WASHINGTON -- Barack Obama moved closer to locking up the Democratic nomination yesterday, taking the North Carolina primary decisively while Hillary Clinton eked out a victory in Indiana.
Obama widened his delegate lead on the biggest day left on the primary calendar, though it appeared that the race could still continue through the final contests, less than four weeks from now.
Obama claimed victory in North Carolina and congratulated Clinton on apparently winning Indiana, where incomplete returns gave her a narrow lead.
But Clinton is running out of time and delegate contests as she attempts to stop Obama, who appears increasingly likely to become the first African-American nominee of a major party.
Yesterday, Obama reversed a two-month slide that had raised increasing questions about his chances to defeat John McCain in November.
By running up a large victory in North Carolina, the nation's 10th-most-populous state, he countered Clinton's argument that he cannot win the large states. He also padded his popular-vote advantage, making it more difficult for her to win the total vote when the primaries end.
"Tonight we stand less than 200 delegates away from securing the Democratic nomination," Obama told an election-night rally crowd in Raleigh, N.C.
Clinton appeared more subdued when she appeared later in the evening before supporters in Indiana, the state Obama called "the tiebreaker," between Pennsylvania, where she won last month, and North Carolina, where he was favored.
Clinton alluded to Obama's remark and claimed victory in Indiana before the final returns were in and with the outcome still in doubt.
"Thanks to you, it's full speed on to the White House," said Clinton, vowing to go on while also delivering a televised plea for fresh donations to assist her cash-short campaign.
Clinton passed up appearances on the network morning shows today and returned to Washington with no public events on her schedule. There was inevitable speculation about whether her candidacy was nearing an end, but her campaign announced that she would fly to West Virginia, South Dakota and Oregon for ralliestomorrow.
In their election night remarks, both candidates sent mixed signals about the next phase of the campaign, suggesting that the prolonged nomination contest may be nearing a resolution and that it might not extend beyond the next few weeks.
