Clinton aide sets June end to Democrats' race

By Chris Baltimore

CHARLESTON, West Virginia (Reuters) - Democrat Hillary Clinton could drop her fading U.S. presidential bid if she still trails Barack Obama in the nominating contests in early June, her campaign chairman said on Thursday.

Chairman Terry McAuliffe said Clinton and her husband, former President Bill Clinton, would unite behind front-runner Barack Obama if he won the right to face Republican John McCain in November's presidential election.

He said there was little reason to halt her longshot effort to catch Obama until the voting in their nominating fight ends on June 3. Six states hold contests until then.

"She can win the states we need to win in the general election. Why should Hillary Clinton -- until there is a nominee with the number of necessary delegates -- why should she get out?" Terry McAuliffe asked on NBC's "Today" show.

"It'll be over early June," McAuliffe said. "We've all said we'll be together at the end. If Hillary doesn't win, Hillary, President Clinton, myself, we'll be over there helping Senator Obama."

With just 217 delegates at stake in the final six contests, Clinton has no realistic chance of overtaking Obama's lead in the number of pledged delegates who will help pick the nominee at the August Democratic convention or in popular votes won in state-by-state nominating contests that began in January.

Obama's big win in North Carolina and narrow loss in Indiana this week effectively dashed her hopes and increased pressure on her to step aside so Obama can prepare for the fight with McCain.

Democratic Party chief Howard Dean also expects the race to be over next month, telling Fox News on Sunday: "The unpledged delegates need to say who they're for by the end of June so we'll know who our nominee is by the end of June."

Clinton plowed ahead on Thursday, traveling to the next battleground of West Virginia and saying she had been counted out before. The calls to drop out, which she heard before she won Pennsylvania last month, were "deja vu all over again."

"There are people who said we need to end this before we get to West Virginia. Well, I don't think so," Clinton said at a rally in Charleston, West Virginia, which hosts the next contest on Tuesday.

An MSNBC count showed Obama had 1,850 delegates to Clinton's 1,700 -- leaving him about 175 short of the 2,025 needed to clinch the nomination.

SUPERDELEGATES

Neither candidate can win without help from superdelegates -- nearly 800 party insiders and officials who are free to back any candidate. More than 250 remain uncommitted, and if the majority begin to move toward Obama, an Illinois senator, they could quickly settle the race.

Obama visited Capitol Hill to check in with some uncommitted superdelegates, and picked up the backing of one - Rep. Brad Miller of North Carolina.

He was mobbed by lawmakers in the back of the House of Representatives chamber. Some asked for his autograph. On leaving, Obama ran into a large group of tourists, mostly children, and posed for photos.