including separately chosen party and elected officials known as superdelegates. Obama has a total of 136, and Edwards 50.

No single state's vote is going to end the race or give any candidate all that much momentum. In the Democratic race, a candidate needs about 2,000 delegates to secure the nomination; and on the Republican side, a candidate will need about 1,200 delegates to lock up the nomination.

In South Carolina primary, Senator McCain of Arizona got 33 percent of Republican vote in a keenly contested conservative state. He is seen as slowing the rise of Mike Huckabee, Arkansas senator who has strong appeal to southern and Christian voters and was a surprise victor in Iowa.

Huckabee didn't do too badly in South Carolina, securing 30 percent vote. Former senator Fred Thompson was a distant third at 16 percent, and Mitt Romney, former Massachusetts governor, got 15 percent, with 97 percent results reported.

With talk of recession and plummeting employment rates, voters in South Carolina named the economy as No 1 issue. McCain was favoured, as he had called for cuts on expenditure, not on taxes, expressing reservations about President George Bush's proposed economic stimulus package. Voters too cited McCain's long political experience as a positive factor.

McCain had won the New Hampshire primary earlier, making it two in his kitty. Romney had won in Michigan.

Romney was victorious in the Republican caucuses in Nevada the same day. With all caucuses reporting their results, he polled 51 per cent, Ron Paul, considered a liberal, was at 14 percent and McCain 13 percent, with Huckabee trailing at 8 percent.

Romney was the only top-tier Republican candidate to campaign this week in Nevada. Paul, the only GOP candidate to air TV ads.

Romney's Mormon faith helped because one-quarter of the Republican caucus electorate in the state was Mormon.

Romney won at least 14 delegates in Nevada's caucuses, extending his lead in the race for delegates. He has 56 overall delegates followed by Huckabee with 32 and McCain with 13.

For the Republicans, Florida polls Jan 29 will be watched, where former New York mayor Rudy Giuliani, who has lagged fifth and sixth in the contests so far, is placing all his hopes and money.

Democratic voters in South Carolina will next chose their preferred presidential candidate Jan 26, where the scramble for the large black vote has been intense between Clinton and Obama. Edwards, a son of the South, could also give them a run for their money.

With more than 20 states lined up on Feb. 5, over 40 percent of each party's delegates will be chosen on this date. Among these states are California and New York wtih most delegates at stake.

The state contests elect delegates to the national conventions later this year. Democrats are to gather in August in Denver, Colorado, while Republicans will gather in St Paul, Minnesota.

The presidential elections are scheduled for Nov 4.