By John Whitesides, Political Correspondent
In the biggest day of voting to choose party candidates who will contest the election to succeed President George W. Bush in November, Obama won 13 states and Clinton took eight.
McCain won nine contests, including victories in California and the Northeast, to take a commanding lead in the Republican race.
The Arizona senator whose campaign was all but dead last summer captured a huge haul of the convention delegates who select the party's presidential nominee, taking several big states where delegates are granted on a winner-take-all basis.
RACE SET TO CONTINUE
A new round of contests in a half-dozen states are scheduled within the next week, including Maryland, Virginia and the District of Columbia, which are likely to give a clearer idea whether Obama can continue his surge against Clinton.
Huckabee said fund-raising has picked up and he expected to be competitive in upcoming contests in Virginia, Kansas and Texas.
The close Democratic contest, which has generated wide public interest, gives voters the chance to nominate a candidate who could be the first black U.S. president, Illinois senator Obama, or the first female president, New York senator and former first lady Clinton.
In the Republican race, the Post said McCain had 613 delegates to Romney's 269 and Huckabee's 190, with 1,191 needed to win.
Romney, a former Massachusetts governor and wealthy venture capitalist, has argued McCain lacks the conservative credentials to be the party nominee.
ECONOMY TOPS ISSUES
With no knock-out blow delivered in Tuesday's contests, some commentators worried about a fresh round of divisiveness.
Obama scored victories in Alabama, Alaska, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Georgia, Idaho, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, North Dakota, Utah and his home state of Illinois.
Obama maintained his strong showing among black voters but also expanded support among whites, winning 40 percent in Georgia, exit polls said. Clinton won heavy support from women and Hispanics, exit polls showed.
Huckabee, a Baptist preacher, won in Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Tennessee and West Virginia.
Huckabee's wins were fuelled by strong support from evangelical Christians, and he split votes with Romney among conservatives unhappy with McCain.
(For more about the U.S. political campaign, visit Reuters "Tales from the Trail: 2008" online at http://blogs.reuters.com/trail08/)
