CNN projects: Clinton wins PennsylvaniaSen. Hillary Clinton will win the Pennsylvania primary, CNN projects. Clinton earlier acknowledged her White House bid was on the line in the state. The win would allow her to pick up a majority of the 158 delegates at stake in Pennsylvania and make a small dent in Obama's lead
PHILADELPHIA, Pennsylvania (CNN) -- Sen. Hillary Clinton will win the Pennsylvania Democratic primary, CNN projects based on early returns.
Sen. Hilllary Clinton visits Tuesday with people at a polling station in Conshohocken, Pennsylvania.
1 of 2more photos » With 15 percent of precincts reporting, she was leading Barack Obama 53-47 percent.
Obama scored big with new Democrats in Pennsylvania, early exit polls show.
One out of every seven Democratic party voters was not registered as a Democrat at the beginning of the year, and 60 percent of them cast their ballot for Obama, according to the exit polls.
Clinton fared better with voters who made up their mind in the last week, the exit polls showed.
Fifty-eight percent of those voters said they chose the New York senator. That includes voters who made up their mind in the aftermath of last week's heated Democratic debate. See the exit polls
African-American voters in Pennsylvania supported Obama by a substantial margin. According to exit polls, 92 percent cast their vote for the Illinois senator, compared to 8 percent for Clinton.
Clinton got the support of older voters, with 61 percent of those 65 years or older backing her, according to the polls.
She also received more support than Obama among white males, with 55 percent voting for her.
Clinton on Tuesday acknowledged her White House bid was on the line in Pennsylvania.
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"Well, I have to win," Clinton told ABC. "I believe that's my task. And I'm going to do everything I can to win."
Calling Pennsylvania an "uphill climb," Obama declined to predict a victory in the primary, but said his campaign showed he can compete in a big state.
Obama said "we feel good about where we are," but appeared prepared for a victory by Clinton.
"A win is 50 plus one. So, if Sen. Clinton gets over 50 percent she's won the state and, you know, I don't try to pretend that I enjoy getting 45 percent and that's a moral victory -- we've lost the state," Obama said during a stop in South Philadelphia. Watch what Obama says about the primary »
"What I do believe is that we're coming to the end of this process. We've won twice as many states, we've won the popular vote by fairly substantial margins, we've got a very big lead in pledged delegates and we competed, win or lose," he said. Watch Obama enjoy pancakes in Pittsburgh »
The race has generated high interest in the state.
Pennsylvania Secretary of State Pedro Cortes said he thought the turnout would be a record for a primary, with some counties reporting 50 and 60 percent of voters showing up at the polls.
"Pennsylvanians have seen, in terms of participation, in terms of interest, what feels like a general election -- a presidential general election -- as opposed to a presidential state primary where there's hardly any interest," Cortes said.
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About 4 million Democrats were registered to vote in Pennsylvania.
In recent weeks, Clinton has fended off calls to drop out of the race as the increasingly bruising primary fight raised worries from within the party that the daily cycle of charge-and-countercharge could hurt the Democrats' chances in the general election.
Obama leads in the delegate count -- 1,648 to 1,504, CNN estimates -- as well as the popular vote and the number of states won so far this primary season. See how the delegate race has played out so far
Clinton's victory will give her a majority of the 158 delegates at stake in Pennsylvania and make a small dent in Obama's lead. Call races for yourself and see how delegates add up »
"If she wins Pennsylvania by a hefty margin, she can prove she can win the traditional Democratic constituencies needed to win the election, mostly white working-class voters," said Gloria Borger, a CNN senior political analyst.
Could a double-digit victory make Clinton the comeback kid once again?
"If Clinton wins by more than 10 points, which was her margin in neighboring Ohio and New Jersey, her campaign will have new momentum and she will soldier on," said Bill Schneider, also a CNN senior political analyst. Watch how the polls show Clinton leading »
"If Clinton wins by single digits, we're in a political twilight zone. Nothing changes."
Neither candidate is expected to win the 2,025 delegates needed to clinch the nomination by the end of the primary season in June.
The superdelegates -- party leaders and officials -- then could decide the nomination.
Many factors were in Clinton's favor in Pennsylvania. The state has a lot of older, working-class and Catholic voters, all of whom have made up Clinton's base so far. Watch where the crucial voting areas are »
Clinton also has the backing of many of the state's top Democrats, including Gov. Ed Rendell and the mayors of Philadelphia and Pittsburgh, the state's two largest cities. Watch how Gov. Rendell and Gov. Richardson views the race »
Obama has the backing of the state's only Democratic senator, Bob Casey Jr.
After Pennsylvania, Indiana and North Carolina hold votes in two weeks as the primary season rolls on toward its end in June. E-mail to a friend
CNN's Paul Steinhauser and Chris Welch contributed to this report.
http://www.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/04/22/pa.primary/index.html