Sen. Barack Obama (Ill.) won the Maine Democratic caucus Sunday, notching his fourth consecutive victory over Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (N.Y.) since Super Tuesday.
The Illinois senator opened a wide lead over Clinton in the state, in which both candidates had campaigned Saturday. Obama won 59 percent of the caucus vote compared to Clinton’s 41 percent with 79 percent of precincts reporting, winning the majority of the state’s 24 pledged delegates..
{mosads}Obama defeated Clinton Saturday in caucuses in Washington, Nebraska, and the Virgin Islands, as well as the Louisiana primary. Obama built on his lead over Clinton in delegates Sunday and continued to outperform her in caucus states, winning his eighth of the nine state caucuses to have been decided thus far.
The Obama win came on a day of major news from the Clinton campaign, which announced both a new campaign manager and that it had raised $10 million online since Super Tuesday. Obama outraised Clinton in January, taking in $32 million for the month.
By the time of Sunday’s contest, the candidates had moved on to campaign in Maryland and Virginia, which will hold primaries Tuesday along with the District of Columbia. Obama is expected to do well in those three contests, and will seek to build on his momentum leading up to the important Ohio and Texas primaries March. 4.