Clinton eying Oregon in late May push

SALEM, Ore., April 27 (UPI) -- Democratic presidential contender Sen. Hillary Clinton looks to Oregon to make a late May push to convince superdelegates she can win, analysts say.

Rival candidate Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., is tied or leading in the May 6 contests in Indiana and North Carolina, but if Clinton, D-N.Y., survives, she can look to carry momentum from the West Virginia and Kentucky contests into the May 20 Oregon primary where 52 delegates are at stake.

Liberal voters in many of the college towns throughout Oregon strongly back Obama, but strategists say an upset in Oregon could carry Clinton to the Democratic nomination, The Washington Times speculated Sunday.

Clinton, along with Democratic Gov. Theodore Kulongoski, unveiled a 13-page Oregon Compact last week dealing with local issues.

"Oregon deserves just as much attention -- and just as much information to make its decision -- as Iowa, New Hampshire and Pennsylvania," Kulongoski said in an e-mail statement.

Clinton would still trail Obama in the total number of pledged delegates even if she won the remaining contests by more than 65 percent, the Times noted.

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