Latest from the race for the White House

Since last my last update on the blog, Hillary Clinton against all predictions won New Hampshire and now the race between Hillary and Obama has got more exciting. Everything is geared up toward the South Carolina primary on Saturday week which will be a major test for both candidates. For Barack, it's a must win given that 50% of the Democrat registered voters are black, if he fails to win here it will be deeply damaging to his campaign and he may have difficulty recovering. For Hillary she needs the momentum, but can survive a loss in South Carolina. A poor showing for John Edwards who was born in the state will probably spell the end of his campaign.

At the weekend, we also see the Nevada caucus which is the first test of opinion in the west. The polls are looking very even but the caucus system can be very unpredictable.

The Republican side remains deadlocked - three different winners to date and Gulliani might make it four if he wins Florida later this month which is his make or break state. South Carolina is interesting as it looks like a battle between McCain and Huckabee, if McCain can win here he'll be very well placed to win the nomination and going into Florida it will be a considerable boost. For Huckabee, a failure in South Carolina will probably spell the end of his hopes in winning the nomination - if he can't win here he'll have extreme difficulty succeeding elsewhere.

The race for the White House goes on and it's proving for me to be very addictive and very unpredictable!