Seattle: Democratic rivals Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama scrambled for every last vote today with little hope that a fresh round of primaries would break the deadlock in their tight White House race. Four states were holding presidential primaries or caucuses for either the Democratic or Republican nomination in the first votes since the Super Tuesday contests ended in a stalemate for Clinton and Obama.

Caucuses in the far northwest state of Washington offered the biggest prize, 78 delegates to the party's national nominating convention, out of around 200 up for grabs on the weekend. Both senators campaigned fiercely in Washington yesterday in their monumental battle to represent the Democratic Party in the November 4 presidential election, with Clinton promoting her universal health care plan and Obama pushing his message of change in his bid to be America s first black president.

With every state race crucial, early today both Clinton and Obama were pitching for votes across the country in Maine, the country s northeastern-most state, which holds its nominating caucuses tomorrow to decide 34 delegates. By today afternoon both were then to head to Virginia, which with neighboring Maryland and Washington DC hold primaries on Tuesday with another 200 delegates at stake.

The two rivals were scheduled to appear today night at the state Democratic Party's high-profile annual Jefferson-Jackson dinner in Richmond. Polls for yesterday's first contests, the Republican and Democratic primaries in Louisiana, opened at 16:30 IST.

Source : PTI