Hillary Clinton's landslide West Virginia victory barely made a dent in Barack Obama's big lead in the Democratic presidential race but she promised to keep pushing until the front-runner clinches the nomination.

Obama retains an almost unassailable advantage in delegates who will select the nominee at the party convention in August. He gained the support on Wednesday of two more superdelegates, who are free to back any candidate.

The new support came despite Obama's crushing 41-point loss in West Virginia, where he once again had difficulty attracting white working-class voters who have flocked to Clinton's side in the past few months.

Exit polls showed Obama, who would be the first black U.S. president, won support from less than one-quarter of white voters without a college degree.

Clinton hoped her showing could cause some Democrats to rethink Obama's candidacy and bolster her case that she is the Democrat with the best chance to beat Republican John McCain in November's election.

"This race isn't over yet. Neither of us has the total delegates it takes to win," the New York senator and former first lady said at a victory celebration in Charleston, West Virginia.

"I am more determined than ever to carry on this campaign until everyone has had a chance to make their voices heard," she said, looking ahead to the final five nominating contests that conclude on June 3.

Agencies

(China Daily 05/15/2008 page12)