Obama's delegate lead now 163

US: BARACK Obama's wins in Wyoming and Mississippi have restored his comfortable lead over Hillary Clinton among the delegates who will choose the Democratic nominee at next August's convention in Denver.

Mr Obama has the support of 1,403 pledged delegates, compared to Mrs Clinton's 1,240, a lead of 163. Neither candidate, however, has a realistic prospect of reaching the threshold of 2,025 needed for the nomination through pledged delegates alone.

To catch up with Mr Obama among pledged delegates, Mrs Clinton would have to win 64 per cent of the vote in the remaining 10 contests, a feat her own advisers acknowledge to be almost impossible.

Mr Obama cannot reach the 2,025 threshold either, unless he wins almost half of the votes in the remaining contests and a similar proportion of the uncommitted super-delegates - 795 party officials.

Mrs Clinton has a slight lead among the super-delegates, but Mr Obama is still ahead by about 100 if pledged delegates and super-delegates are counted together. Mrs Clinton's best hope of winning the nomination lies in a big victory in Pennsylvania, followed by reruns of the disputed primaries in Florida and Michigan, which could give her a lead in the popular vote and persuade super-delegates to move her way.

- Denis Staunton

© 2008 The Irish Times

This article appears in the print edition of the Irish Times