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The demographics are shifting in favor of Sen. Barack Obama, who has edged Sen. Hillary Clinton in the fight for the Democratic presidential nomination.

While the scuttlebutt on Obama before Iowa and New Hampshire asked if he could carry the Black vote, the primaries since and most recently the Potomac primary yesterday indicate that not only can he carry the Black vote but the senior vote, the white vote, the working-class vote, the women vote, the independent vote and even some Republican votes as well.

CNN's exit polling indicates that in the Potomac primary, which included Virginia, Maryland and Washington, D.C., Obama successfully crossed the demographic divide that had eluded him in earlier contests. Tuesday, he garnered votes from traditional Clinton supporters--seniors, white people, working-class people and women. All of them voted for Obama in big numbers.

In addition, Obama held strong among his core of young voters, independents and Black voters. In the Potomac primary, he took a majority of all three groups, claiming 60 percent to 70 percent of young voters and independent voters and a whopping 90 percent of Black voters, reports CNN.

But it was unexpected for Obama to edge Clinton out for senior, blue-collar, women and Republican voters, groups that, excluding Republicans, supported Clinton in earlier contests--groups Clinton counts as her core support.

According to CNN's poll:

• Obama beat Clinton among senior voters in Virginia 52-47 percent and in Maryland 50-46 percent
• Among white voters, Obama beat Clinton in Virginia 50-49 percent but trailed in Maryland 51-46 percent. Still, that is a huge shift for Obama because of Clinton's strength among white Democrats in earlier contests, notes CNN
• Women voters in Virginia voted for Obama over Clinton 59-41 percent
• Among Virginia voters who earn less than $50,000 annually, Obama took 57 percent of the vote and 59 percent of people who live with a union member
• In Maryland, 59 percent of women voted for Obama, as did 65 percent of voters who make less than $50,000 annually and 61 percent of voters who live with a union member  
• Independent voters, who make up 35 percent of voters in Virginia and Maryland, also favored Obama by a margin of 66 percent to 33 percent in Virginia and 68 percent to 24 percent in Maryland
• And of Republican voters who support Obama, a group the candidate calls "Obamacans," 70 percent of those polled by CNN said they support Obama. That trend dates back to Super Tuesday when 3 percent of people who voted that day described themselves as Republicans who backed Obama

Obama's win Tuesday followed a five-contest sweep last weekend in Washington state, Nebraska, Louisiana, Maine and the Virgin Islands.

So what was at stake in the Potomac primary? At the day's dawn, Obama and Clinton were virtually tied for delegate votes and the Potomac primary offered 168 Democratic delegate votes. Now Obama has a slight lead over Clinton. The Associated Press count of delegates showed Obama with 1,210, while Clinton had 1,188, falling behind for the first time since the campaign began. But neither was close to the 2,025 needed to win the nomination.

Clinton's campaign is trying to downplay Obama's recent surge, saying they expected to struggle in February because the caucus states cater to party activists, and southern states, such as Louisiana, have a strong Black voting bloc that was expected to favor Obama. Her campaign has also called traditionally Republican states, such as North Dakota, Idaho and Kansas (all of which Obama won on Super Tuesday) a wash because they'll never vote Democratic in a general election, reports MSNBC.

So Clinton is focusing on wins in Texas and Ohio, two states rich in delegates. Currently, she is campaigning in Texas and courting Latino voters. Clinton has also pushed Obama to participate in as many debates as possible, but Obama agreed to only participate in two, reports MSNBC.

More Election '08 >>

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