McCain projected to win Ohio

COLUMBUS, Ohio, March 4 (UPI) -- Republican presidential front-runner John McCain was the projected winner in Ohio Tuesday, putting the Arizona senator closer to clinching the GOP nomination.

Based on exit polling, CNN and MSNBC both reported McCain would win the Buckeye State.

The Cincinnati Enquirer reported McCain's win in Ohio and Vermont put him within 130 delegates of securing his party's presidential nomination.

McCain's rival, former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, remained a distant second in the state-by-state race for delegates. According to a CNN tally, McCain has 1,125 delegates to his 247 total delegates. The nominee needs at least 1,191 delegates.

MSNBC reported that a Huckabee aide told NBC News the former governor is planning a concession by reaching out to the McCain camp Wednesday.

Although the Ohio Republican primary was ho-hum, the Democratic race is anything but quiet. Ohio is one of two states analysts say Democratic presidential contender Hillary Clinton must win Tuesday.

It has been reported that without winning Ohio and Texas, Clinton's chances of beating rival Barack Obama for the spot at the top of the Democratic ticket would be very slim.