Clinton moves forward to W.Va., Ky and superdelegates

Hillary Rodham Clinton's presidential campaign declared the win in Indiana a "comeback victory" that propels her bid for the White House for the next contests in West Virginia on Tuesday and Kentucky on May 20.

"We think in the sweep of things it represents significant progress for Sen. Clinton and is a good victory under challenging circumstances," said Geoff Garin, chief strategist with Clinton's campaign, on a conference call with reporters Wednesday. "We think the results last night strengthen the case that she will be the strongest candidate for the Democratic Party in November."

Clinton edged U.S. Sen. Barack Obama of Illinois, 51 percent to 49 percent in Indiana.

Howard Wolfson, Clinton's communications director, said the Indiana victory, however slight, adds to the perception that she can win in battleground states and added that the upcoming contest in West Virginia will be another test of that.

"We’ve proven we can do that. Sen Obama has not yet proven that he can win the key swing states," Wolfson said. "That will be the crux of the argument we will make to superedelegates and voters coming forward."

Clinton also is scheduled to meet at an undisclosed location on Capitol Hill Wednesday with uncommitted superdelegates to make her case for the nomination.

The campaign has had "no discussions" about ending Clinton's run, Wolfson said.

Clinton does have more financial hurdles to clear than Obama, however. She opened her speech in Indianapolis Tuesday night by asking her supporters to donate money through her Web site and loaned herself $1,425,000 in the final days before the May 6 primaries in North Carolina and Indiana. She gave her campaign $1 million on  May 1 and $425,000 on May 5 bringing the total self-loans to $11,425,000.

- Ryan Alessi