The US:HILLARY CLINTON lent her campaign $6.4 million (€4.2 million) and insisted she would stay in the presidential race after two primaries brought Barack Obama a decisive step closer to the Democratic nomination.
Mr Obama won North Carolina by 14 points and came within two points of Mrs Clinton in Indiana, a state she had expected to win comfortably.
Mr Obama's campaign said he is now within 33 delegates of winning a majority of all pledged delegates elected in caucuses and primaries. The Illinois senator yesterday won four new endorsements from superdelegates, the almost 800 elected officials and senior party officials whose votes are likely to determine the nomination.
Mrs Clinton disclosed yesterday she has lent her campaign an additional $6.4 million in recent weeks, adding to $5 million she lent it earlier this year. Former senator George McGovern, who had backed Mrs Clinton, urged her to drop out of the race, saying he was switching his support to Mr Obama.
"She's waged a very valiant campaign, but the mathematics is against her at this point," he said "I think it's important for Democrats to get united to win the general election in November."
Campaigning in West Virginia, where she is expected to win next Tuesday's primary, Mrs Clinton said she would fight on until a nominee is chosen. "It's still early," she said. "This is a dynamic electoral environment."
The former first lady, who is trailing in delegate numbers, overall popular vote and states won, dismissed fears that extending her campaign would undermine party unity.
"We traditionally have gone longer than you've seen in the last couple of cycles, and there isn't any problem in closing ranks and unifying," she said.
More than 90 per cent of African-Americans voted for Mr Obama in both North Carolina and Indiana and Mrs Clinton won 60 per cent of white votes in both states. One in three of Mrs Clinton's supporters in both states said they would vote for Republican John McCain in November if Mr Obama is the Democratic nominee.
Mr Obama's strong performance in North Carolina won him a net gain of 230,000 votes, wiping out Mrs Clinton's popular vote advance in Pennsylvania last month. Mr Obama's huge financial advantage will allow him to campaign aggressively in the six remaining contests but his team said yesterday they were already looking to the general election.
"With the Clinton path to the nomination getting even narrower, we expect new and wildly creative scenarios to emerge in the coming days," his campaign director, David Plouffe, wrote in a letter to superdelegates yesterday.
"While those scenarios may be entertaining, they are not legitimate and will not be considered legitimate by this campaign or its millions of supporters, volunteers and donors."
Mrs Clinton was due to meet superdelegates in Washington yesterday before attending a fundraiser in the capital.