Obama: Clinton welcome to stay in race

By Matt Bigg

JOHNSTOWN, Pennsylvania (Reuters) Democratic presidential hopeful Barack Obama on Saturday said Hillary Clinton can stay in the nominating race as long as she wants and expressed confidence that Democrats will coalesce around the winner despite the often bitter contest.

"My attitude is that Senator Clinton can run as long as she wants. Her name is on the ballot and she is a fierce and formidable competitor," said Obama, adding that the notion that Democrats have been split by the prolonged nominating contest "is somewhat overstated."

Clinton, a New York senator, on Friday vowed to stay in the White House race, rejecting mounting pressure from some Democratic leaders to bow out and let the party focus on defeating the presumptive Republican nominee, Arizona Sen. John McCain, in the November general election.

Clinton trails Obama in the race for 2,024 Democratic nominating delegates. But she says she can still beat the Illinois senator and that all Democrats should get a chance to vote.

At rallies on Saturday in Indiana and Kentucky, crowds objected loudly when Clinton mentioned calls for the Democratic primary contest to conclude.

"There are some folks saying, 'well, we ought to stop these elections,'" she told a rally in Indianapolis.

"I didn't think we believed that in America. I thought we of all people knew how important it was to give everyone a chance to have their voices heard and their votes counted," Clinton said.

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