Confused about what happens next? Great Q&A:

[cboy4]

I love how the BBC simplifies issues.

I'm pretty sure this is good, accurate information!

Q&A: What happens next?

All eyes have turned to the Pennsylvania primary on 22 April - the next major battleground for the rivals for the Democratic nomination, Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton.

John McCain effectively clinched the Republican nomination after primaries in four states on 4 March.

What are the next steps?


NEXT DEMOCRATIC VOTES

22 April: Pennsylvania primary, 158 pledged delegates

3 May: Guam caucus, 4 delegates

6 May: Indiana primary, 72 delegates; North Carolina primary, 115 delegates

13 May: West Virginia primary, 28 delegates

20 May: Kentucky primary, 51 delegates; Oregon primary, 52 delegates

1 June: Puerto Rico primary, 55 delegates

3 June: Montana primary, 16 delegates; South Dakota primary, 15 delegates

Primaries and caucuses continue until June, but on the Republican side they will have no practical impact.

On the Democratic side, the fight between Mrs Clinton and Barack Obama is intense.

Mrs Clinton is polling well in Pennsylvania, in which 158 pledged delegates are at stake.

However, Mr Obama is ahead in North Carolina, with 115 delegates in play.

Does either Mr Obama or Mrs Clinton have a chance of clinching the nomination before the party's convention in August?

To do so, they would need to gain the support of 2,024 delegates, and they are about 400 to 500 delegates short.

There are still more than 500 pledged delegates up for grabs in the remaining primaries and caucuses, and about 330 super-delegates have yet to decide which candidate to back.

So one of them could theoretically pass the winning post before August - but since the remaining pledged delegates are likely to continue to be split relatively evenly, the super-delegates may wait until the convention before making their choice.

There remains a possibility, however, that one of the candidates will withdraw before then.

Is one of the Democratic candidates ahead of the other?

At present, Mr Obama has more delegates overall, and more pledged delegates.

More! -------------> http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/7229959.stm

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Q&A: US primaries and caucuses

The politicians hoping to win the White House in November's presidential election are taking part in the series of elections known as the primaries and caucuses.

This is the process by which supporters of the Democratic or Republican parties, in each US state, say which candidate they would like to see representing their party in the presidential election in November. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/7049207.stm

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http://www.smh.com.au/ffximage/2007/01/29/hillaryclinton_wideweb__470x308,0.jpg
http://www.hillaryclinton.com/?splash=1


http://www.barackobama.com/index.php

[JoFerret]

1. Two lovely pics there. Thanks

What great candidates we have.

(Let's count the votes.)

[JoFerret]

2. Great sig quote btw.

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