By John Whitesides, Political Correspondent
MILWAUKEE (Reuters) - Sen. John McCain won the Wisconsinvote to select a Republican presidential candidate on Tuesday,moving closer toward locking up the party's nomination afterhis leading rivals bowed out of the race, U.S. media projected.
McCain, the overwhelming front-runner, is all but certainto win the Republican presidential nomination, but continuedopposition from former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee has forcedhim to keep campaigning and spending his resources to avoid anembarrassing loss.
Obama and Clinton were locked in a tight race in Wisconsin,where Obama aims to extend his string of eight straightvictories in Democratic nominating contests. Democrats inHawaii, where native Obama is a heavy favourite, also vote onTuesday.
Up for grabs in the two states are a combined 94 delegatesto the August convention that selects the Democraticpresidential nominee in November's election. Obama has a slightlead in pledged delegates won in state presidential contests.
Democrats open their caucuses for presidential preferencevoting in Hawaii at 5 a.m. British time on Wednesday.
Republicans also hold a primary in Wisconsin, withfront-runner John McCain looking to continue his march to thenomination. McCain, an Arizona senator, has a huge andessentially insurmountable lead in delegates over his lastremaining major rival, former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee.
"With your help today we will take another step," McCaintold about 150 supporters in Milwaukee.
In the Democratic race, Obama and Clinton already haveturned their attention to March 4 contests in two of thebiggest states, Ohio and Texas, which have a rich lode of 334convention delegates at stake.
DEMOCRATS LOOK AHEAD
Clinton is the early favourite in both, although one publicopinion poll in Texas on Monday showed the race in astatistical dead heat. Clinton, a New York senator and formerfirst lady, campaigned in Ohio and Obama in Texas on Tuesday.
Wisconsin is a swing state with a large population of theblue-collar workers and rural voters who have been a big partof Clinton's constituency, and few of the black voters who haveoverwhelmingly supported Obama.
The primary also is an open contest allowing participationby Republicans and independents, not the small, closed caucusstates where Obama has performed well.
Republicans in Washington state also hold a primary, whichis the second half of their two-tiered nominating contest. Thestate's Republicans held a caucus on February 9, won narrowlyby McCain.
The voting ends for Washington Republicans at 4 a.m.British time on Wednesday.
(Additional reporting by Caren Bohan and Jason Szep;Editing by Lori Santos)
(To read more about the U.S. political campaign, visitReuters "Tales from the Trail: 2008" online athttp://blogs.reuters.com/trail08/)
