Race for White House heads down South

Updated 23.28 Sun Jan 20 2008

Keywords: barack obama, mike huckabee, john mccain, united states, hillary clinton, election, america, world

US presidential contenders John McCain and Barack Obama have headed to the South of the US as their fierce campaign for the White House continues.

Republican McCain, who beat rival Mike Huckabee in South Carolina, flew to Florida and said the state would give him a boost toward the nomination for the November election.

"This is one step on a long journey throughout the country" - Hillary Clinton

The Arizona senator said: "I think we are doing very well. I think Florida is very important. I don't know if it's a must-win, but it's certainly a very, very important race."

Meanwhile, the Democratic presidential contenders turned their attention to South Carolina and both spoke at black churches on the eve of Martin Luther King's birthday. More than half of the voters in South Carolina's Democratic primary are expected to be black.

At the civil rights leader's home Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta, Obama quoted King's belief that "unity is the great need of the hour" and said it was still needed today to overcome a deficit in America.

Clinton, a New York senator who would be the first woman US.president, spoke to a predominantly black Baptist church in New York City's Harlem and reminded the congregation King was supporting striking garbage workers when he was assassinated in Memphis in 1968.

Neither party has established a clear front-runner in the race to pick the two candidates to contest the November 4 election to succeed Bush, as the first major state-by-state battles produced multiple winners.

After South Carolina and Florida, both parties turn their attention to "Super Tuesday" on February 5, when 22 state contests will be held.