Obama predicted to win Georgia

Barack Obama will win Georgia in the race for the Democratic presidential nomination, CNN predicted today.

Mr Obama would also win his home state of Illinois while Hillary Clinton would take Oklahoma, the station projected.

CNN also projected that Mrs Clinton will win Arkansas, a state where she was First Lady for many years.

On the Republican side, John McCain will win both Connecticut and Illinois and Mitt Romney will take his home state of Massachusetts, the projections show. Mike Huckabee will win the Arkansas Republican primary, his home state.

Mr McCain will also win New Jersey and its 52 delegates, CNN said.

A Clinton campaign spokesman said: “We're very excited that Hillary Clinton has added a third red state in her victory column.

Clinton now has scored strong victories in Oklahoma, Tennessee and Arkansas.

“The Obama campaign has been spinning that they have a monopoly on red states; tonight we showed they don’t.

“With these important victories, Hillary Clinton has demonstrated that she can compete and win in red states.”

Exit polls showed 74% of Obama voters said change was the most important factor to them, with just 3% citing experience.

Among Clinton voters however, 45% said experience was most important, with 29% opting for change.

Most McCain voters cite experience as important, while it is the values of Mr Romney and Mr Huckabee which attract their voters.

Obama's victory over Clinton in the Southern state of Georgia was expected and a good start to his Super Tuesday campaign.

The state has a large African-American electorate and Mr Obama, who hopes to become the first black commander-in-chief, was able to replicate his victory in South Carolina.

As the results come in, all eyes will again be on delegate-rich California.

If Mr Obama can win in California, where he enjoyed a late surge in the polls to tie the state with Mrs Clinton, it will be a significant blow to her campaign.

Along with California, Massachusetts, New York, Missouri, Arizona and New Mexico will all be key.

Senator Ted Kennedy's recent endorsement of Mr Obama could help him in Massachusetts, where the former First Lady once had a comfortable lead in the polls, and an Obama win in her home state of New York, or neighbouring New Jersey, would raise serious questions about her electability in November.

And Missouri, Arizona and New Mexico could go either way, as the pair are close in the polls.

Earlier, in the Republican contest, Romney accused his opponents of making a "backroom deal" after Mike Huckabee won West Virginia in the first results of the day.

Supporters of Republican front-runner McCain flocked to the former Baptist preacher when it became clear after the first round of voting that Mitt Romney, Mr McCain's closest rival in the polls, looked set to win.

In the second and final ballot, Mr Huckabee beat Mr Romney with 51.5% of the 1,133 delegates attending the state Republican Party's first-ever presidential nominating convention. He took all of the state's 18 delegates.

Mr Romney was backed by 47.4%.

Mr Romney and Mr Huckabee made personal appeals to the convention before the vote, but Mr McCain did not.

Beth Myers, Mr Romney's campaign manager, said: "Unfortunately, this is what Senator McCain's inside Washington ways look like: he cut a backroom deal with the tax-and-spend candidate he thought could best stop Governor Romney's campaign of conservative change.

"Governor Romney had enough respect for the Republican voters of West Virginia to make an appeal to them about the future of the party based on issues.

"This is why he led on today's first ballot.

"Sadly, Senator McCain cut a Washington backroom deal in a way that once again underscores his legacy of working against Republicans who are interested in championing conservative policies and rebuilding the party."

Super Tuesday was the most significant day in the race to the White House so far and the results coming from California and Massachusetts will be key to the Republican race for the party's nomination.

Mr McCain's lead in California, whose governor Arnold Schwarzenegger endorsed him last week, has narrowed recently and a win for Mr Romney in the largest US state would leave him unlikely to pull out of the race any time soon - regardless of any other results.

In a sign of Mr McCain's growing confidence, the Arizona senator has been campaigning in Mr Romney's home state of Massachusetts.

A McCain win there, along with victory in California, is likely to spell the end for Mr Romney's presidential aspirations in this campaign.