Senator Barack Obama defeated Hillary Clinton to become the Democratic presidential nominee after one of the longest and closest primaries in history. More than 35 million voters took part in this historic election, yet Obama only had a small margin over Clinton (in both delegates and the popular vote).
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Here are a collection of maps highlighting how Obama won. These will no doubt be analyzed in great detail between now and the general election, with John McCain looking to take advantage of Obama’s geographic weaknesses that became apparent during the primary, such as Appalachia and the rural rust belt.

As of May 22nd, Barack Obama has 1,962 of the 2,025 delegates needed to win and only needs 63 more to be able to declare victory (this may change some after the DNC decides how to seat the Florida and Michigan delegates). Hillary Clinton trails by 187 delegates and does not appear to have any opportunities left to win the required number of delegates to win the nomination.

Senator Barack Obama appears to have clinched the Democratic presidential nomination with his 14 point win in the May 6th North Carolina primary and his narrow loss in Indiana.

Upcoming Primaries

* June 2008 June 1 - Puerto Rico
* June 3 - Montana, South Dakota

Senator Hillary Clinton won the Pennsylvania primary with 54.6% of the vote to Senator Barack Obama’s 45.4%. Preliminary results show that Clinton will receive 82 delegates and Obama will receive 73 delegates. Barack Obama currently leads with 1,723 delegates and Hillary Clinton follows with 1,592 delegates (according to the A.P. 4/23 ). For those keeping score, the Democratic nominee is determined by which candidate receives 2,025 delegates and Obama’s lead in delegates appears to be insurmountable.
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Next to vote:
- May 3rd: Guam (9 delegates)
- May 6th: North Carolina (134 delegates) and Indiana (83 delegates)

The Democratic primary continues with Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton campaigning heavily in Pennsylvania, the next state to hold its primary on April 22nd. After Pennsylvania votes the only remaining states to hold primaries are Indiana, North Carolina, West Virginia, Kentucky, Oregon, Puerto Rico, Montana, and South Dakota.
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Since neither candidate appears able to win enough pledged delegates to clinch the nomination, the Democratic nominee will likely be decided by the Democratic party’s superdelegates and both candidates have been trying to make the case that they are the person best able to defeat the presumptive Republican nominee John McCain.

After thirty seven primaries and caucuses in the Democratic presidential race, Barack Obama has emerged as the leader by winning more states and delegates than Hillary Clinton. With 10 back to back wins since Super Tuesday, Barack Obama appears to be the likely Democratic candidate for president. The next primaries will be held on March 4th in Texas, Ohio, Vermont, and Rhode Island, where Hillary Clinton is hoping that wins in the delegate rich states of Ohio and Texas will allow her to regain the lead. Barack Obama has managed to take the delegate lead from Hillary Clinton.
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To win the nomination 2,0258 delegates are needed and currently the Associated Press (A.P.) has Barack Obama leading with 1,351 delegates trailed by Hillary Clinton with 1,262 delegates.

Thirty two states have held primaries and caucuses, yet Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama remain virtually tied in the Democratic Presidential Primary. To win the nomination 2,0258 delegates are needed and currently the Associated Press (A.P.) has Hillary Clinton leading with 1,147 delegates followed closely by Barack Obama with 1,124 delegates.
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States won by each candidate:
* Hillary Clinton: Arkansas, Arizona, California, Florida, Massachusetts, Michigan, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Mexico, New Jersey, New York, Oklahoma, Tennessee
* Barack Obama: Alaska , Alabama, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Georgia, Idaho, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana, Maine, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Carolina, Utah, and Washington
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Upcoming Elections:
Virginia, Maryland, and Washington DC go to the polls February 12th.

If searches for candidates’ names on Google were votes in the presidential primaries then Barack Obama and Mike Huckabee are set to win in Iowa. Nationwide Hillary Clinton is pacing to win the Democratic nomination, while Mike Huckabee and Mitt Romney are in a competitive race for the Republican nomination.

This is based on the relative search volume on google.com and only includes the candidates ranked in the top 4 on slate.com as of 1/1/2008. Ron Paul was excluded for not ranking in the polls, however he has a much higher number of searches for his name than any other candidate.