Obama seeks seven straight wins

Updated 23.12 Tue Feb 12 2008

Keywords: Mike Huckabee, John McCain, Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton

Presidential hopeful Barack Obama is hoping to take seven straight wins - and gain the edge over rival Democrat Hillary Clinton.

Voters are heading to the polls in Virginia, Maryland and the District of Columbia, with the Illinois senator widely expected to receive their support.

Voters are heading to the polls in Virginia, Maryland and the District of Columbia, with the Illinois senator widely expected to receive their support

A clean sweep of these contests would make it seven-in-a-row for the 46-year-old, and could put him in the lead in the race for Democratic delegates.

Meanwhile, Mrs Clinton is heading to a rally in El Paso, Texas, where she hopes to get her campaign back on track after losing last weekend's contests and parting with her campaign manager.

The former first lady tends to perform better in bigger states, and both Texas and Ohio hold their contests on March 4.

In the Republican contest, John McCain hopes a victory will help silence his critics after a series of embarrassing losses to former Baptist minister Mike Huckabee.

Mr McCain, a former Vietnam prisoner of war and Arizona senator, still needs to convince the party's core conservatives that he is one of them.