Obama surges towards Presidency; captures Ohio, Pennsylvania

Sridhar Krishnaswami

Washington, Nov 5 (PTI) Barack Obama, aspiring to be the
first black President of the U.S., was on the brink of
creating history Wednesday as the Democrat captured the
critical states of Pennsylvania and Ohio in his quest for the
White House, claiming 207 electoral college votes against 95
of Republican rival John McCain so far.

The 47-year-old first-time Senator from Illinois was just
63 votes away from the magic figure of 270 out of the 538
electoral college votes to clinch the 44th Presidency.

CNN projected that Obama had 207 electoral college votes
with states such as Pennsylvania (21), Ohio (20), Michigan
(17), Wisconsin (10), Minnesota (10), Iowa (7), New York (31),
Massachusetts (12), Illinois (21), New Jersey (15), Maine (4),
Delaware (3), Maryland (10) and District of Columbia (3) in
his kitty.

71-year-old McCain had 95 electoral college votes from
the states like West Virginia (5), Louisiana (9), Wyoming (3),
North Dakota (3), Georgia (15), Oklahoma (7), Kentucky
(8), Arkansas (6) and Tennessee (11).

The southern state of Georgia was seen as a long shot for
Senator Obama. The camps are still awaiting the results of the
battleground states of Virginia and Florida.

The Democrats are also having a political windfall in the
Senate races -- aside from packing home Republican Senator
Elizabeth Dole from North Carolina, Democrats have won New
Mexico and New Hampshire pushing, their tally in the
100-member Senate to 53 by themselves and 55 if the two
Independents are factored in.

The first minutes of the election night revealed
that incumbent Republicans in the U.S. Senate were fighting
for their political survival.

The Ohio win is considered a huge victory for Obama as no
Republican has ever won the race for the White House without
capturing the Buckeye state.

Winning Ohio along with Pennsylvania pushes Senator Obama
closer to a major election night for the loss of the Buckeye
state is a crushing blow to McCain who campaigned long and
hard in the Red State.

Reports from Phoenix, Arizona, speak of a gloomy mood
inside the McCain campaign with his supporters not even privy
to the election projections that are being made. PTI SK
AM