Democrats Clinton, Obama collide in Pennsylvania primary

PHILADELPHIA — Hillary Rodham Clinton and Barack Obama collided Tuesday in the Pennsylvania primary, the last of the big-state contests in a Democratic presidential campaign growing more negative the longer it goes.

With 158 delegates at stake, Pennsylvania offered the largest prize remaining in a primary season that ends on June 3.

Interviews with voters as they left their polling places showed that nearly one in 10 changed their party registration in recent months to be able to cast ballots in a primary open only to Democrats. About half were formerly registered Republicans, the balance unaffiliated with either party.

Women cast about 60 percent of the votes, and turnout among older voters was high.

Voters also had a dim view of the economy. More than 80 percent said the nation is already in a recession, according to the interviews conducted by The Associated Press and the TV networks.

Obama began the night with a delegate lead, 1648 1/2 to 1509 1/2, out of 2,025 needed to win the nomination.

Both rivals sought to shape expectations in advance. Obama said he expected to lose, but narrowly, and worked to limit any gains Clinton made in the delegate chase.

"It's an uphill battle," Obama said of his effort in the state, campaigning at a Pittsburgh diner. He said polls before the voting showed a tighter race than a few weeks ago but "we still, I think, have to consider ourselves the underdog."

Clinton said on Pittsburgh's KDKA that Obama had outspent her in Pennsylvania "three, maybe four to one" and was trying to undercut her possible victory by claiming she should have done even better.

"I think a win is a win. Maybe I'm old fashioned about that," she told reporters earlier in the day. "I think maybe the question ought to be, why can't he close the deal with his extraordinary financial advantage? Why can't he win a state like this one if that's the way it turns out ... big states, states that Democrats have to win."

Pennsylvania voters enjoyed a rare chance to cast ballots in a meaningful primary late in the campaign season. Registration reached a record level.

Penn State student Colin Cwalina, 19, wore his loyalties on his sleeve: He sported a "Hillary 2008" T-shirt at the polls in State College but said he felt outnumbered. "To be honest, Barack Obama has a cult" on campus, Cwalina said.

In Susquehanna Township, Cindy Wiedl, 50, a full-time student at Harrisburg Area Community College, stood before the voting machine for several minutes before choosing Obama, based in part, she said, on his pledge in a Tuesday morning TV interview to help working people.

Psychotherapist Kathleen Gavin, 44, of Allentown, said Clinton, the former first lady, earned her vote "10 years ago."

"I don't think he has the experience, the wisdom or the presence that Hillary has," said Gavin.

A defeat for Clinton could spell the end of her candidacy. But a sizable win would strengthen her claim to being the stronger general election opponent, an argument she has made to Democratic officeholders and other superdelegates who hold the balance of power at the party convention in Denver in August.

Whatever the outcome, the six-week run-up to the primary was notable for close-to-the-ground campaigning normally reserved for the early-voting states of Iowa and New Hampshire, and for the decidedly negative tone of its final few days.

Flush with cash, Obama reported spending $11.2 million on television in the state, compared with $4.8 million for Clinton.

The tone of the campaign was increasingly personal.

"In the last 10 years Barack Obama has taken almost $2 million from lobbyists, corporations and PACs. The head of his New Hampshire campaign is a drug company lobbyist, in Indiana an energy lobbyist, a casino lobbyist in Nevada," said a Clinton commercial that aired in the final days of the race.

Obama responded with an ad that accused Clinton of "eleventh-hour smears paid for by lobbyist money." It said that unlike his rival, he "doesn't take money from special interest PACs or Washington lobbyists _ not one dime."

To the delight of Republicans, the six-week layoff between primaries produced a string of troubles for the Democrats.

Obama was forced onto the defensive by incendiary comments by his pastor, Rev. Jeremiah Wright, then triggered controversy on his own by saying small-town Americans cling to guns and religion because of their economic hardships.

Clinton conceded that she had not landed under sniper fire in Bosnia while first lady, even though she said several times that she had. And she replaced her chief strategist, Mark Penn, after he met with officials of the Colombian government seeking passage of a free trade agreement that she opposes.

McCain, the Republican nomination already his, rose in the polls as he prepared for the fall campaign.

The remaining Democratic contests are primaries in North Carolina, Indiana, Oregon, Kentucky, West Virginia, Montana, South Dakota and Puerto Rico, and caucuses in Guam.

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David Espo reported from Washington.