Last Tuesday was Super Tuesday and it was the biggest day in the 2008 primaries, but it was far from the end of the road for the Republicans and the Democrats.

Over the weekend, Barack Obama swept four Democratic primaries in Louisiana, Nebraska, Washington and the Virgin Islands. He took the lead over Hillary Clinton in the count of those delegates who are pledged to a specific candidate. His lead is 918 to 885.

But, Mrs. Clinton leads in the super delegate count by 223 to 131. Super delegates are not required to vote for the candidate who won in their state.

According to CNN calculations, Ms. Clinton leads Mr. Obama in total delegates 1,108 to 1,049 going into Sunday’s Maine caucus. The candidates need 2,025 delegates to win the nomination.

In other Democratic news, Ms. Clinton replaced her campaign advisor on Sunday. She appointed a long-time advisor, Maggie Williams, to the top spot in her campaign.

On the Republican side, the weekend started out well for frontrunner John McCain. His closest rival, Mitt Romney, suspended his campaign, leaving only Ron Paul and Mike Huckabee in the race.

But, Mike Huckabee won Kansas and Louisiana over the weekend and promised to continue fighting. He said, “I majored in miracles.”

Mr. McCain congratulated Mr. Huckabee and then went out and won Washington. Mr. McCain said that Mr. Huckabee was only capable of chipping away at Mr. McCain’s substantial lead.

Mr. McCain already has 723 delegates. He needs 1,191 for the nomination. The Republicans do not have super delegates.

Source: CNN Election Center

BLOG QUESTION
Do you think the Democratic nomination will be decided before the national convention or will it be decided at the national convention?