Clinton May Challenge Party's Delegate Math

June 2, 2008 — -- Democratic Party leaders are predicting that the presidential slugfest between Sens. Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton will end this week, possibly as early as Wednesday.

Ostensibly, Clinton had a good weekend, drubbing Obama in Puerto Rico's primary with a landslide win and watching Obama quit the Chicago church he once called his spiritual home but which had become the source of repeated political embarrassments as preachers spewed inflammatory racial rhetoric from its pulpit.

But the landslide and the backslide did little to slow Obama's march to becoming the nation's first African-American to win a major party presidential nomination.

Even Iowa's Gov. Tom Vilsak, co-chairman of Clinton's presidential campaign, said the end is near.

"It does appear to be pretty clear that Sen. Obama is going to be the nominee," he told The Associated Press. "After Tuesday's contests, she needs to acknowledge that he's going to be the nominee and quickly get behind him."

Tuesday poll workers will tabulate the last two Democratic primaries as Montana and South Dakota vote, ending a grueling slog across the country that began in the snows of Iowa last year. Obama is favored to win those two states and, with the voting finally over, many of the 200 uncommitted superdelegates are expected to make their choices public.

By ABC News' calculation, Obama needs 47.5 more delegates to reach what the Democratic National Committee has ruled is the magic number of 2,118 delegates to wrap up the nomination.

"There are some signs now that the teams are starting to come together," ABC News' chief Washington correspondent George Stephanopoulos told "Good Morning America."

"Last night Barack Obama called Hillary Clinton to congratulate her on her win in Puerto Rico. About a 2½-minute phone conversation. For them, it's a lot these days. He praised her and said no one knows how hard you're working as much as I do. That's a start," Stephanopoulos reported.

"I am expecting sometime this week you will see a very gracious speech from Sen. Clinton, likely Wednesday," Stephanopoulos said.