Fresh from victory in Washington, Maine, Louisiana, Nebraska and the British Virgin Islands, Senator Barack Obama is hoping to win the U.S. Democratic primaries in Virginia, Maryland and Washington DC today. In the latest poll of polls he leads Senator Hillary Clinton by 17.7 points in Virginia, 22.3 points in Maryland, and is expected to take Washington DC.

Presently Obama has 1144 delegates to the Democratic Party’s national convention in August which will decide who becomes the party’s nominee in the presidential election on 4 November. Clinton has 1138 delegates but, crucially, has more super delegates than Obama – 213 to his 140. Super delegates are made up of current or former elected officeholders and party officials – the party establishment – and are free to support any candidate for the nomination, whereas other delegates are subject to some kind of mandate, primarily based on how their state voted in its primary or caucus. Democratic super delegates are thought to favour Clinton.

Meanwhile in the latest national poll by Associated Press/Ipsos into how the two remaining Democtaic contenders would fare against the likely Republican nominee, Senator John McCain, Obama leads McCain by 6 points, whilst Clinton only leads McCain by 1 point. This will be of assistance to Obama in winning over the party establishment who commentators now predict will determine the winner if the race continues through to the summer.