Sen. Barack Obama pulled within shouting distance of the Democratic presidential nomination Tuesday, though he still needs help from superdelegates to claim the prize.

Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton won more of the delegates at stake in Tuesday's primaries, including an overwhelming majority in Kentucky. Obama fared better in Oregon, where election officials were still counting votes Wednesday.

The split decision left Obama fewer than 70 delegates from the 2,026 needed to secure the nomination.

Clinton won at least 56 delegates in the two states and Obama won at least 43, according to an analysis of election returns by The Associated Press. All the delegates from Kentucky were awarded, but there were still four to be allocated in Oregon. A total of 103 were at stake in both primaries.

Obama had a total of 1,963 delegates, including endorsements from party and elected officials known as superdelegates. Clinton had 1,778 delegates, according to the latest tally by the AP.

Three primaries remain _ Puerto Rico, Montana, South Dakota _ with a total of 86 delegates at stake. Obama cannot win enough of those delegates to clinch the nomination because of the proportional way in which the Democrats award delegates.

But he can come close.

That leaves the nomination in the hands of the superdelegates, who automatically attend the convention and can support whomever they choose, regardless of what happens in the primaries.

Nearly 800 will attend the convention, with a little more than 200 superdelegates still left to be claimed by the two candidates.

Obama has added more than 50 superdelegate endorsements in the past two weeks, while Clinton has picked up 10. Continued...