U.S. Democrats go to polls in Kentucky, Oregon

WASHINGTON, May 20 (Xinhua) -- Democrats in Kentucky and Oregon are casting their ballots Tuesday, as the presidential nominating contest between Sen. Barack Obama and Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton approaches to the end.

There are 51 pledged delegates at stake in Kentucky and 52 in Oregon.

Clinton, a Democrat from New York, is the overwhelming favorite to win Kentucky, while Obama, a Democrat from Illinois, holds an edge in Oregon, according to opinion polls.

Polling places opened at 6 a.m. (1000 GMT) and were scheduled to close at 6 p.m. (2200 GMT) in most of Kentucky.

Polls in Oregon opened at 7 a.m. (1400 GMT) in most of the state and were closing at 8 p.m. (0300 GMT Wednesday).

Heading into Tuesday's primaries, Obama had 1,915 total delegates to Clinton's 1,721, with a total of 2,026 needed to secure the nomination at the Democratic National Convention in Denver in late August, according to an Associated Press tally.

An MSNBC count put Obama's total at 1,901 and Clinton's at 1,724.

The tallies frequently change because they include unpledged "superdelegates" who are not required to commit to either candidate before the convention and whose preferences must be closely monitored.

As of May 20, slightly more than 200 superdelegates have not stated which candidate they support. They represent a potentially decisive voting bloc that both candidates are seeking to win over with their performances in the remaining primaries.

After Tuesday, only three more nominating contests remain on the Democratic calendar: a June 1 primary in Puerto Rico, where 55pledged delegates will be at stake, and June 3 primaries in Montana (16 pledged delegates) and South Dakota (15 pledged delegates).

The Obama campaign said the nomination race is practically won but Clinton's supporters insisted is not over yet.

Confident of winning Kentucky, Clinton scheduled a victory party Tuesday night in Louisville.

Obama, meanwhile, was slated to hold a political rally late this afternoon in Iowa, which held its caucuses Jan. 3 but is a potential battleground state in the fall.

Both candidates are scheduled to campaign in Florida Wednesday.

In an interview on CNN's "American Morning," Tom Daschle, the former Democratic Senate majority leader, said after Tuesday's race, Obama will reach a majority of those delegates in this year's Democratic primaries and caucuses.

While reaching that milestone represents "a tremendous new accomplishment," Daschle said, it does not mean the race against Clinton is over.

Important primaries remain to be held, he said, "and so we're going to play this all the way to the end."