Mississippi takes center stage in tight Democratic race

One of the most Republican states in the nation takes center stage Tuesday in the battle for the Democratic presidential nomination.
Mississippi, which has not voted for a Democratic candidate in a presidential election in 32 years, holds a Democratic primary Tuesday.
Between 125,000 and 150,000 voters were expected to cast ballots Tuesday, predicted Pamela Weaver of the Mississippi Secretary of State's Office.
While the number would represent a 25 to 50 percent increase in turnout from the 2004 primaries, Weaver still described the voting rate as light to moderate.
Sen. Barack Obama touched on the Mississippi Delta's economic struggles during a final campaign stop in Greenville, according to the Associated Press.
"We just haven't seen as much opportunity come to this area as we'd like," he told those gathered at a restaurant, the AP reported. "And one of the challenges, I think, for the next president is making sure that we're serving all communities and not just some communities."
With the campaigns of Sens. Hillary Clinton of New York and Obama of Illinois battling for every delegate, the political spotlight is on a state not used to being the center of such attention.
Obama campaigned in Mississippi on Monday and will spend part of Tuesday doing the same, while rival Clinton made a swing through the state on Thursday and Friday.
In addition, former President Bill Clinton made the rounds for his wife in Mississippi over the weekend. Not bad for a state that has only 33 delegates up for grabs.
Obama leads in the fight for delegates, 1,553 to 1,438, but neither candidate is close to the 2,025 delegates needed to clinch the Democratic presidential nomination.
With the stakes so high, every state matters. In fact, both candidates traveled to Wyoming last week, to battle for just 12 delegates.
Obama won the caucuses in Wyoming on Saturday, taking seven of the 12 delegates at stake.