Barack Obama and Hillary Rodham Clinton continued the battle to win the Democratic presidential nomination, with record turnouts in the North Carolina and Indiana primaries Tuesday.
Voters lined up before sunrise in the capital of the Midwestern state of Indiana, where the first polling stations opened at 6:00 am (1100 GMT) under overcast skies.
The day's voting closes in North Carolina at 8:30 pm (0030 GMT),with a combined total of 187 pledged delegates on offer in the two states.
Pre-election polls showed Obama leading in North Carolina while Clinton appeared to have the edge in Indiana.
Judging by numbers, Obama is the Democratic front-runner so far, as he leads in pledged delegates and is also ahead in the popular vote.
However, he has also been unable to force Clinton out of the race.
If Obama can take both states, he will strengthen his advantage over Clinton and influence the superdelegates who will ultimately decide who will represent the Democratic Party in November's presidential election. Clinton needs to at least take Indiana to stay in the race.
The Clinton camp admits she cannot overtake Obama in pledged delegate count, and is therefore pinning her hopes on persuading nearly 800 superdelegates, who look set to have the deciding vote, to choose her as the presidential candidate at the Democratic National Convention in August.
A rolling average of polls by RealClearPolitics.com gives Obama1,491 pledged delegates from all the races so far to Clinton's 1,337. Neither can reach the winning line of 2,025 without backing from the superdelegates -- party officials free to vote either way.
North Carolina and Indiana will also hold Republican presidential primaries Tuesday.
Sen. John McCain of Arizona, the presumptive Republican nominee, is expected to pull in the majority of votes in what will be relatively light turnouts for Republicans.
Source:Xinhua
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