Barack Obama and Mike Huckabee have won the latest round of presidential primaries and caucuses, reports say. Senator Obama won in Nevada and Washington state whilst Governor Huckabee won in Kansas. The other state voting today is Louisiana, whilst US Virgin Island Democrats also go to the polls today, in the first contests following Super Tuesday (and its fallout).
Counting has just begun in Louisiana where it appears Senator John McCain has a commanding lead over Governor Huckabee. Governor Mitt Romney’s currently placing second but he’s already dropped out of the race.
The Democrats hold another contest – the Maine caucuses – on Sunday. Mitt Romney, as mentioned now out of the race, won the Republican caucuses in that state earlier this month.
Update to come when a Louisiana winner is projected.
Update (0300 GMT) – Huckabee has now jumped over McCain with 19% reporting and is leading by about 1,500 votes. Barack Obama has now taken a clear lead over Hillary Clinton with 18% reporting, with a 10,000 vote lead.
Update (0310 GMT) – Obama’s been called as the winner by MSNBC and CNN. He now holds a 17,500 vote lead with 34% reporting. Meanwhile, Mike Huckabee now leads McCain by 10 percentage points.
Update (1050 GMT) – Mike Huckabee narrowly defeated John McCain by two percentage points in Louisiana. However, it appears that Sen McCain has secured victory in the Washington caucuses. CNN (as of 0130 ET) had not projected a winner, but the BBC reports that McCain has won.
Filed under: United States | Tagged: Barack Obama, Kansas, Louisiana, Mike Huckabee, Nebraska, US elections, Washington state
