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Posted: March 4, 2008 7:34 PM
Obama, McCain Projected to Rack up Early (Albeit Small) Vt. Wins
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Sens. John McCain, R-Ariz., and Barack Obama, D-Ill., picked up early wins Tuesday night in the Green Mountain State’s primary, according to media projections.

McCain will win 17 delegates in Vermont’s winner-takes-all contest, while Obama will split the 17 Democratic delegates proportionally with his rival New York Sen. Hillary Clinton.

Obama won at least eight delegates in Vermont, with seven more still to be awarded, the Associated Press reported. He led there in pre-primary polling. His victory there makes it 12 straight contests won by Obama since Super Tuesday.

With the GOP nomination within arm’s reach, McCain’s campaign planned a victory party worthy of a legitimate nominee for his Tuesday night celebration.

If McCain wins 170 delegates in Tuesday’s contests, his campaign will be ready with two confetti cannons, balloons and a “1,191” banner denoting the magic number for the GOP nomination, according to MSNBC.

But while McCain looks to be well-positioned, Obama still faces a showdown with Clinton in Ohio, Texas and Rhode Island and a possible battle for Democratic super delegates that could drag into the summer.

In early exit polling conducted by the AP, voters in Vermont said the war in Iraq was their top concern.

“Vermont used to be a beauty pageant,” Obama voter John Sherman told the AP. “It used to be decided by the time it got here but now, tiny little Vermont has a say in the outcome.”

Polls in Ohio close at 7:30 p.m. ET, and at 9 p.m. ET in Rhode Island. In Texas most close at 8 p.m. ET with a few remaining open until 9 p.m. ET.