Obama Claims Delegate Majority; Wins in Oregon

Barack Obama said tonight that his campaign had reached a pivotal milestone by clinching a majority of the pledged delegates at stake in the Democratic primary, CNN reports. Addressing a rally in Iowa—the state that put his campaign on a winning path—Obama declared that victory is "within reach." He spoke just before learning that he had defeated Hillary Clinton in the Oregon primary. With 72% of returns in, he led 58% to 42%.

"The skeptics predicted we wouldn't get very far," said Obama, who earlier in the night lost a lopsided primary to Clinton In Kentucky by 35 points. However, he picked up enough delegates there to give him 1,627, a majority of the 3,353 at stake, CNN notes. Only three contests remain. (More Barack Obama stories.)