Below The Beltway

Thanks to a surprising performance in the Texas Primary, Hillary Clinton’s campaign was reinvigorated last night with wins in three of four primary states:

Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton won critically important victories in Ohio and Texas last night, defying predictions of an imminent end to her presidential candidacy and extending the remarkable contest for the Democratic nomination to Pennsylvania’s April primary and perhaps well into the summer.

Clinton also won in Rhode Island, while Sen. Barack Obama captured Vermont. Her victories snapped his winning streak at 12 consecutive contests, rejuvenated her struggling candidacy and jolted a Democratic Party establishment that was beginning to see Obama as the likely nominee.

Clinton still faces daunting odds in her bid for the nomination. Obama began the day with a lead in pledged delegates that will be hard for her to overcome in the 12 primaries and caucus remaining, despite the results from the four states voting yesterday. But her advisers said that the big win in Ohio alone would force a serious look at both candidates and that the race was far from over.

Understandably, Hillary was taking these wins for all they were worth:

“For everyone here in Ohio and across America who’s ever been counted out but refused to be knocked out, and for everyone who has stumbled but stood right back up, and for everyone who works hard and never gives up, this one is for you,” she said.

As the crowd chanted, “Yes, she will! Yes, she will!,” Clinton said she is in the race to win. “You know what they say: ‘As Ohio goes, so goes the nation,’ ” she said to cheers from supporters. “Well, this nation’s coming back and so is this campaign,” she continued. “We’re going on. We’re going strong and we’re going all the way.

While Obama insisted in his speech last night that, notwithstanding Clinton’s victories, he is still the frontrunner:

Obama, speaking in San Antonio before Texas was counted, congratulated Clinton on her victories in Ohio and Rhode Island, something she had never done during his winning streak, but he said her successes would not stop his march toward the nomination.

“We know this,” he said. “No matter what happens tonight, we have nearly the same delegate lead as we had this morning, and we are on our way to winning this nomination.”

And, it would seem that Obama is correct.

The preliminary numbers over at RealClearPolitics shows the following:

Pledged Delegates

1. Barack Obama — 1,293 delegates
2. Hillary Clinton — 1,165 delegates

Obama + 128

Total Delegates

1. Barack Obama — 1.495 delegates
2. Hillary Clinton — 1,406 delegates

Obama + 89

These numbers, apparently, do not include the results from the Texas Caucuses, which will decide the fate of 68 delegates.  In all likelihood, Obama’s net lead will increase after that process is finalized.

There’s no question that Clinton pulled off wins here that justify her staying in the race at least until Pennsylvania, and that the next seven weeks will witness some of the most intense campaigning we’ve seen in quite some time. Even if she pulls out a win there, though, it’s still hard to see how she will ever overtake Obama in pledged delegates.