Obama in early lead in Pacific battle
HAGATNA, Guam (Reuters) - Democrat Barack Obama was leading Hillary Clinton in Guam's nominating contest on Sunday after record numbers of residents voted in the tiny U.S. territory's primary.
"It's a huge turnout compared to previous elections," Herbie Perez, chairman of the party's nominating committee, told Reuters.
Early manual counting showed Obama with 1,306 votes to Clinton's 1,169 with results from six caucus sites still pending.
With only four votes at the Democratic convention at stake, the contest on Guam, a Pacific island more than 20 hours by plane from Washington, will barely register in the protracted duel for the party's presidential ticket.
Democratic officials said over 5,000 people took part in Saturday's election compared to only 1,500 during the last primary in 2004.
Expectations that the final result would be in around 3 a.m. local time (1 p.m. EDT) have long since been abandoned due to the large turnout.
"I'm dead tired but my mind is awake," said Derrick Muna Quinata, a car salesman who planned to see the count through. The 28-year-old said he had voted for Obama.
Guam's residents cannot vote in the presidential election but the territory, which is less than a fifth of the size of the smallest U.S. state of Rhode Island, sends eight delegates with half a vote each to the Democratic convention in August.
Neither candidate got to Guam, a U.S. territory since 1898, but both called into radio stations to emphasize their affinity with an island many Americans have never heard of.
Clinton reminded voters about her multiple visits during stopovers on presidential trips with her husband, Bill, to Asia and Obama emphasized his Pacific connections through his upbringing in Hawaii and Indonesia.
Some islanders, thrilled finally to be in the spotlight, hastily joined the party just so they could take part in the process, leading to the moniker "Democrat for a Day".
"A lot of people were confused by the process," said Robert Lizama, a local mayor. "It's brought a lot of awareness and participation. I think that's important.
"We can't vote for president, but this is our part of the process."
The next major contests for the Democratic nomination are on May 6 in North Carolina and Indiana. The two states have a combined 187 delegates at stake.
While Obama leads in nominating delegates, Clinton has moved into a virtual tie with her rival in national polls after winning in Pennsylvania last month. Continued...
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