Va. big win for Obama, small for McCain

RICHMOND, Va., Feb. 12 (UPI) -- Barack Obama racked up another primary win Tuesday in Virginia, while John McCain won with a smaller margin on the Republican side.

Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee did well among religious and social conservatives, winning 43 percent of the vote to about 48 percent for McCain with two-third of the votes counted, The Washington Post reported. Huckabee also won more than half the independents, undermining the Arizona senator with a group that is usually one of his strengths.

"John McCain has got some work to do demonstrate his conservative bona fides," said state Attorney General Robert F. McDonnell, a conservative who endorsed McCain last week.

Obama won a resounding victory in the Democratic primary. With more than 90 percent of precincts in, he had 63 percent to 35 percent for his Senate colleague, Hillary Clinton. With Obama also projected the winner in Maryland and the District of Columbia, he will have bested Clinton in eight primaries in a row, giving him a boost in his quest for the Democratic presidential nomination.