May 15, 2008	Thursday	Jamadi-ul-Awwal 9, 1429

WASHINGTON, May 14: Democratic presidential hopeful Hillary Rodham Clinton’s landslide win in West Virginia primary highlights her claim that her rival Barack Obama may have problems in winning over working class white voters.

Senator Clinton received 67 per cent of the votes cast on Tuesday while her rival Senator Obama got 26 per cent. She gets 19 of the 28 delegates at stake. Former President Bill Clinton was the last Democrat to win West Virginia and its five electoral votes.

West Virginia is 95 per cent white and poor. The median home price in West Virginia is $66,000 compared to the national average of $227,600 and $260,000 in neighbouring Virginia. Seven out of 10 voters in Virginia do not have college degrees.

Senator Clinton is poised to win another working class white state, Kentucky, next Tuesday with a big margin.

An ABC News exit poll suggested race played at least some role in the outcome in West Virginia. Twenty per cent of the state’s voters told exit pollsters that race was a factor in their vote — second only to Mississippi. Two-thirds of voters who included race as a criterion said they wouldn’t support Senator Obama in a general election race against Sen John McCain.

Half of the voters questioned said to some extent they believed Mr Obama shared views with the controversial pastor, the Rev. Jeremiah Wright, who blames white America for stirring troubles around the world. Half said they doubted Mr Obama’s trustworthiness.

Senator Clinton, in her victory remarks, noted that she was “winning the swing states,” states that normally do not vote for Democratic candidates. “And the White House is won in the swing states,” she said. “This race isn’t over yet. ... Neither of us has the total delegates it takes to win.”

Mr Obama has 1,882 delegates compared to Mrs Clinton’s 1,713. A candidate needs 2,025 delegates to win the Democratic nomination next month.

Senator Obama has also edged past her in super-delegates, party officials who play a decisive role in nominating a candidate. Despite her impressive victory in West Virginia, four more super-delegates moved to Mr Obama’s camp on Tuesday.

Political observers described Mrs Clinton’s decision to stay in the presidential race as indicating her intention to either bow out on a positive winning note, or attempt to win the vice presidential slot.

A new Washington Post poll showed that a majority of Democrats favour her to be Mr Obama’s running mate, and despite calls from political pundits for her to quit, a whopping 64 per cent of all Democratic voters want her to keep running,