Thursday, May 15, 2008

Clinton takes W. Virgina

Vote '08: President

CHARLESTON, W.Va. – Hillary Clinton coasted to a large but largely symbolic victory in working-class West Virginia on Tuesday, handing Barack Obama one of his worst defeats of the campaign yet scarcely slowing his march toward the Democratic presidential nomination. “The White House is won in the swing states. And I am winning the swing states,” Clinton told cheering supporters at a victory rally.

Thursday, May 15, 2008

Edwards breaks silence with Obama endorsement

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. – Democrat John Edwards endorsed former rival Sen. Barack Obama on Wednesday, a move designed to help solidify support for the party's likely presidential nominee even as Hillary Clinton refuses to give up her long-shot candidacy. Edwards made a surprise appearance with Obama in Grand Rapids, Mich.

Tuesday, May 13, 2008

GOP's McCain hoping to attract voters in 18-29 crowd

CHICAGO – He's a Republican, for starters. He describes himself as "older than dirt." And he makes no apology for an Iraq war that is especially unpopular on college campuses. Doesn't sound like a recipe for winning the hearts of young voters. And yet John McCain has vowed to make a serious play for the 18- to 29-year-old crowd that's often identified with "Obama-mania."

Monday, May 12, 2008

Obama faces issues other than race

WASHINGTON – For the first time, a major political party is on the brink of choosing a black man as its candidate for president, but when Democratic strategists and other analysts look ahead, they don't see race as Sen. Barack Obama's biggest challenge. They worry more, they say, about other issues: Will swing voters view him as too young? Too inexperienced? Or too liberal?

Sunday, May 11, 2008

Obama overtakes Clinton in Democratic superdelegates

Vote '08: President

WASHINGTON – Barack Obama erased Hillary Clinton’s once-imposing lead among superdelegates Saturday when he added more endorsements from the group of Democrats who will decide the party’s nomination for president.

Saturday, May 10, 2008

In Oregon, Clinton hits Obama while he targets McCain

PORTLAND, Ore. – Campaigning a few miles from each other Friday, Barack Obama trained his eye on November and the GOP, while Hillary Clinton battled for her political life, trying to hang on a few more weeks or even days in hopes of denying him the Democratic presidential nomination.

Saturday, May 10, 2008

Illinois sen. scores more superdelegates

WASHINGTON – Barack Obama all but erased Hillary Clinton's once-imposing lead among national convention superdelegates Friday and won fresh labor backing as elements of the Democratic Party began coalescing around the Illinois senator for the fall campaign. Obama picked up the backing of nine superdelegates, including Rep.

Friday, May 9, 2008

Obama gets fresh support at Capitol

WASHINGTON (AP) – Sen. Barack Obama got a front-runner's welcome back at the Capitol on Thursday, pressing congressional "superdelegates" to support him in a visit that had the look and feel of a campaign victory lap. On the House floor, he was quickly surrounded by well-wishers calling him, "Mr. President" and reaching out to pat him on the back or shake his hand.

Thursday, May 8, 2008

Clinton pushes on despite disappointment in Ind., N.C.

WASHINGTON – Her money drained and her options dwindling, a resolute Hillary Rodham Clinton vowed Wednesday to press on with her presidential bid even as she and top advisers were hard-pressed to describe a realistic path for her to wrest the nomination from Barack Obama.

Wednesday, May 7, 2008

Obama wins N.C., claims victory close

INDIANAPOLIS – Illinois Sen. Barack Obama swept to victory in the North Carolina primary Tuesday night and declared he was closing in on the Democratic presidential nomination. New York Sen. Hillary Clinton clung to a narrow Indiana lead late into the night, struggling to halt her rival's march into history.

Sunday, May 4, 2008

Clinton loses by seven in Guam race

HAGATNA, Guam – Senator Barack Obama defeated Senator Hillary Clinton by seven votes in the Guam Democratic presidential caucuses Saturday. The count of more than 4,500 ballots took all night. Neither candidate campaigned in the U.S. island territory in person, but both did long-distance media interviews and bought campaign ads for the caucuses.

Sunday, May 4, 2008

Poll: Appeal of Obama faltering

WASHINGTON – Sen. Barack Obama's problem winning votes from working-class whites is showing no sign of going away, and their impression of him is getting worse. Those are ominous signals as he hopes for strong performances next week in Indiana and North Carolina primaries that would derail the candidacy of Sen. Hillary Clinton, his rival for the Democratic presidential nomination.

Sunday, May 4, 2008

Establishment outvotes Paul supporters

AUGUSTA, Maine – Republican Party regulars fended off platform challenges partially fueled by a libertarian bloc led by Ron Paul supporters at the GOP state convention Saturday and elected a full 12-member slate of at-large delegates endorsed by Sen. John McCain's campaign to the September national convention.

Friday, May 2, 2008

Obama hopes Midwest ties convince Ind.

INDIANAPOLIS – Barack Obama is looking for a little home cooking in next week’s Indiana primary. Counting on it, in fact. People are a little more familiar with me in Indiana,” says the senator from next-door Illinois, claiming a better chance than he had in Pennsylvania, where New York Sen. Hillary Clinton beat him convincingly last week.

Friday, May 2, 2008

Defection of superdelegate jolts Clinton

SOUTH BEND, Ind. (AP) – Sen. Hillary Clinton was jolted Thursday by the defection of one of her longtime superdelegate supporters, a former national party chairman who urged fellow Democrats to “reject the old negative politics” and unify behind Barack Obama.

Wednesday, April 30, 2008

Obama says he's outraged by ex-pastor's comments

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. – Barack Obama angrily denounced his former pastor for "divisive and destructive" remarks on race, seeking to divorce himself from the incendiary speaker and a fury that threatens to engulf his front-running Democratic presidential campaign. Obama is trying to tamp down the uproar over the Rev. Jeremiah Wright at a tough time in his campaign.

Wednesday, April 30, 2008

Superdelegate says she will choose in June

Vote '08: President

WASHINGTON – Democratic superdelegate Rep. Niki Tsongas says she'll decide shortly after primary season ends June 3 whether to support Illinois Sen. Barack Obama or New York Sen. Hillary Clinton as her party's presidential nominee. "By the end of June, I certainly will have made up my mind," Tsongas said Tuesday in a telephone interview with The Associated Press.

Sunday, April 27, 2008

McCain warms to Huckabee embrace

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. – Sen. John McCain and Mike Huckabee always acted more like friends than rivals when they ran against one another in the Republican presidential primaries. Their camaraderie was on full display as they campaigned together here Friday, sharing barbecued ribs while batting away questions from reporters about whether they might be running mates in the fall.

Sunday, April 27, 2008

N.H. Democrats elect party delegates

MANCHESTER – New Hampshire Democrats elected the remaining members of their delegation to the party's national convention Saturday, confirming what is playing out on the national stage – the two candidates are in a close race and their supporters are passionately behind them.

Thursday, April 24, 2008

Clinton's Pa. win still leaves her Dems' underdog

Analysis:

WASHINGTON – Exuding fresh confidence after her Pennsylvania primary win, Hillary Clinton turned attention Wednesday to contests in Indiana and North Carolina and pressed her case that she can still win the Democratic presidential nomination despite the odds against her.

Wednesday, April 23, 2008

Pa. win keeps Clinton in race

PHILADELPHIA – Sen. Hillary Clinton ground out a gritty victory in the Pennsylvania primary Tuesday night, defeating Sen. Barack Obama and staving off elimination in their historic race for the Democratic presidential nomination.

Tuesday, April 22, 2008

Pennsylvania may decide Democratic primary race and is basking in media spotlight

CONCORD – Two blocks from where Pittsburgh Post-Gazette Executive Editor David Shribman is speaking to a reporter by telephone, Sen. Hillary Clinton is barnstorming for last-minute votes before today's primary. At the same time, Democratic rival Sen. Barack Obama is speaking at a hall 2 miles from Shribman's home.

Sunday, April 20, 2008

Philadelphia suburbs may hold key to Pennsylvania primary

MEDIA, Pa. – Take the Chester exit of I-95 and wend your way to the Pennsylvania Turnpike. If Sen. Barack Obama has any chance of cultivating an upset on Tuesday, this 20-mile stretch is fertile land.

Sunday, April 20, 2008

Chelsea Clinton emerges as an effective campaigner

EUGENE, Ore. – The softballs come gently, lobbed by voters who support her mother and are thrilled to see that the awkward duckling of the Clinton administration has become a glamorous swan. What is your mother's position on health care? What will your mother do for special education? What is your mother's plan to end the war in Iraq?

Sunday, April 20, 2008

Dems' race for Hollywood cash also tight

Campaign Notebook

You think Pennsylvania is close? The gap between Sens. Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton in the race for Hollywood dollars makes the contest for the Keystone State look like a walk in the park. According to nonprofit Center for Responsive Politics, less than $300 separates the two Democratic candidates in the entertainment industry.

Saturday, April 19, 2008

2 ex-Clinton aides endorsing Obama

BOSTON – Former Clinton Cabinet member Robert Reich said Friday he was endorsing Sen. Barack Obama – and not Sen. Hillary Clinton – in the battle for the Democratic presidential nomination. Two other Democratic elder statesmen, former Sens. Sam Nunn of Georgia and David Boren of Oklahoma, also said they were supporting the Illinois senator.

Friday, April 18, 2008

British prime minister meets with Clinton, McCain, Obama

WASHINGTON – The three presidential candidates took time off Thursday from campaigning to meet with British Prime Minister Gordon Brown, who tactfully declined an opportunity to declare a special kinship with any of the would-be successors to President Bush.

Friday, April 18, 2008

McCain tops in favorability poll

Vote '08: President

WASHINGTON – Growing numbers of people like what they see in John McCain, vaulting him into a tie with the two Democratic presidential contenders just a few months after Republicans faced a steep disadvantage.

Thursday, April 17, 2008

At debate, Clinton, Obama say either can win in fall

Vote '08: President

PHILADELPHIA – Sen. Hillary Clinton, D-N.Y., said emphatically Wednesday night that Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., can win the White House this fall, undercutting her efforts to deny him the nomination by suggesting he would lead the party to defeat. "Yes, yes, yes," she said when pressed about Obama's electability during a campaign debate six days before the Pennsylvania primary.

Wednesday, April 16, 2008

McCain calls for summer-long suspension of gas tax

PITTSBURGH – Republican Sen. John McCain on Tuesday called for a summer-long suspension of the federal gasoline tax and several tax cuts as the likely presidential nominee sought to stem the public's pain from a troubled economy. Timed for the day millions of Americans filed their tax returns, McCain offered some immediate steps as well as long-term proposals in a broad economic speech.