WASHINGTON (RIA Novosti)
- Barack Obama claimed the Democratic Party presidential nomination on the
last day of the U.S. primary season.
"Tonight, I can stand before you and say
that I will be the Democratic nominee for president of the United States,"
he told 17,000 joyful supporters in St. Paul, Minnesota, in the same arena
where the Republican Party convention will be held in September.
His announcement came after projections
indicated he had gained enough delegates to clinch the nomination. However,
his rival, Hillary Clinton, refused to concede, saying in New York that,
"This has been a long campaign and I will make no decisions tonight."
The New York senator said she would talk
with party leaders and supporters before deciding on her next move.
There were suggestions that Obama was
considering naming Clinton, who was looking to become the first woman to
stand for U.S. president, as his running mate.
"Senator Hillary Clinton has made history
in this campaign not just because she's a woman who has done what no woman
has done before, but because she's a leader who inspires millions of
Americans," he said.
Tuesday night saw Obama win at least 15
delegates in South Dakota and Montana. He also picked up a number of
superdelegates, including some who had previously backed Clinton.
Obama, 46, the son of a black Kenyan father
and white mother from Kansas, will go into the November U.S. presidential
elections as the first black candidate in the country's history.
He will face the Republican Party candidate,
John McCain, 71.