Clinton keeps her hopes alive
Crucial win over Obama in Pa. shifts battle to Indiana, N.C.
PHILADELPHIA - Senator Hillary Clinton scored a critical victory last night in Pennsylvania's Democratic primary, adding one more key swing state to her win column and setting up yet another showdown with Senator Barack Obama in two weeks in Indiana and North Carolina.
Clinton, drawing on family roots in the state and her appeal to white, blue-collar voters, overcame Obama's strength in Philadelphia and among younger voters to capture a state both campaigns considered a must-win for her. But whether her margin was big enough - she led Obama 55 percent to 45 percent and had rolled up a 214,000-vote margin with 98 percent of precincts reporting last night - to halt Obama's momentum was not immediately apparent. She appeared unlikely to make a substantial dent in his 140-delegate lead.
Her victory, amid record turnout and a massive influx of new voters, was the latest in a string of primary successes late in the race that have kept her competitive just as it appeared Obama was about to clinch the Democratic nomination.
As news organizations began calling Pennsylvania for Clinton last night, elation - and a measure of relief - filled the Philadelphia hotel ballroom where she addressed supporters. She walked onstage to Tom Petty's "I Won't Back Down" and cast herself, as she has often in recent days, as a gutsy champion for working people like her father's family, who hail from northeastern Pennsylvania.
"For me, the victory we share tonight is deeply personal," she said. "In this election, I carry with me not just their dreams but the dreams of people like them and like you all across our country."
"Some counted me out and said to drop out. But the American people don't quit and they deserve a president who doesn't quit either. Because of you," Clinton said confidently, "the tide is turning."
Despite her win, the New York senator - while insisting she is determined to fight for the nomination all the way to the Democratic convention in late August - still faces daunting challenges to convince superdelegates and donors that she is the stronger candidate to take on Republican John McCain in the fall.
Her first big hurdle is fund-raising: Obama began the month with more than $41 million on hand to spend on the primary campaign, while Clinton was $1 million in debt. Even while she was celebrating last night, she made an unusual plea for cash, asking supporters in her victory speech to go to her website and donate.
"The future of this campaign is in your hands," she implored.
A Clinton campaign spokesman, Mo Elleithee, dismissed suggestions that she was facing a money crunch, saying that her supporters always come through when she needs them. Clinton raised nearly $2.5 million online within the first 2 1/2 hours after she was projected the winner last night, the campaign said.
The races in Indiana and North Carolina, which hold primaries May 6, have already begun: Clinton is scheduled to campaign in Indianapolis today, and Obama was already in Evansville last night hosting a massive rally.
Obama congratulated Clinton on her win, then reverted to the campaign theme that has made him the front-runner for the nomination: change.
"We can be a party that says and does whatever it takes to win the next election. We can calculate and poll-test our positions and tell everyone exactly what they want to hear," he said. "Or we can be the party that doesn't just focus on how to win but why we should."
"Don't ever forget that you have the power to change this country," Obama said.
Obama has been racking up endorsements from superdelegates - the elected officials and party activists whose preferences will almost certainly determine the nominee - while Clinton has picked up just a handful. But the race now heads into a final stretch that could bring unprecedented attention to far-flung places like Guam and Puerto Rico and force the candidates to travel from West Virginia to Oregon to woo voters.
Obama is the favored candidate in four states - North Carolina, Oregon, Montana, and South Dakota, which award a total of 198 pledged delegates. Clinton is expected to do well in West Virginia, Kentucky, and Puerto Rico, whose delegate counts total 134. Guam and Indiana appear to be toss-ups.
Clinton's campaign, trailing in the delegate count, popular vote totals, and the number of contests won, insists that her win last night further proves she can win the large, industrial states Democrats must capture to win the White House in November. If Clinton can continue to sow doubts about Obama's electability, she has some chance of getting the nomination, said Doug Schoen, a Democratic consultant not affiliated with either campaign.
"You just soldier on," Schoen said.
Obama's campaign called the big-state argument specious, arguing that Obama would also be a strong contender in those states. "The bottom line is that the Pennsylvania outcome does not change [the] dynamic of this lengthy primary," an Obama spokesman, Bill Burton, said in a memo last night.
Further, many Democrats also worry about Clinton's prospects against McCain, in part because polls have shown a growing number of voters find her untrustworthy, and her negative ratings are higher than they were when she started her campaign.
The battle for Pennsylvania grew especially testy in the last days. Clinton ran a TV ad featuring an image of Osama bin Laden and implying that Obama is not tough enough to be president. Obama countered with an ad accusing Clinton of running a campaign of "fear."
Both Democrats ran two-tiered campaigns, often talking to voters across the state about weighty issues such as the economy, healthcare, and Iraq while also accusing the other of fundamental character flaws. Clinton accused Obama of disrespecting Pennsylvania voters when he said small-town Americans were "bitter" over their economic troubles and "cling to guns or religion," while Obama accused Clinton of misrepresenting his positions and running a Republican-style attack campaign.
But while most Pennsylvania voters said Clinton's campaign was more negative than Obama's, they appeared largely uninfluenced by those tactics, according to polling and interviews. Despite the candidates' frenzied, six-week campaign to shake up each other's base, the electorate largely split as expected.
Obama captured large majorities of African-American, upper-middle class, and young voters, according to exit polls conducted for the television networks and the Associated Press. Clinton did well among older people, working-class whites, and women - all groups well represented in Pennsylvania's population.
Election officials reported record turnout, continuing a defining trend of the Democratic nomination battle. Supporters of both candidates yesterday were out in force at city parks, street corners, and polling sites, chanting, waving signs, and making last-minute pleas to voters.
"I want to make history with the first African-American president," said Asia Reina, a 20-year-old Temple University student, explaining her vote for Obama.
Hillary Lebowitz, a 30-year-old school social worker who was getting lunch nearby, said she voted for Clinton because she has more substance, especially on education issues. Clinton's long Washington tenure, she said, was an asset.
"You need the connections and experience to actually get anything done," Lebowitz said. "[Obama] has a lot of great ideas, but I just don't see how he's going to put them into practice."
No matter whom they voted for, 54 percent of Democratic voters said they believe Obama will be the eventual nominee, while 43 percent said Clinton will win the nomination, according to the exit polling. It also found that 38 percent would be satisfied with either as the nominee, but a majority would only be satisfied if their candidate wins - 32 percent for Clinton and 25 percent for Obama.
Scott Helman can be reached at shelman@globe.com, and Susan Milligan at s_milligan@globe.com.
