Primary Elections

After six weeks of testy campaigning by Hillary Rodham Clinton and Barack Obama for the affections of this working-class city that has seen better days, voters streamed to the polls Tuesday. And if people such as Simon Lipchus were any indication, the television ads, interminable robocalls, bad bowling and whiskey sipping didn't make a whole lot of difference.

After a six-week hiatus, the Democratic presidential contest goes back to the voters Tuesday, when Pennsylvania holds a primary that is a make-or-break contest for Hillary Rodham Clinton's struggling campaign. It also is a test of whether Barack Obama can regain his momentum despite recent controversies and can win over blue-collar voters who have been cool to him elsewhere.

With just days to go before Tuesday's crucial Pennsylvania primary, Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton took aim again at rival Sen. Barack Obama's rhetoric, suggesting that she is the more substantive candidate for the presidency. "I'm not here just to talk in generalities and make you feel good," she told supporters Saturday. "I'm here to tell you specifically what I'll do." The specific topic was the economy -- which she used as ammunition against China.

Sen. Barack Obama has won the overall delegate race in Texas after a strong showing in Democratic county conventions last weekend. Obama picked up seven of nine delegates, giving him a total of 99 in Texas. Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton won the other two, giving her 94 in the state, according to an analysis of returns by the Associated Press.

Ask a Republican in Washington state about Dean C. Logan, Los Angeles County's interim elections chief, and this might be the answer: "I'm really shocked that anyone would consider hiring Dean Logan to run an elections department," former state party leader Chris Vance said. Ask a Democrat there, and the answer might be like this: "He was marvelous. I have nothing but high praise for Dean," King County Executive Ron Sims said.

The Democratic Party approved Puerto Rico's proposal to scrap its caucus and hold a presidential primary June 1. A primary will give more voters a chance to take part in the nominating process, said Puerto Rico Democratic Chairman Roberto Prats. He said caucuses were fine in previous years, when the party nominee was settled by the time Puerto Rico voted and the only task was to choose delegates to the national convention. "Now it's different," Prats told the Democratic National Committee's rules panel.

More than 9 million voters took part in the Feb. 5 presidential primary in California, setting a record for participants and marking the highest turnout rate in a primary since the 1980 election. According to a report by Secretary of State Debra Bowen, 55.7% of registered voters either cast ballots by mail or at precincts around the state. The 1980 turnout was 63.3%. Though the turnout percentage was not a record, the number of participants was.

It's not exactly halftime. Most states have voted, and more than 80% of the delegates have been divvied up. Still, with more than five weeks left until the April 22 primary in Pennsylvania, the Democratic presidential race has entered a lull of sorts. So now seems a good time to pause and take a look at the scoreboard: Sen. Barack Obama of Illinois has won 29 contests to 17 for Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton of New York, if you include her disputed Michigan and Florida victories.