Sen. Barack Obama continued to pull ahead of Hillary Clinton in tallies of the Democratic votes cast statewide and in Spokane County for the Feb. 19 presidential primary.

Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee took firm control of second place in the Republican primary, but still has less than half the votes cast for Sen. John McCain.

Obama was slightly ahead statewide but trailed Clinton in Spokane County on election night. The Illinois senator moved ahead on Friday, and in Monday’s ballot count had a lead of 460 votes in Spokane; statewide, he leads by more than 35,000 votes.
McCain has nearly half the votes statewide, and about 46 percent in Spokane County. Huckabee is second with about 23 percent statewide and 22 percent in Spokane. Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney has slipped to third in both counts, and Rep. Ron Paul of Texas is fourth, with about 7.5 percent statewide and about 11.5 percent in Spokane County.

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