Obama overtakes Clinton in race for super-delegates

WASHINGTON: Ahead of their next poll encounter in West Virginia, Democratic presidential front-runner, Barack Obama has eclipsed Hillary Clinton for the first time in endorsements from super-delegates, who could tilt the balance in the close nomination contest. During the weekend, four super-delegates pledged to support Obama, including two who previously supported Clinton, the former first lady.

Obama, 47, who hopes to be the first African-American US president, now has 275 super-delegates to Clinton's 271, US media reported.

The nearly 800 super-delegates are Democratic officials who hold the balance of power in determining the party's presidential nominee and can vote for whomever they choose.

Clinton, 60, who enjoyed a massive lead in super-delegate support before the party's first primary in Iowa in January. But a string of wins for Obama has convinced many of them to come out in his favour.

Obama already has 1,864 delegates from party conventions and Clinton has 1,697. He is just 160 delegates short of the 2,025 needed to secure the Democratic Party nomination.

Obama, the Illinois senator, won convincingly in the May 6 North Carolina primary; while Clinton narrowly won in Indiana. Six more states hold primaries before the Democratic Party declares at its nominating convention in August who will take on presumptive Republican candidate John McCain.

Meanwhile, West Virginians will head to the polls on May 13 for the state's Democratic primary where Clinton and Obama will again lock horns.

West Virginia is expected to go for Clinton and pre-polls show that she has a 43-point advantage over Obama, 66 per cent to 23 per cent.