US:The Clinton camp yesterday renewed efforts to force the Democratic party to recognise the outcome of the Florida primary and allow the state's 185 delegates to be counted in a tight race.
Mark Penn, Hillary Clinton's chief strategist, said they would push the Democratic National Committee (DNC) to allow the results of both Florida and Michigan to count at the party convention in August. Any challenge will be vigorously resisted by supporters of Barack Obama.
Hundreds of thousands of Democrats took part in yesterday's primary, outstripping the numbers who participated in earlier caucuses and primaries.
However, the DNC, the party's ruling body, will not recognise the outcome because the state broke party rules by holding its primary early.
"Nothing has changed," a Democratic source said. "Florida will still have zero delegates. The party has booked no rooms for them at the convention." Mrs Clinton is challenging that ruling.
Mr Penn held a phone conference with reporters yesterday on "Why Florida matters" and Mrs Clinton was scheduled to hold a party at Davie, Florida, last night.
The Clinton team said that while it was reluctant to get into an argument with the DNC, the votes of a million people mattered. Mr Penn said that while the candidates had not campaigned in Florida - though he accused Obama of breaching the rules by running ads - voters had seen the televised debates and followed the campaigns elsewhere. "That makes it an election," he said.
Florida could become pivotal for the Democratic party in much the same way that it was central to the 2000 presidential election between George Bush and Al Gore, in which the outcome came down to the courts.
It is the fourth most populous state in the country and pressure will mount on the DNC to review its decision, not just from the Clintons but from influential Democratic party figures from Florida and Michigan, which has also seen its delegates barred.
The DNC stripped Florida of its delegates in November when it opted to hold its primary before February 5th. Florida was fed up with small states, such as Iowa and New Hampshire, holding early votes and receiving almost all the media attention.
Mr Obama and Mrs Clinton signed voluntary agreements not to campaign in Michigan and Florida. Mrs Clinton won Michigan, which held its primary on January 15th and which has 128 delegates, mainly because her name remained on the ballot while Mr Obama removed his.
To win the Democratic nomination, Mrs Clinton and Mr Obama need a majority of the 4,049 delegates to the party convention. Against that background, the 313 delegates from Florida and Michigan could become crucial.
The party source said it was unlikely the issue would go to the courts, though there were court challenges in the run-up to the Florida and Michigan contests. He noted the supreme court ruled two decades ago that parties had the right to decide how to organise their own contests. The issue could be decided by the party's credentials committee, which will have about 180 members from across the country, he said. Its make-up will be dictated by the results of the primaries and caucuses.
KENNEDYS: split in the ranks
The endorsement of Barak Obama by Senator Edward Kennedy has provoked a split in the ranks of the US's most political family.
In a statement, which was also issued on Monday, his brother Robert Kennedy's children, Kathleen Kennedy Townsend, former lieutenant governor of Maryland, Robert F Kennedy jnr, an environmental lawyer and activist, and Kerry Kennedy, a human rights activist, threw their weight behind Hillary Clinton.
Insisting that all of the Democratic candidates would make "superb presidents", the three said that despite their uncle's endorsement they were supporting Mrs Clinton.
They said they had worked with Mrs Clinton for years, "and witnessed the power and depth of her convictions first hand".
"She has been an uncompromising and loyal ally for each of us in our battles to protect the environment and to promote human rights around the world and juvenile justice in America . . .
"Like our father, Hillary has devoted her life to embracing and including those on the bottom rung of society's ladder . . .
"She's been an equally effective champion for human rights and for women's rights, a worldwide cause that will profit enormously by her elevation to the presidency. She has worked for peace in Northern Ireland and fought to bridge religious, racial and ethnic divides from Bosnia to the Middle East to South Africa," the statement said.