Obama takes resounding victory in N.C.

Barack Obama resoundingly won in the North Carolina primary Tuesday night and declared he was closing in on the Democratic presidential nomination. Hillary Rodham Clinton apparently eked out a win in Indiana as she struggled to halt her rival's march into history, NBC News projected.

"Tonight we stand less than 200 delegates away from securing the Democratic nomination for president of the United States," Obama told a raucous rally in Raleigh, N.C. -- and left no doubt he intended to claim the prize.

Clinton stepped before her own supporters not long afterward in Indianapolis. "Thanks to you, it's full speed on to the White House," she said, signaling her determination to fight on in a campaign already waged across more than 16 months and nearly all 50 states.

Returns from 99 percent of North Carolina precincts showed Obama winning 56 percent of the vote to 42 percent for Clinton.

That had made Indiana a virtual must-win state for Clinton, who was hoping to counter Obama's delegate advantage with a strong run through the late primaries. With 99 percent of precincts reporting, the former first lady led 51 percent to 49 percent.

Results had been slow in coming from populous Lake County, a heavily black area in the northwestern part of Indiana near Obama's home city of Chicago. The county is home to the city of Gary, and the senator won overwhelming support there.

Extra ballot counters were brought in because of an unusually large number of absentee ballots, the Northwest Indiana Post-Tribune reported on its Web site.

'Defining moment in history'
Two weeks after a decisive defeat in Pennsylvania, Obama sounded increasingly like he was looking forward to the fall campaign. In Raleigh he congratulated Clinton on what he said "appears to be" a win in Indiana.

"This primary season may not be over, but when it is, we will have to remember who we are as Democrats," Obama said, "because we all agree that at this defining moment in history — a moment when we're facing two wars, an economy in turmoil, a planet in peril — we can't afford to give John McCain the chance to serve out George Bush's third term."

Despite the uncertainty of the outcome in Indiana, Clinton staked a claim to victory there.

"Not too long ago, my opponent made a prediction," she said at the rally, joined by her husband, Bill, his face sunburned after hours spent campaigning in small-town North Carolina, and their daughter, Chelsea. "I would win Pennsylvania, he would win North Carolina and Indiana would be the tie-breaker.

"Well, tonight we've come from behind, we've broken the tie, and thanks to you it's full speed on to the White House."

To emphasize her determination, Clinton announced plans to campaign Thursday in West Virginia, South Dakota and Oregon, three of the remaining primary states.

But Clinton also made a direct fundraising appeal to backers — unusual remarks at a victory party. “I need your help to continue our journey,” she said.

Her speech seemed to lack the full-throated spirit that marked her events in the run up to Tuesday. And after her speech, she didn't linger long to shake supporters' hands, sign autographs and pose for pictures, after ending her speech.

Racial divide
Still, exit polls in both states charted a racial divide that has become familiar in a long, historic campaign pitting a black man against a white woman and that could weigh heavily on an Obama campaign in the fall.

In North Carolina, an estimated one-third of all ballots were cast by black voters, and Obama claimed support from roughly 90 percent of them. Clinton won 60 percent of the white vote. Only Democrats and unaffiliated voters were permitted to vote in North Carolina.

In Indiana, Clinton's victory among white voters was just as wide.

In Indiana, about one in five voters said they were independents, and an additional one in 10 Republicans.

Voting in Indiana was carried out under a state law, recently upheld by the Supreme Court, that requires voters to produce a valid photo ID. About a dozen nuns in their 80s and 90s at St. Mary's Convent in South Bend were denied ballots — by a fellow sister — because they lacked the necessary identification.

Economy weighs on voters
The economy was the top issue by far in both states, according to interviews with voters as they left polling places.

But nearly half of voters in both states said the controversy over incendiary sermons by Obama's former pastor, the Rev. Jeremiah Wright, was very or somewhat important to their vote. In Indiana, nearly three-quarters of those who said it was important voted for Clinton — though those who said so and voted for Obama may have signaled approval of his handling of the situation.

In both states, whites and blacks were about as likely to call the situation important. But whites were much more likely to vote for Clinton if they said so. Black voters made up a third of the North Carolina Democratic electorate but were only about one in seven in Indiana.

Brett Schaefer, a resident of Southern Indiana, said the issue is still top-of-mind for many Democratic voters.

“I cannot stand here and think that that was the first time his preacher has talked that way,” Schaefer said.

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