Obama, Romney claim Minnesota wins

ST. PAUL, Minn., Feb. 5 (UPI) -- Sen. Barack Obama and former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney were projected to win the Minnesota party caucuses Tuesday.

Romney picked up 39 percent of the vote with nearly 900 of the state's 4,122 precincts reporting, prompting CBS to declare him the winner of the Republican caucus.

Obama of Illinois surged to 64 percent of the Democratic-Farmer-Labor vote, as CBS pronounced him the winner over Hillary Clinton, who won 34 percent.

Following Romney were Sen. John McCain of Arizona, with 23 percent, and former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee with 22 percent.

Minnesota Republican Gov. Tim Pawlenty and U.S. Sen. Norm Coleman, R-Minn., endorsed McCain. Pawlenty traveled to several states to speak on McCain's behalf.

Representatives from the state DFL and Republican parties reported high turnout at caucuses around the state, the St. Paul Pioneer Press reported.

"We expect a very heavy turnout," state Republican Party spokesman Mark Drake said as the caucuses began. "We have said 35,000 to 50,000 all along. I don't want to get ahead of myself, but we could go beyond that."

Up for grabs are 41 Republican delegates and 88 Democratic delegates.