No Comments Written by Ronald on May 10, 2008 – 8:32 am

Barack Obama resoundingly won in the North Carolina primary Tuesday night and declared he was closing in on the Democratic presidential nomination. Hillary Rodham Clinton apparently eked out a win in Indiana as she struggled to halt her rival’s march into history, NBC News projected.

“Tonight we stand less than 200 delegates away from securing the Democratic nomination for president of the United States,” Obama told a raucous rally in Raleigh, N.C. — and left no doubt he intended to claim the prize.

Clinton stepped before her own supporters not long afterward in Indianapolis. “Thanks to you, it’s full speed on to the White House,” she said, signaling her determination to fight on in a campaign already waged across more than 16 months and nearly all 50 states.

Returns from 99 percent of North Carolina precincts showed Obama winning 56 percent of the vote to 42 percent for Clinton.