Obama extends lead over Clinton

Barack Obama is riding a wave of momentum after a series of wins

Barack Obama has gained more ground over his rival, Hillary Clinton, in the contest to win the Democratic nomination to run for US president.

Mr Obama, the senator for Illinois, has won the primary in Wisconsin, and is also projected to take victory in Hawaii - his 10th win in a row.

John McCain won Wisconsin for the Republicans, boosting his front-runner status in his party's contest.

Mr McCain is also projected to win a Republican primary in Washington state.

With 99% of the ballots counted in Wisconsin, Mr Obama had 58% of the vote to Mrs Clinton's 41%.

The state has 74 Democratic delegates at stake. The Associated Press news agency said Mr Obama was projected to win at least 38 of them, and Mrs Clinton 27, with nine still to be awarded.

Meanwhile, with 51% of votes counted in Hawaii, where the Illinois senator was born, he had taken 76% of the vote, leading AP and CNN to project victory.

The state has 20 delegates up for grabs.

Seeking momentum

The BBC's Jonathan Beale says Wisconsin was a significant victory for Mr Obama, eating into Mrs Clinton's support base.

It is a major disappointment for Mrs Clinton, the senator for New York, who had been hoping to restore momentum to her campaign.

Democrats

Republicans

Hillary Clinton
13 states, 1,218 delegates

Arizona, Arkansas, California, Florida, Massachusetts, Michigan, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Oklahoma, Tennessee

Barack Obama
21 states, 1,281 delegates

Alabama, Alaska, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Georgia, Idaho, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Carolina, Utah, Virginia, Washington state, Wisconsin
2,025 delegates needed for nomination. Source AP (includes all kinds of delegates)

Mike Huckabee
8 states, 245 delegates

Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Iowa, Tennessee, West Virginia, Kansas, Louisiana

John McCain
15 states, 903 delegates

Arizona, California, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Illinois, Maryland, Missouri, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Virginia, Washington state

Mitt Romney
11 states, 253 delegates

Campaign suspended
Alaska, Colorado, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Montana, Nevada, North Dakota, Wyoming, Utah
1,191 delegates needed for nomination. Source: AP (includes all kinds of delegates)

Instead, Mr Obama was reported to have gained almost equal support from white women, and to have polled well from working-class Democrats - both groups which have usually supported Mrs Clinton.

Mr Obama also took the youth vote and six out of 10 self-described independent voters, according to exit polls for ABC.

But he and Mrs Clinton are already looking ahead to March's bigger contests in Ohio and Texas, seen by analysts as crucial to her credibility as a candidate.

Speaking at a victory rally in Houston, Texas, Mr Obama said: "The change we seek is still months and miles away and we need to get all of Texas to help us get there."

Addressing a rally in Youngstown, Ohio, Mrs Clinton said the primary campaign was "about picking a president who relies not just on words but on work - hard work to get America back to work".

Before the results from Wisconsin were calculated, Mr Obama held a slight lead over Mrs Clinton, with 1,280 delegates to her 1,218.

It will take 2,025 delegates to secure the Democratic nomination at the party's national convention this summer.

McCain favourite

Mr McCain, the senator for Arizona, appeared to target Mr Obama in his victory speech as he promised to ensure Americans were "not deceived by an eloquent but empty call for change".

On the Republican side, the race between Mr McCain and Mike Huckabee, a former Arkansas governor, continues.

Mr McCain now has almost four times as many delegates as his main rival, Mike Huckabee.

With 97% of the vote counted in Wisconsin, he led with 54.8% of the vote compared with 37% for Mr Huckabee and 5% for Texas Congressman Ron Paul. There are 40 Republican delegates at stake.

Early exit polls for AP suggested Mr McCain had made headway with some core Republican voters, beating Mr Huckabee overwhelmingly for the support of moderate Republicans.

The Washington Republican primary is the second vote in a two-part nominating contest - half their delegates were decided earlier in a caucus on 9 February, which was narrowly won by Mr McCain.

With 53% of Tuesday's vote counted, Mr McCain had amassed 48% to Mr Huckabee's 21% and Mr Paul's 7%.

Washington state's Democrats are also holding a primary but their delegates to the party's summer nominating convention have already been chosen on the basis of caucuses.