Feb. 12 (Bloomberg) -- Barack Obama is poised to chalk up three more wins over Hillary Clinton today in Maryland, Virginia and Washington D.C. that would give him a clear delegate lead in the Democratic nomination race.

Obama packed arenas in Baltimore and College Park, Maryland, yesterday while Clinton pursued voters in smaller settings. Polls in all three jurisdictions show Obama the favorite to win a majority of the 168 delegates at stake.

``You're looking at a groundswell,'' said Keith Haller, president of Potomac Inc., a Bethesda, Maryland-based political consulting company not affiliated with any campaign. The Illinois senator will win the capital overwhelmingly, and in Virginia and Maryland, the ``yield for Obama is likely to be more significant than just splitting the delegates,'' he said.

Obama will be building on the momentum he gained after winning in four states over the weekend -- Maine, Nebraska, Louisiana and Washington.

His campaign claimed a narrow edge in pledged delegates to the Democratic National Convention after his Feb. 9 victories. An unofficial estimate by the independent non-partisan Web site thegreenpapers.com shows Obama ahead of Clinton, a senator from New York, 925 delegates to 896.

Delegate Counts

An Associated Press projection shows Clinton ahead with 1,136 delegates to 1,108 for Obama, counting Democratic office holders and party officials known as super delegates who aren't bound by results in primaries and caucuses. Obama holds a lead counting only pledged delegates.

A candidate needs 2,025 delegates to win the nomination. Democrats award most delegates proportionally based on voting.

Republicans also will be voting today, and Arizona Senator John McCain, 71, has a lead in polls over former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee, 52. McCain has the backing of top party leaders in both states. He also was endorsed yesterday by former Florida Governor Jeb Bush, the brother of President George W. Bush, who called him a ``devoted conservative leader.''

Obama, 46, has broad support in Washington, the nation's capital, where the majority of voters are black and he is backed by Mayor Adrian Fenty. Obama and Fenty visited a Dunkin Donuts on Capitol Hill this morning and took two boxes of donuts to a nearby subway station where a crowd of supporters cheered.

Interviews

Obama also did drive-time interviews with five radio stations in Washington, Virginia and Maryland in a last pitch for votes.

Clinton, 60, hasn't conceded the District of Columbia. She visited supporters at the National Council of Negro Women Building yesterday, and former President Bill Clinton spoke at Sunday services at predominantly black churches on Feb. 10.

Obama also has a lead in Maryland, which has two of the constituencies -- wealthy suburbanites and a large African- American community -- that polls show have favored him. A Feb. 7- 8 survey by Mason-Dixon Polling & Research Inc. conducted for MSNBC and McClatchy newspapers showed him leading Clinton by 18 percentage points.

Obama supporters packed the 17,500-seat Comcast Center at the University of Maryland's College Park campus yesterday.

``We need to do something new,'' he told the crowd. ``We need to go in a new direction.''

In the Washington suburb of Silver Spring, Maryland, he sought support from Hispanic voters, who have gravitated toward Clinton in earlier contests.

Clinton is relying on Democratic Party institutional support in the state, including campaigning by Senator Barbara Mikulski and Governor Martin O'Malley to generate enthusiasm from women and the party establishment. She also is focusing on next month's primaries.

Looking Ahead

``If you look at the states that are upcoming, I am very confident,'' Clinton said in White Marsh, Maryland, naming Ohio and Texas. ``They represent the kind of voters that are going to have to be convinced and won over in the general election.''

Virginia's primary is open, meaning voters can choose either party's primary ballot. Independents are part of the strategies of both Obama and McCain.

Clinton's aides say they expect her positions on health care and the economy to resonate with rural voters, blacks and military personnel in the central Chesapeake region, and women and government employees in the Washington suburbs.

Fair Share

The campaign expects to ``win our fair share of delegates'' in Virginia, spokesman Mo Elleithee said.

Before the polls closed today, both candidates were looking ahead to upcoming contests. Obama held a town hall meeting in Waukesha, Wisconsin, ``the most Republican county in the state,'' said Wisconsin Governor Jim Doyle, an Obama backer. Noting the state's open primary, which allows voters of any party to cast a ballot, Doyle said it was important to reach across party lines, even in a primary contest.

``You're going to have to reach out to many of the same people who are going to be needed in a general election,'' Doyle said on a conference call with reporters.

Clinton went to Texas, where she announced the endorsement of former Ohio Senator John Glenn and former Texas Congressman Charlie Stenholm. ``We need a leader who can deliver real solutions on her first day in office,'' Glenn said in a written statement.

Clinton's campaign also began airing her first television ads in Wisconsin.

`Score Well'

``You really have to score extremely well in order to score a significant advance in the number of delegates,'' said F. Christopher Arterton, dean of George Washington University's Graduate School of Political Management. The result is that some of Obama's wins ``are not as earth-shattering'' as they appear.

Clinton has the backing of Mame Reiley, chairwoman of the Democratic National Committee's Women's Caucus and a veteran Virginia grass-roots organizer. She also is supported by state party powerhouse Lionel Spruill, a member of the state House of Delegates. On Feb. 9, Spruill made the rounds with Bill Clinton.

Clinton also won an endorsement from the Democratic Committee in Wise County, a rural coal-mining area where the poverty rate is more than twice the national average.

``Health care is very important to this region,'' said Wise County Democratic Chairwoman Melanie Salyer.

Still, Obama holds the lead in state polls and he has collected endorsements from some of the state's top elected officials, including Governor Tim Kaine and U.S. Representative Jim Moran.

The Mason-Dixon poll showed Obama's support at 53 percent in Virginia with Clinton's at 37 percent.

The same survey showed McCain ahead among Republicans in Maryland and Virginia.

To contact the reporter on this story: Lorraine Woellert in Washington, at lwoellert@bloomberg.net.

Last Updated: February 12, 2008 16:37 EST