New York. The momentum is now on his side. On February 9 and 10, Barack Obama (photo Daniella Zalcman) swept the Democratic presidential primary and caucuses in Louisiana, Nebraska, Washington State and in Maine. He also won the Virgin Islands. Barring a Clinton upset in Maryland, Virginia and the District of Columbia, the Illinois senator is set to win three more contests on Tuesday Feb. 12.

Barack Obama announced on Monday Feb. 11 he is launching TV ads in Ohio and Texas, which are holding crucial primaries on March 4. A struggling Hillary Clinton has also targeted those two states to try to stem Obama’s momentum. On Sunday, she announced the replacement of her campaign manager Patti Sollis Doyle by longtime confidante Maggie Williams. On Monday, she insisted that Mrs Solis Doyle’s decision to step down was personal and not a problem with her job performance. “I have the greatest respect and affection for her,” Clinton said according to AP. “I’m grateful for the enormously successful job that she’s done.” Despite raising $10 million since Super Tuesday on Feb.5, the former first lady has found it difficult to follow the torrid fundraising pace set by the Obama camp. Last week, she admitted loaning $5 million to her campaign in January.

As Democratic presidential hopefuls Barack Obama and Hillary Rodham Clinton remain locked in tight battle for delegates, Obama, who has trailed Clinton in every USA TODAY poll over the past year, has edged ahead for the first time by 47%-44%. Obama’s weekend wins also took him past Clinton in the delegate count. According to the Real Clear Politics website, he now has slight leads of 5 delegates (1,143 to 1,138). 2,025 delegates are needed for the nomination.

On the Republican side, Mike Huckabee, the last rival to Senator John McCain, again rebuffed calls for him to step aside after his victories in Louisiana and Kansas over the weekend. “I’ve not spent my life getting where I am by quitting because it looked really, really tough,” the former Arkansas governor told MSNBC.
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