McCain claims front-runner status

http://www.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/02/05/super.main/index.html

McCain claims front-runner status, Dem race not settled
2-5-8

Story Highlights
NEW: McCain solidifies front-runner status
NEW: Clinton takes delegate-rich states
NEW: Huckabee, Romney vow to keep fighting
NEW: Obama winning more states, but Clinton winning states with more delegates

(CNN) -- Sen. John McCain cemented his front-runner status Tuesday, piling up big wins coast-to-coast, according to CNN projections.

Democratic voters remain evenly split over which of their candidates they would rather see get the nomination.

Sen. Barack Obama won more states Tuesday, but Sen. Hillary Clinton won states with higher delegate counts.

McCain capped the night by taking California and its 170 delegates.

After having been nearly written off last summer, the Arizona senator finally felt comfortable enough to call himself the front-runner.

"Tonight I think we must get used to the idea that we are the Republican Party front-runner for the nomination of president of the United States. And I don't really mind it one bit," he said as results came in Tuesday. Watch McCain claim front-runner status »

On the Democratic side, Clinton took California, according to CNN projections.

While most Republican contests are winner-take-all, most Democratic contests are awarded proportionally based on the number of congressional districts won.

Clinton took the larger share of California's 370 Democratic delegates. More about delegates

"We know what we need is someone ready on day one to solve our problems and seize those opportunities," Clinton said Tuesday. "Because when the bright lights are off and the cameras are gone, who can you count on to listen to you, to stand up for you, to deliver solutions for you?"Watch Clinton speak to her supporters »

McCain also won Connecticut, Illinois, Missouri, New Jersey, New York, Oklahoma, Delaware and Arizona, his home state, according to CNN projections. Full February 5 results

McCain has gathered 514 delegates so far in his presidential campaign, including tonight's projections. Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney has 177 delegates, and former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee has 122. What do the results mean? »

In Georgia, Huckabee edged out McCain, who held a slim margin over Romney.

Romney got wins in Alaska, Colorado, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Montana and Utah. See who won the popular vote in each state »

"One thing that's clear -- this campaign's going on," Romney said. "I think there's some people who thought that it was all going to be done tonight, but it's not all done tonight. We're going to keep on battling."Watch Romney vow to keep on battling »

In addition to Georgia, Huckabee picked up Alabama, Arkansas, Tennessee and West Virginia. Watch what Huckabee says about Tuesday's results »

Going into Super Tuesday, the Republican race had largely been viewed as a fight between McCain and Romney.

"Over the past few days, a lot of people have been trying to say that this is a two-man race. Well, you know what? It is, and we're in it," Huckabee said as the results came in.

In all, 1,020 Republican delegates were up for grabs Tuesday. To clinch the nomination, a candidate must win 1,191 delegates.

Tuesday's contests did not produce a front-runner on the Democratic side.

"Our time has come, our movement is real and change is coming to America," Obama said Tuesday. "We are more than a collection of red states and blue states. We are and always will be the United States of America."Watch Obama rally his supporters »

The biggest prizes that Obama won were his home state of Illinois and Georgia, and a larger share of the 288 delegates in those states.

Obama also won Alabama, Alaska, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Idaho, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, North Dakota and Utah. Between those states, he would be awarded the larger share of 278 delegates. Watch what the early results mean »

Clinton was also projected to win her home state of New York, New Jersey and Massachusetts, and the larger share of the 329 delegates at stake in those states.

Clinton also won Arizona, Arkansas, Oklahoma and Tennessee, and the larger share of the 235 delegates in those states.

Republican conservative voters appear to be evenly split between Romney and Huckabee, according to preliminary exit polls of Super Tuesday voters.

Of those who voted for Huckabee or Romney, about 80 percent identified themselves as conservative, according to the polls. Watch why voters picked their candidates »

Only 49 percent of McCain's voters said they were conservative, a sign that the Arizona senator's efforts over the last week to placate conservative voters has not paid off.

On the Democratic side, those who made up their mind in the last three days appear to be torn between Obama and Clinton. According to the exit polls, Obama and Clinton are essentially splitting those voters, with 47 percent going for Obama and 46 percent for Clinton.

On the Republican side, front-runners McCain and Romney have engaged in bitter exchanges over their conservative records in recent weeks.Watch how CNN analysts view the GOP race »

"This is raw politics as it's really practiced," CNN senior political analyst Bill Schneider said. "The McCain supporters who were third in the first round decided to throw their weight behind Mike Huckabee in order to stop Mitt Romney from winning this convention. And look at that -- they did."

With 24 states and American Samoa holding primaries or caucuses, Super Tuesday is virtually a national primary day and a pivotal day in the Democratic and Republican races for the White House.

With no sitting president or vice president running for the first time in decades and wide-open races in both parties, a record number of voters has headed to the polls this primary season.

On Tuesday, I-Reporter Christopher Penn, 32, told CNN he voted right after the polls opened in Framingham, Massachusetts. Penn said it was the first time he had voted in a primary.

"It looks like it's going to be a good primary day. The only thing that's going to be tricky is the weather, which is not great, to be charitable. I would expect that would diminish turnout," Penn, an independent, said. "But there was quite a good line to get in there, so it looks like another good day for our republic."

I-Reporter Dian Campbell, 55, told CNN she was determined to caucus for Romney, but first she had to find a way out of her snowed-in home outside Antonito, Colorado.

"We've been on the phone to see if we can put together a snowmobile patrol to pick people up because the roads in most of the county are impassable," she said.

"We thought we might have to ride horses to get places, because right now, we can't get anywhere."

More than four-fifths of the 2,025 delegates needed to clinch the Democratic presidential nomination and more than 1,000 of the 1,191 necessary delegates on the Republican side are at stake.

CNN's Bill Schneider contributed to this report.

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