Crucial day in presidency race

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Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama vied for support within the Democratic Party while Republican John McCain was hoping to emerge as his party's presumptive nominee when the Super Tuesday results come in. Mitt Romney, Mr McCain's closest rival, was out to stop him.

Polls in most states close at midnight GMT, but winners in the crucial state of California are not expected to be known until Wednesday morning.

The candidates' performances will be judged on two aspects - the number of delegates (the people who will choose the nominee at the parties' national conventions in the summer) and the number of states won.

Both Mrs Clinton, who would be the first woman president, and Mr Obama, who would be the first African American president, are expected to claim victories as soon as possible in a bid to build momentum through national television coverage.

But pundits warned that California, which will be one of the last states to declare its winners, will be crucial. Robert Shrum, a Democratic political analyst, told the New York Times: "Don't be rushed into making an early judgment without California. You have to resist the pre-California spin unless someone is winning like 16 of the 22 states."

If Illinois senator Mr Obama can win in California, where he enjoyed a late surge in the polls to tie the state with the former First Lady, it will be a significant blow to the Clinton campaign. Along with California, Massachusetts, New York, Missouri, Arizona and New Mexico will all be key.

Senator Ted Kennedy's recent endorsement of Mr Obama could help him in Massachusetts, where Mrs Clinton once had a comfortable lead in the polls, and an Obama win in her home state of New York, or neighbouring New Jersey, would raise serious questions about her electability in November. And Missouri, Arizona and New Mexico could go either way, as the pair are close in the polls.

In the Republican contest, California and Massachusetts will again be critical.

Mr McCain's lead in California, whose governor Arnold Schwarzenegger endorsed him last week, has narrowed recently and a win for Mr Romney in the largest US state would leave him unlikely to pull out of the race soon - regardless of any other results.