Obama wins Democrats Abroad vote ahead of Texas debate

U.S. presidential hopeful Barack Obama captured his 11th straight victory over Democratic rival Hillary Rodham Clinton in the Democrats Abroad global primary, according to results announced Thursday.

Democrats living in more than 30 countries, including Canada, voted by internet, mail and in person in the primary. Voting took place over a week earlier this month. Democrats Abroad is an organization sanctioned by the national party.

Obama won about 65 per cent of the vote, according to the results released Thursday.

The results took about a week to tabulate as local committees around the world gathered ballots.

The result means Clinton has not won a nominating contest since Super Tuesday, more than two weeks ago. The reeling Clinton campaign is aiming to secure much-needed victories in the upcoming delegate-rich primaries in Ohio and Texas on March 4.

Even her husband, former president Bill Clinton, acknowledged Wednesday the two contests would likely amount to the New York senator's last stand against Obama, whose insurgent campaign has trumped Clinton's campaign in both momentum and raising funds since the Super Tuesday contests.

"If she wins Texas and Ohio, I think she will be the nominee," Bill Clinton told a Texas audience in his speech Wednesday. "If you don't deliver for her, I don't think she can be. It's all on you."

The two Democratic candidates will face off Thursday evening in a highly anticipated leaders debate at the University of Texas, which both campaigns are viewing as a potential final showdown.

Heading into the Democrats Abroad primary, Obama led with 1,351 delegates and Clinton had 1,262, according to an Associated Press count.

Democrats in Vermont and Rhode Island will also hold votes on March 4. The series of states voting in contests for Democratic and Republican nominees are determining delegates heading into national conventions in August and September, where the two parties will select a nominee to compete in the November presidential election.

Candidates could be left with 'fractions' of delegates

More than 20,000 U.S. citizens living abroad in 164 countries voted in the Democrats Abroad primary, which ran from Feb. 5 to Feb. 12.

"This really gives Americans an opportunity to participate," said Christine Schon Marques, the international chair of Democrats Abroad.

But the complex system of allocating delegates in the abroad vote means the two candidates could emerge with a fraction of a delegate vote.

The results determined the allocation of 4.5 delegate votes at the Democratic National Convention in August. Obama won 2.5 delegate votes and Clinton took two, according to the group's website.

A further 2.5 votes will be determined at the Democrats Abroad global convention in April in Vancouver. In addition, Democrats Abroad holds four super-delegate votes. A total of 22 Democrats Abroad delegates, each with half a vote, will attend the national convention in Denver.

There is no comparable primary among Republicans, though the GOP has several contests this weekend in U.S. territories, including party caucuses in Puerto Rico Sunday.

Democratic parties in U.S. territories use similar systems, in which they send twice the number of delegates, giving them each a half vote. But their systems are designed to ensure that that candidates do not end up with fractions of delegates.