Obama picks up 2 Ohio pledged delegates

5/13/2008

CHARLESTON, W.Va. Democratic presidential contender Barack Obama picked up two pledged delegates Monday from the official results of the Ohio presidential primary held March 4.

The Associated Press had withheld the two delegates because of the large number of provisional ballots cast in Ohio on Election Day.

Almost 100,000 provisional ballots were counted, according to the Ohio Secretary of State s office.

Obama leads in delegates needed to secure the Democratic presidential nomination, even though he s expected to lose badly on Tuesday to rival Hillary Rodham Clinton in West Virginia.

He ll try to move on from the loss by campaigning in Missouri, a state President Bush won in 2000 and 2004.

Obama also picked up four more superdelegates Monday, including Sen. Daniel Akaka of Hawaii and Rep. Tom Allen of Maine. He also added Idaho Democratic Chairman Keith Roark and Dolly Strazar, a member of the Democratic National Committee from Hawaii. Obama, who once trailed Clinton in superdelegates, now leads with 281 to her 271.5.

Clinton planned four campaign stops in West Virginia on Monday, hoping for a big margin Tuesday that could slow the continuing drift of Democratic superdelegates to Obama s camp.