Obama Wins North Carolina Primary; Indiana Remains Too Close to Call

Meanwhile, Sen. John McCain (Ariz.), the presumptive Republican nominee, cruised to a largely uncontested win in Indiana.

The most recent polling suggested that today's vote would produce a split verdict, with Clinton taking Indiana and Obama winning North Carolina.

The economy dominated the list of voter concerns in both Indiana and North Carolina, according to early exit polling. More than six in 10 voters said the economy was the most important issue facing the country -- the highest percentage in any state that has voted to date.

Both Clinton and Obama focused heavily on the economy in the final days of the campaign, arguing that they better understand the economic woes of middle-class voters. That battle may have been fought to a draw, however, because strong majorities of voters in both states said that each of the Democrats shared their values.

In a sign of how the campaigns view the likely outcomes in the two states, Obama watched returns in North Carolina while Clinton spent the night in Indiana.

Clinton stopped by the Indianapolis Motor Speedway this morning to claim the endorsement of racecar driver Sarah Fisher. Asked about the likely outcome of today's votes, Clinton shied away from predictions. "Every race is filled with the unexpected," she said. "You never know what's going to happen from day to day."

Obama, too, was circumspect about his chances during an appearance this morning at Butler University. "I like winning every state," Obama said. "I think there's going to be a good turnout. People seem very enthusiastic."

Anecdotal evidence at polling places across the two states backed up Obama's sentiment. At a polling place in southeastern Raleigh, roughly 234 ballots had been cast by 1:30 p.m., nearly four times as many as usual, according to a report in the Raleigh News & Observer. The Marion (Ind.) County Clerk said turnout today looked more like a general election than a primary and urged patience for voters stuck in long lines, according to the Indianapolis Star.

Up for grabs tonight are a total of 187 pledged delegates to the Democratic National Convention -- 115 from North Carolina and 72 from Indiana. Today's voting marks the last major allocation of pledged delegates, with a series of smaller states including Oregon, West Virginia, South Dakota and Montana set to vote later this month or in early June.

Obama currently leads Clinton in total delegates by 1,745 to 1,608, according to an Associated Press tally, with 2,025 delegate votes needed to secure the nomination. Obama also enjoys a popular vote margin of roughly 500,000 and has won 30 contests to 15 for Clinton before today.

While tonight's results are unlikely to drastically alter the math of the nomination fight, there is clearly much at stake for both sides.

For Clinton, Indiana represents the latest in a series of do-or-die votes as she seeks to solidify her argument to superdelegates that nominating Obama would pose a serious risk to the party because of his struggles to bring white working class voters into the fold.

Clinton's campaign advisers knows that the nomination math works against her, but they believe that a convincing win in Indiana coupled with a stronger-than-expected showing in North Carolina will force superdelegates and the media to reassess the race.

Obama, too, had much to gain or lose in today's voting. Since losing primaries in Ohio, Texas and Rhode Island on March 4, Obama has weathered a barrage of negative news coverage -- some of his own making and some beyond his control.

The re-emergence of Wright, the controversial Chicago pastor whom Obama rebuked but did not disavow earlier in the spring, has forced the Illinois senator to once again address an issue that his campaign had hoped had gone away. After Wright's media tour last week, which included racially divisive comments during a fiery question and answer session at the National Press Club, Obama held a press conference in which he severed his relationship with his former pastor.

Results from early exit polling seeking to gauge the impact of the Wright controversy showed that about half of the voters described the issue as important to their choice but as many said it had little effect on their final decision. Interestingly, both black and white voters were as likely to say Obama's relationship with Wright played a major role in their decision. One x-factor in the Wright calculus is that about three-quarters of voters in Indiana and North Carolina said they made up their mind about who to support more than a week ago.

Obama also set off a media feeding frenzy when comments he made at a private fundraiser about economically strapped small town residents and their tendency to "cling" to guns or religion were first revealed. The ensuing controversy was a major distraction for Obama in the lead up to Pennsylvania's April 22 primary and was blamed, in part, for his poor showing in the Keystone State.

In light of the many challenges and distractions he has faced over the past two months, Obama's campaign views today's vote as its best chance to dispel doubts about the senator's electoral appeal. A win in Indiana would take significant air out of the Clinton camp's argument that he cannot win blue-collar voters who are worried about the state of the economy.

The prominence of the economy as an issue in both states came into sharp relief over the weekend as Clinton and Obama battled over how best to address the rising cost of gasoline.

Clinton came out in support of a proposal to suspend the federal gas tax for the summer while Obama decried such a plan as political pandering at its worst.

"Hillary wants the oil companies to pay for the gas tax this summer -- so you don't have to," says the narrator in an ad Clinton is airing in both states. "Barack Obama wants you to keep paying; $8 billion in all. Hillary is the one who gets it."

Obama quickly retorted with an ad of his own, calling Clinton's proposal a "gimmick" and seeking to portray the plan as the exact sort of political maneuvering he is trying to overcome. "The same old Washington politics won't fix our problems," says the narrator in Obama's ad.

Polls opened at 6 a.m. EDT in Indiana and were scheduled to close at 6 p.m. Polling hours in North Carolina were from 6:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. EDT.

Washington Post reporter William Branigin contributed to this report.