8 Questions the Potomac Primary Could Answer

3) Will Edwards Endorse Someone Soon?

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Area Voters Cast Primary Ballots

Maryland, Virginia and Washington, D.C. residents discuss who they voted for in Tuesday's Potomac Primary.

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The candidates have started courting their former rival and he has been receptive to their overtures. That is a sign to Democratic insiders that he's getting ready to declare his support for one of them. The cynical view is that he'll endorse "as soon as he gets what he wants," as one strategist put it, though it's not clear what that is. Another wrote that Edwards would risk irrelevance in the biggest race in decades if he stays on the sidelines now, although that is not a universal view.

An endorsement would make a big splash -- the biggest since Sen. Edward M. Kennedy announced his support of Obama -- but how much it matters isn't clear. Given Edwards's criticism of Clinton during the debates, it would be a blow to Obama to lose him. Edwards could help Obama, particularly among white men in Ohio and Texas. The candidates' competition for his support suggests they believe it would be very valuable.

4) Will Obama Catch Clinton Among Superdelegates?

Yes -- if he keeps winning. Clinton has clear advantages in this battle for party insiders and has used them to build up an early lead. At this point, however, the superdelegates are likely to wait to see how the nomination battle unfolds, at least over the next month.

There are about 800 such delegates, and about half of them are still uncommitted. They may hold the balance of power in determining the nomination, given the fact that it will be difficult for either candidate to reach the 2,025-delegate threshold needed to win the nomination based on the results of remaining contests.

Clinton's money problems and staff shake-up may rattle some superdelegates who had assumed at the start of this campaign that she had the superior fundraising capacity and a seasoned team that could weather unexpected problems.

Few know this delegate game better than Harold Ickes, who is overseeing Clinton's superdelegate hunt. But Republican consultant Mike Murphy said that if Obama sweeps contests today and then wins Ohio, Texas or both, look out. "It'll be a combination of true enthusiasm [for Obama] and the old pol's rule of 'Be for what is going to happen,' " he wrote.

5) Does a Long Democratic Contest Help McCain?

Of course. The extended Democratic race affords the Republican front-runner any number of advantages, starting with the ability to get some rest. The candidates and their staffs are worn out mentally and physically after what is already the longest and most intensive nomination battle in history. As Clinton and Obama continue at a punishing pace, John McCain can relax and recharge.

Beyond that, McCain will be able to campaign solely against the Democrats, beginning a general election argument long before Clinton or Obama can. The money he raises between now and the convention can be put to that purpose as well. He can start to unify the GOP -- not a moment too soon, in his case -- and begin to build a general-election field organization.

But the Democratic race has captured the country's attention, and McCain will find it hard to get much attention as long as that battle continues. If it ends in a civil way, the Democratic base will be energized and enthusiastic. Obama and Clinton also will gain potentially valuable exposure in some upcoming general-election battlegrounds that McCain may not. Democrats may worry about a long contest damaging the party's chances in November, but some Republicans doubt this is going to be a major factor come fall.

6) Will McCain Prove He Can Win Over Conservatives?

This remains Topic A in Republican circles, and Virginia's results will help answer the question. With Mike Huckabee still in the race, McCain will struggle, as the weekend's results showed. On Saturday, Huckabee easily won Kansas and narrowly won Louisiana. As Louisiana exit polls showed, McCain was thumped among conservatives and white evangelical Christians.

McCain's efforts to reach out to conservative leaders may produce some positive results, but expect continued resistance. He is not a schmoozer or sweet-talker and will find this part of being the party's standard-bearer onerous.

Once there are no alternatives, Republicans and many Democrats expect that conservatives will line up behind McCain. "The eventual answer is 'yes,' " wrote Republican pollster Neil Newhouse, "but getting from here to there isn't necessarily going to be all that easy."