McCain wins Georgia, West Virginia as Obama nears White House

Republican presidential candidate John McCain has won the states of Georgia and West Virginia, leaving him with 78 electoral votes compared with Mr Obama's 199.

A jubilant crowd of thousands gathered in Grant Park in downtown Chicago on an unseasonably mild night, confident Mr Obama would win the presidency by dawn.

They reacted each time the Democrat was announced the winner in another state - and the cheers were particularly loud when Pennsylvania and Ohio went to their candidate.

Interviews with voters suggested that almost six in 10 women were backing Mr Obama nationwide, and men leaned his way by a narrow margin.

Just over half of whites supported Mr McCain, giving him a slim advantage in a group that President George Bush carried overwhelmingly in 2004.

At the White House, spokeswoman Dana Perino said Mr Bush told dinner guests: “May God bless whoever wins tonight.”

As more projections came in, Mr Obama won the key battleground of New Mexico while Mr McCain took Louisiana.

The Democrat now leads by 199 electoral votes to 78, but the popular vote was much closer, with a 50%-49% split in favour of Mr Obama.

The difference was just 320,000 votes, but the popular vote has no role in electing the next president.