Sen. Barack Obama picked up five more delegates than Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton in Mississippi's primary Tuesday. But Clinton erased the gain Wednesday after final election results became available from the New York primary, where she gained one delegate, and the Colorado caucuses, where she gained four. That puts the count at Obama, 1,602; Clinton, 1,497, the Associated Press said. The magic number: 2,025.
MCCAIN'S VICTORY LAP IN NEW HAMPSHIRE
John McCain made a triumphant return to New Hampshire, thanking the state that launched him toward the Republican presidential nomination and telling voters he will need their support again to win in November. He also used the visit to publicly make peace with primary rivals Mitt Romney, Rudy Giuliani, Mike Huckabee and Fred Thompson. "We are reuniting our party and we've got to re-energize it," he said.
Earlier, he said he had begun to flesh out his plans for conducting the search for a running mate, but said the process is too fresh to rule anyone in or out.
Meanwhile, the AFL-CIO said it will have union protesters follow McCain to demand explanations on his positions on economic and labor issues.
The effort is part of a campaign aimed at linking McCain with what union officials call the Bush administration's failed economic policies.
FLORIDA TO OFFER DO-OVER PLAN TODAY
Florida Democrats plan to propose a vote-by-mail primary despite objections from members of the state's congressional delegation to a do-over vote.
State Senate Democratic leader Steve Geller said the party hopes to have a proposal ready by today that would allow a 30-day review period and a vote by the party's executive committee April 12 on whether to hold the election. A likely deadline for mail-in ballots to be returned would be June 3.
OBAMA: IT'S ABOUT ISSUES, NOT RACE
Democrat Barack Obama expressed frustration that racial issues keep rising, but he said most voters will base their decisions on substantive issues.
Given his wins, he said, "at this point, we should have put to rest this notion that somehow I am a candidate that's just focused on one demographic."
On another racially tinged issue, Geraldine Ferraro stepped down from an honorary post she held in Clinton's campaign amid a controversy regarding comments she made that Obama wouldn't be succeeding in his presidential race if he weren't black. Campaign spokesman Howard Wolfson said Ferraro left on her own initiative.
NEWS SERVICES
