by John McCormick, updated
Sen. Barack Obama has won the Wyoming Democratic caucuses, according to The Associated Press.
“This is a big win for us,” said David Plouffe, Obama’s campaign manager.
With 22 of 23 counties reporting, including one of the most populous, Obama has a substantial lead in a contest most assumed would be irrelevant just a few weeks ago.
With the final results expected in a few hours, Obama leads 4,459 votes to 3,081, according to the Wyoming Democratic Party. The Illinois Democrat has won about 59 percent of the vote reported in so far.
The party is holding caucus meetings in each of the state’s counties, but they start and end at various times. The heavily Republican state will send only 12 pledged delegates to the Democratic National Convention this summer.
But with an intense delegate battle underway between Obama and Sen. Hillary Clinton, every state and delegate now matters.
The nominating battle is now expected to drag well into the spring, after Clinton managed breathe new life into her bid by winning three of four states Tuesday, including the perennial battleground of Ohio and massive Texas.Obama and Clinton both campaigned in Wyoming on Friday, and former President Bill Clinton and Chelsea Clinton also spent time there a day earlier.
Part of the secret of Obama’s success has been his focus on caucus states like Wyoming. So far, he has won 12 of 15 state caucuses, which tend to demand greater campaign organization and voter commitment.
The two candidates are taking a rare weekend off from the campaign trail, following exhausting schedules that have had them speaking to voters and reporters almost constantly since well before the Jan. 3 Iowa caucuses.
On Monday, Obama will head to Mississippi, which holds its primary on Tuesday. Clinton already campaigned there last week and will head to Pennsylvania, where the next big contest will be held April 22.
Official turnout numbers are not yet available, but news reports suggest relatively heavy participation. With a total population of only about a half-million people, the state has about 59,000 registered Democrats.
Going into the Wyoming contest, Obama held the lead for delegates, 1,571 to 1,462, according to the latest Associated Press estimates. It takes 2,025 to win the nomination.