Blacks propel Obama to win in Mississippi

WASHINGTON – Barack Obama won overwhelming support from black voters Tuesday to defeat Hillary Rodham Clinton in Mississippi’s Democratic presidential primary, the last time the two rivals will compete for six weeks.

Mississippi’s vote proved predictable. At least half of the Democratic electorate is African-American, and Obama led Clinton 90-10 percent among them, according to exit polls.

White voters tilted to Clinton over Obama, 73-26 percent, according to exit polls. That could bolster the New York senator’s claim that Obama has limited appeal, an ability to win only in states with large black populations or those that hold caucuses, where organization is crucial.

The presumptive Republican presidential nominee, Sen. John McCain of Arizona, won Mississippi’s Republican primary easily, as expected, but exit polls found only 42 percent of Mississippi voters were “very satisfied” with him. McCain continues to draw skepticism from conservatives. About 41 percent of Mississippi’s GOP voters were “somewhat satisfied” with him, while 15 percent were somewhat or very dissatisfied.

Next on the Democratic primary calendar is Pennsylvania’s April 22 contest, where 158 convention delegates are at stake.

Mississippi offered only 33 delegates, and its result didn’t change the shape of the race.

Returns from 25 percent of Mississippi’s precincts showed Obama gaining 54 percent, to 43 percent for Clinton.

Obama picked up at least six Mississippi delegates to the Democratic National Convention, with 27 more to be awarded. He hoped for a win sizable enough to erase most if not all of Clinton’s 11-delegate gain from last week, when she won three primaries. The Illinois senator had 1,585 delegates to 1,473 for Clinton. It takes 2,025 to win the nomination.

Neither appears able to win enough delegates through primaries and caucuses to prevail in their race for the nomination, elevating the importance of nearly 800 superdelegates who will attend the convention.