McCain and Clinton Head for Showdown

By Wesley Johnson

John McCain and Hillary Clinton emerged as their parties’ front- runners for the presidential nomination yesterday after victories in the race to the White House.

Mr McCain, the former prisoner of war and Arizona senator, beat Mike Huckabee in a close contest in South Carolina and greeted supporters with a beaming smile as he told them he had served America his entire adult life and was "prepared for the high office I seek."

Earlier, the former First Lady built on her victories in New Hampshire and Michigan by winning another close battle with Barack Obama, this time in Nevada’s caucuses.

The two experienced winners will be hoping their victories give them crucial momentum as the Democrats head to South Carolina next weekend and the Republicans focus on Florida’s primary election on January 29.

Mr McCain’s presidential bid looked doomed last summer after weeks of poor fundraising, significant staff departures, and falling poll numbers. But with 95 per cent of the votes in, he had 33 per cent of the votes, just three per cent more than second-placed Mr Huckabee.

Mr McCain was greeted with chants of "Mac is back, Mac is back" as he thanked supporters at his campaign headquarters in Charleston.

"We have a way to go my friends, and there are some tough contests ahead," he said. "I’m not running for president to be somebody, but to do something."

Referring to America’s troubled economy, a key issue for voters so far, he said: "Nothing is inevitable in our country. We are the captains of our fate."

The 71-year-old, who would be America’s oldest first-term President, benefited from the state’s many military veterans and saw his three rivals – former Baptist minister Mr Huckabee, Mormon Mitt Romney and former actor Fred Thompson – split the far-right Republican vote.

Mr McCain, whose 2000 election campaign was derailed in the state, smiled widely and joked: "It took us a while, but what’s eight years between friends."

Meanwhile, in the Nevada Democratic caucuses, Mrs Clinton claimed 51 per cent of the vote to Mr Obama’s 45 per cent as former North Carolina Senator John Edwards came a distant third (four per cent).

The former First Lady told supporters in Las Vegas: "This is one step on a long journey."

Entrance polls showed she earned 64 per cent of the important Latino votes.

Later, asked why she thought she won, Mrs Clinton said: "I think it was the message of real results, that we want to solve problems.

"They want somebody who is going to give them solutions, not just rhetoric. They want to hear what it is you’re going to do and I’ve been very specific about my plans."

Mrs Clinton won the popular vote, but estimates showed the Obama campaign was likely to gain more delegates from Nevada for the national convention where the party’s nominee will be chosen – 13 as opposed to Mrs Clinton’s 12.

Mr Obama said he was "proud" of his campaign and said voters were "tired of businessas-usual in Washington".

A victory for Mr Obama in South Carolina on Saturday, which has a large African American electorate, is now crucial for his campaign.

(c) 2008 Birmingham Post; Birmingham (UK). Provided by ProQuest Information and Learning. All rights Reserved.