In sweep, he breaks barriers

Across race, Age groups, Education levels, Women, White men, Blue collar

WASHINGTON: On a primary winning streak, Barack Obama swept the so-called Potomac primaries on Tuesday, overwhelmingly defeating Hillary Clinton in Democratic contests in Maryland, Virginia and Washington, D.C. This is the eighth straight victory for Obama, who is increasingly taking on the mantle of Democratic frontrunner.

“Today, the change we seek swept through the Chesapeake and over the Potomac. We won the state of Maryland. We won the Commonwealth of Virginia. And though we won in Washington DC, this movement won’t stop until there’s change in Washington,” Obama told supporters at a rally.

McCain beats Huckabee
On the Republican side, Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz, won primaries in Maryland and Washington, and battled back candidate Mike Huckabee, the former Arkansas governor, in a Virginia primary made close by a high turnout of conservatives and Christian evangelicals.

 Huckabee, however, fared better with conservatives in Virginia. He vowed to stay in the race despite losing the three primaries, pledging to give voters in the coming primaries “a solid, conservative, absolute pro-life candidate” as an alternative to McCain.

Clinton focuses on Ohio
Clinton’s defeat in the Virginia primary crushed what may have been her best chance at a Potomac primary win.
 
Clinton had hoped to perform strongly in Virginia’s rural communities and among women and the state’s sizeable Hispanic and immigrant population, but Obama ultimately prevailed in the state.

In a sign of further turmoil within Clinton’s campaign, word came late that Clinton’s deputy campaign manager Mike Henry stepped down on Tuesday. Clinton left Washington for Texas as she focuses her campaign on the March 4 votes in Ohio, Texas, Vermont and Rhode Island — states she hopes will be a firewall to Obama’s post-Super Tuesday momentum.