Barack Obama appears headed for a big win in the US Presidential poll with the charismatic Democrat projected to claim 194 electoral college votes against 69 of his Republican rival John McCain in the states where the voting ended today.
In a major setback to 72-year-old McCain, the critical states of Pennsylvania and New Hampshire have been projected by the media here to go for Illinois Senator Obama, who aspires to be the first black-American President of the United States.
Now Obama is just 76 electoral college votes away from the magic figure of 270 having also captured another battleground state of Ohio (20). The voting is yet to close in some of the states.
No Republican has ever won the race for the White House without capturing Ohio.
McCain, the Arizona Senator, also wanted to get hold of New Hampshire, although its has only four electoral votes, as it was a symbolic boost early on in the campaign.
The McCain campaign had for a long time thought that the State of Pennsylvania having 21 electoral college votes was very much in play and the one that had to be won if the Republican Senator was to stay relevant in the race.
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The win for Obama in Pennsylvania could be a first indication that it could be a big night for the 47-year-old Illinois Democrat not just in terms of getting past the 270 electoral college votes needed to win the Presidency but in making some very heavy breakthroughs in Republican strongholds.
Other states where Obama emerged victorious included Massachusetts (12), Illinois (21), New Jersey (15), Maine (4), Delaware (3), Maryland (10) and District of Columbia (3).
On the other hand, McCain, the Vietnam War veteran, captured states like West Virginia (5), Oklahoma (7), Kentucky (8) and Tennessee (11), according to the US media.
Obama had a total of 194 electoral college votes against 69 of McCain, the CNN projected.
The first minutes of the election night also revealed that incumbent Republicans in the US Senate were fighting for their political survival which would indicate to some that Democrats were poised to make some heavy inroads in that chamber.
Republican Senator Elizabeth Dole has been defeated in North Carolina in one of the first blows to the Grand Old Party at the hands of Democratic candidate Kay Hagan.
Other Republicans in the Senate fighting to keep their seats are Minority leader Senator Mitch McConnell of Kentucky and John Sununu of New Hampshire.