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A huge surge of support for Barack Obama has wiped out Hillary Clinton's once formidable leads in four of the biggest "Super Tuesday" states, according to new polls that show the Illinois senator riding an ever greater wave of momentum.
According to another poll, Mr Obama is now in a virtual tie with Mrs Clinton among Democrats nationally, 48 hours before Tuesday's 22-state contest and after months in which the former First Lady held double-digit supremacy over her rival. The Washington Post/ABC News survey showed Mrs Clinton leading 47 points to 43.
As the Democratic rivals blitz most of the 22 states voting on February 5 with the most expensive television advertisement campaign in US primary history, Mrs Clinton was forced to predict a "close race" that will drag on after the nationwide Super Tuesday contest.
Confronted with the new polls, she told Fox News Sunday: "This is a very contested race for the nomination."
Referring to the fact that more primaries and caucused are being held on Super Tuesday than on any previous single day in a nomination battle, she said: "This is something nobody's ever gone through before. We're kind of making this up as we go along."
Both campaigns are now targeting states that vote after February 5 as they prepare to dig in for a battle for delegates not seen in a generation.
Mr Obama's recent surge, coming after a slew of endorsements that continued today – Bobby Kennedy's widow Ethel joined the ranks of Kennedys lining up behind him – spells considerable trouble for Mrs Clinton if it is borne out in voting booths on Tuesday.
It will be particularly troubling for the former First Lady if he greatly exceeds expectations in California, the biggest prize on Super Tuesday with 441 delegates up for grabs, and long seen as one of her firewalls.
New polls put Mr Obama either just behind Mrs Clinton in California – with two having him edging ahead – obliterating what had been the former First lady's enormous lead in the Golden State. As recently as mid-January, she was 12 points up, and led Mr Obama by 25 points there in October.
A California Field Poll saw Mr Obama closing the gap to two points, with Mrs Clinton ahead 36 to 34 per cent. A Rasmussen poll had Mr Obama ahead by one, 45 per cent to 44. A Reuters survey put Mr Obama ahead 45 to 41, while a McClatchy/MSNBC poll put Mrs Clinton ahead 45 per cent to 36.
All the surveys suggest that Mr Obama has made considerable ground among white voters, a voting bloc in which Mrs Clinton has enjoyed a significant advantage. Mr Obama has also made up enormous ground in New Jersey, Missouri, and Arizona, two other big Super Tuesday states where Mrs Clinton held big leads just days ago.
The McClatchy survey put Mr Obama just two points behind his rival in Arizona, a western state where Mrs Clinton led by over 20 per cent a fortnight ago.
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More:
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/us_and_americas/us_elections/article3299816.eceGreat news!
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