FACTBOX-Profiles of U.S. presidential hopefuls
Feb 12 (Reuters) - The race for U.S. president remains at four main contenders on Tuesday. Following are brief profiles of the main candidates.
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, Washington state, the Virgin Islands and Maine over the weekend, as well as Maryland, Virginia and the District of Columbia on Tuesday. 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, also won in Louisiana, Washington, Nebraska, and prevailed 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.
REPUBLICANS:
MIKE HUCKABEE, 52, had a surprising Super Tuesday, winning five states, including his native Arkansas, West Virginia and three others in the South, where he drew strong support from evangelical Christians. On Saturday, he also won in Kansas and Louisiana but lost in Washington state. A Baptist minister and bass guitar-playing former Arkansas governor, Huckabee won the first contest in Iowa but faded. He has been mentioned as a possible vice presidential candidate. Huckabee was born in Hope, Arkansas -- the birthplace of former Democratic President Clinton. Huckabee has been winning thanks to strong support from fellow evangelicals, who admire his religious beliefs and conservative stances on social issues like abortion and gay marriage. He has vowed to remain in the race until the nomination is clinched.
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. His string of wins has sealed his position as the front-runner since former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney's withdrew. 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. (Writing by Deborah Charles and Patricia Wilson, editing by David Alexander and Todd Eastham) (To read more about the U.S. political campaign, visit Reuters "Tales from the Trail: 2008" online at blogs.reuters.com/trail08/)
