Obama Clinches Democratic Nomination

Last night, Sen. Barack Obama (D-IL) claimed enough support for the Democratic Party’s nomination, beating Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-NY) after a long and contentious battle.

Obama needed over 2,118 delegates, as well as the support of additional superdelegates, to clinch the nomination. TheStreet.com’s John Fout writes that Obama reached those goals yesterday, when three superdelegates switched from Clinton to Obama and he achieved additional delegates and superdelegates from the Montana and South Dakota primaries.

Clinton has not officially left the race yet, but in a speech in New York City yesterday she conceded that Obama has bested in her numbers of delegates needed to secure the nomination.

After a formal nomination at the Democratic convention in Denver on August 25th to 28th, when he will also announce a running mate, Obama will face Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) in the November 2008 election.

Look for more MainStreet analysis to come on how politics affects your money and your life.