Profiles of U.S. presidential hopefuls

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U.S. flag. Photo: EFE

DEMOCRATS:

Hillary Clinton, 60, has nationwide name recognition as the wife of former President Bill Clinton. A senator from New York who would be the first woman president, Clinton ended Super Tuesday voting on Feb. 5 in a virtual draw with rival Barack Obama. She won eight contests, including the biggest prize of the night, California. But Clinton lost contests in Nebraska, Louisiana and Washington state Saturday in what looks to be a long battle for the Democratic nomination. Clinton emphasizes efforts to insure 47 million Americans without health coverage and has criticized Obama for not having enough experience. Her once-strong lead in national opinion polls has narrowed.

Barack Obama, 46, came into Super Tuesday with momentum after a lopsided victory in South Carolina. Despite opinion polls that had predicted a win for him in California, Obama lost the state to Clinton. But he won 13 others, including his native Illinois, Georgia and Missouri. Obama, who would be the first black president, had the edge in the next elections in Louisiana, Washington, Nebraska, and may prevail as well in coming contests in Maine, Maryland, Virginia and the District of Columbia. The Illinois senator first gained national recognition when he gave the keynote address at the 2004 Democratic convention before he was elected to the U.S. Senate. He opposed the Iraq war from the beginning and portrays himself as a Washington outsider. Obama has been seeking to cast himself as the best candidate to take on Arizona Sen. John McCain, the Republican front-runner.

REPUBLICANS:

John McCain, 71, a senator from Arizona, took command of the Republican race, winning nine states on Super Tuesday, including California, the bellwether state of Missouri, New Jersey and New York. He declared himself the front-runner, a position that was strengthened with former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney's withdrawal. Despite Huckabee's wins on Saturday, McCain holds a nearly insurmountable edge in delegates and the Republican race may be almost over unless he stumbles badly. McCain attended the U.S. Naval Academy and as a Navy pilot was shot down in 1967 over Vietnam, spending the next 5-1/2 years as a prisoner of war. McCain, who turns 72 in August, would be the oldest first-term president. He has been a pro-business conservative and abortion foe, while supporting the Iraq war and calling for extra troops to quell the violence. His campaign was low on cash and hit by defections last summer but he rebounded.