FACTBOX: Profiles of U.S. presidential hopefuls

(Reuters) - Heading into Tuesday's nominating contests, four main contenders remain in the race for president.

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 February 5 in a virtual draw with rival Barack Obama. She won eight contests, including the biggest prize of the night -- California. But Clinton lost 11 straight contests and her once-strong lead in national opinion polls has evaporated.

BARACK OBAMA, 46, came into Super Tuesday with momentum after a lopsided victory in South Carolina. Despite losses in the big states of California, New York and New Jersey, he won 13 others and then went on to capture 11 straight wins. Obama, who would be the first black president, first gained national recognition when he gave the keynote address at the 2004 Democratic convention before he was elected to the Senate from Illinois.

REPUBLICANS:

MIKE HUCKABEE, 52, had a surprising Super Tuesday, winning five states, including his native Arkansas and three states in the South, where he drew strong support from evangelical Christians. He trails Republican front-runner John McCain in delegates needed to secure the nomination. A Baptist minister and former Arkansas governor, Huckabee has been mentioned as a possible vice presidential candidate and received support from fellow evangelicals who admire his conservative stances. 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, Missouri, New Jersey and New York. McCain holds a nearly insurmountable edge in delegates. The U.S. Naval Academy graduate and Navy pilot spent 5 1/2 years as a prisoner of war in Vietnam. 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.

(Writing by Deborah Charles and Patricia Wilson, editing by David Alexander and Stacey Joyce)

(To read more about the U.S. political campaign, visit Reuters "Tales from the Trail: 2008" online at blogs.reuters.com/trail08/)