Clinton Wins Big in West Virginia Primary, Solidly Defeating Sen. Barack Obama
Clinton Wins White, Southern State as Obama Looks Toward General Election
POLL: Most Dems Support Clinton Staying in the Race
Despite Obama's insurmountable delegate lead, Clinton's continued presence in the race doesn't bother a majority of Democrats.
While most Democrats favor Obama for the nomination, 64 percent of likely Democratic voters believe she should stay on and fight, according to an ABC News/Washington Post poll released Monday.
"As long as she's not dividing the party deeply by going after Sen. Obama and questioning his capacity to be president, attacking him on issues, running negative ads like the '3 a.m.' ad, then I think she's fine and not damaging herself within the Democratic Party and certainly not damaging herself with voters," Devine said.
By staying in the race and continuing to win states, Devine argued, Clinton may enhance her image and close the gap in the popular vote.
"This process has been good for her, even though she is ultimately going to lose it," he said.
"That identity of fighting for people and the perception that she doesn't give up will serve her well in politics, particularly if there's some tough fights ahead like passing national health insurance, which she may take a leadership role on," Devine said.
Clinton Meeting With Fundraisers
However, the longer Clinton stays in the race, the deeper her campaign goes into the red.
She is meeting with a group of 40 fundraisers Wednesday at a hotel in Washington, DC. One Clinton fundraiser told ABC News' Kate Snow the meeting was set up last week to enable fundraisers to regroup and ask Clinton questions after the West Virginia primary.
Spokesman Howard Wolfson told ABC News the meeting is a regular quarterly check-in session, not an emergency session.
"The meeting is, as it always is, to give them a sense of where the race is, to thank them for their past support, and to urge their continued generosity," Wolfson told Snow.
Her campaign debt is estimated to exceed $20 million and could go deeper as she campaigns through the final primaries.
And as long as Clinton continues to stay on and win on, she can raise questions about Obama's electability in the general election among demographic groups who continue to support her.
ABC News' Gary Langer, Z. Byron Wolf, Ann Compton, Teddy Davis, and Eloise Harper contributed to this report.
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