Clinton wins California, most other big states; Delegate rules mean race to end up virtually tied

[DeepModem Mom]

MSNBC: Clinton wins California, most other big states
But party’s delegate rules mean Democratic race to end up virtually tied


(Carolyn Kaster/AP)
Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton greets supports as she enters her Super Tuesday primary night rally in New York.

Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton of New York won the mammoth California primary Tuesday night, NBC News projected, adding to wins in other delegate-rich states in the Northeast.

California was the big prize of the night, and Clinton was winning well more than half of the vote. The state offered 370 delegates, but because of the Democratic nominating rules, Clinton will not win all of them. Combined with Sen. Barack Obama’s win in his home state of Illinois and his significant haul of delegates in numerous smaller states, the race for the Democratic nomination was likely to be a dead heat.

Clinton’s victories included New York, Massachusetts and New Jersey in addition to California, according to NBC News’ projections from official returns and extensive exit-polling data. She also picked up victories in Arkansas, Oklahoma, Tennessee and Arizona. Obama bolstered his win in Illinois with victories in Georgia, Alabama, Minnesota, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Utah, Kansas, North Dakota, Idaho and Alaska, NBC News projected. He also appeared to be winning in Missouri, it said....

***

The two dozen contests Tuesday were delivering 1,681 of the 2,025 delegates needed for the Democratic nomination, but “we don’t have any idea what the delegate count is,” Howard Dean, chairman of the Democratic National Committee, said in an interview with MSNBC’s Chris Matthews. “This is not going to be decided tonight.” That was because all of the states were dividing their delegates proportionally, so a candidate who finished second could pick up an impressive haul of delegates.

Chuck Todd, NBC News’ political director, said that while Clinton was winning more of the big primary states, Obama was picking up significant delegate totals, notably in New York, where he could come away with nearly 40 percent of the total. Obama was also doing “extremely well” in the states that were holding caucuses, Todd said, particularly Minnesota, North Dakota, Idaho and Colorado. As a result, Todd said, Clinton could end up with the most votes at the end of the evening, but the delegate count could be nearly even, with Obama winning 841 to Clinton’s 837.

“We have a split decision tonight,” Todd said.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/23019673/

[Major Hogwash]

1. And Hillary's out of MONEY!!!

Too bad, so sad!

When you vote for war, you go it alone, Hillary.

[goldcanyonaz]

2. 3 new donors for Clinton tonight in my family. Saved our money bomb till after Super Tuesday.