Obama, McCain Compete for Garden State Win

— -- There was a time when the political leaning of New Jersey was not a foregone conclusion, but the Garden State has not voted for a Republican presidential candidate since 1988 when George H.W. Bush took the White House.

While Sen. Barack Obama had a strong showing in New Jersey's Democratic primary, Sen. Hillary Clinton, who was endorsed by New Jersey Gov. Jon Corzine, won the state with 55 percent of the vote to Obama's 44 percent.

McCain picked up 52 delegates in the state's Republican primary, besting his competitors with 55 percent of the vote. New Jersey was among other big state wins for McCain on Super Tuesday that helped him secure his status as the clear GOP front-runner.

Democrats currently control the state's Congress as well as the governorship and recent polls suggest Obama is the leading contender to pick up the state's 15 electoral votes in November.

The latest ABC News assessment categorizes New Jersey as "Leaning Democratic," but check back soon for more updates from ABC News.