McCain Flexes Muscle, Dems Battle to a Draw

For Arizona Sen. John McCain, it was a Super Tuesday indeed.

McCain's chugging momentum toward the Republican presidential nomination -- which has snowballed from the beginning of the new year -- showed no signs of slowing after the primary season's biggest night, all but ending the hopes of his two nearest challengers.

McCain took 9 of the 21 Republican contests, but had huge important wins in the big states of California, Illinois, New York and New Jersey.

For the Democrats, the evening was slightly more nuanced. New York Sen. Hillary Clinton and Illinois Sen. Barack Obama battled in 22 states, with the lack of winner-take-all contests giving both candidates an almost-equal share of Tuesday's delegate spoils.

But as in the stock market, sentiment is no small thing in politics, and many observers gave the edge to Clinton as Tuesday's "winner," punctuated late Tuesday by a projected decisive win in California, the country's most populous state.

Both Democratic candidates had campaigned hard leading up to the contests, and political insiders and early exit polls on Tuesday were suggesting that Obama was poised to build on his rising poll numbers of the past two weeks and deliver an upset to Clinton in a few key states.

While one of those states, Missouri, was taken out of the Clinton win column late Tuesday night and moved to Obama's ledger, upset bids in New Jersey and Massachusetts fell short.

Both senators won their home states: Obama taking Illinois by a much wider margin than Clinton's in New York.

In effect, Obama won more states, but Clinton's victories came in higher-delegate states, making Tuesday's contest a virtual dead heat in delegates.

Shortly before 1 a.m. EST , NBC projected Obama winning the Tuesday delegate contest 841-837, plus or minus 10 depending on California.

In California, with 22% of the vote in, Clinton was leading Obama 54%-34%.

The Super Tuesday draw will keep Clinton with an overall modest lead in delegates over Obama, with contests looming this Saturday in Louisiana, Washington, and Nebraska -- and next Tuesday in Maryland and Virginia.

For the Republicans, a near-lock of the nomination for McCain may move his candidacy to the beginnings of a broad national strategy, and key to that, the selection of a running mate. One vice-presidential possibility, based on his Tuesday performance, is former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, whose strength with evangelical Christians led to primary victories in five southern states.

Left out in the cold, despite winning six states Tuesday and having won more delegates so far than Huckabee, is former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, whose campaign now appears to be no threat to McCain's nomination.