Ohio becomes campaign central for Clinton, Obama

By Ellen Wulfhorst and Caren Bohan

WESTERVILLE, Ohio (Reuters) - Presidential candidates Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama waged a tight campaign fight across Ohio on Sunday two days before crucial voting that could virtually nail down the Democratic nomination or prolong the party battle into the spring.

One prominent Democrat worried that extended infighting after the voting in four states on Tuesday could split the party into two camps and give a big boost to the presumptive Republican nominee, Arizona Sen. John McCain.

Victories on Tuesday by Obama, especially in the big states of Texas and Ohio, would give the Illinois senator a major boost toward the Democratic nomination in the November election. Clinton victories, however, would revive her campaign and end Obama's winning streak at 11 contests.

McCain, with dwindling competition from the only other major Republican candidate, former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, took the day off. A big night on Tuesday could put McCain very close to the 1,191 delegates he needs to clinch the Republican nomination at this summer's party convention.

Polls close in Ohio at 7:30 p.m. EST (0030 GMT on Wednesday) and all voting in Texas will be over at 9 p.m. EST (0200 GMT on Wednesday).

The races in Texas and Ohio are very tight after Clinton held big leads a month ago, according to a Reuters/C-SPAN/Houston Chronicle poll released on Sunday.

Obama led in Texas 47 percent to 43 percent while Clinton led by a statistically insignificant one point in Ohio, 47 percent to 46 percent, the poll showed. The poll had a margin of error of 3.7 percentage points.

Obama, who would be the country's first black president, leads in the race for the 2,025 delegates needed to win the Democratic nomination this summer. Unless Clinton wins by very big margins on Tuesday, he will pick up big chunks of additional delegates while her future would be uncertain.