Senator Barack Obama will win the North Carolina Democratic primary

(CNN) — Sen. Barack Obama will win the North Carolina Democratic primary, CNN projects, but the race in Indiana is still too close to call. Obama will pick up the larger share of North Carolina’s 115 delegates.

With 21 percent of Indiana precincts reporting, Sen. Hillary Clinton leads Obama 57-43 percent.

There are 72 delegates at stake in Indiana.

Poll workers in Indiana and North Carolina reported heavy turnout in the two primaries that could be pivotal in the Democratic presidential nomination battle.

Turnout in the North Carolina Democratic primary was expected to reach 50 percent, according to Gary Bartlett, executive director for the North Carolina Board of Elections.

That figure would far exceed the 15 percent to 30 percent that usually turn out for a primary, he said.

The Indiana secretary of state’s office said turnout was high throughout the day.

Indiana Secretary of State Todd Rokita will not release official figures until the end of the day, but said turnout looked more like a general election than a primary.

Polling officials in Indianapolis said they had set a record for voter turnout after being open for only six hours.

According to early exit polls, half of Clinton’s supporters in Indiana would not vote for Obama in a general election match up with Sen. John McCain, the presumptive Republican presidential nominee.

A third of Clinton voters said they would pick McCain over Obama, while 17 percent said they would not vote at all. Forty-eight percent of Clinton supporters said they would back Obama in November.

Obama got even less support from Clinton backers in North Carolina where 45 percent of Clinton supporters said they would vote for him over McCain. Thirty-eight percent of Clinton supporters said they would vote for McCain while 12 percent said they would not vote.

Obama voters appear to be more willing to support Clinton in November. In Indiana, 59 percent of Obama backers said they’d vote for Clinton, and 70 percent of Obama backers in North Carolina said vote for her against McCain.

Voters from both states were spilt over the controversy surrounding Obama’s former pastor, the Rev. Jeremiah Wright, early exit polls suggest.

In Indiana, 49 percent of voters in the Democratic primary said the issue was not important, compared to 48 percent who said it was an important factor in their vote.

In North Carolina 50 percent of voters said the Wright controversy was important, and 48 percent said it was not.

In both states, those who said it was an important issue largely broke for Clinton, and those who said it was not backed Obama.

Clinton has said the contest in North Carolina could be a “game-changer.”

“It would be a game-changer if Clinton wins both North Carolina and Indiana by double-digit margins,” said Bill Schneider, CNN senior political analyst. “That would signal to the superdelegates that Democratic voters are having serious doubts about Obama. She needs big victories because it’s so late in the game.”

Obama currently leads in pledged delegates and in states won, and he is ahead in the popular vote, if Florida and Michigan are not factored into the equation. Those states are being penalized for moving their primaries up in violation of party rules.

“If Obama wins both North Carolina and Indiana, that would be a game-changer but not the one Clinton is talking about,” Schneider said. “The superdelegates would take that as a signal that the voters are ready to close the deal up with Obama.”

In all, only 404 pledged delegates remain to be chosen, and Tuesday’s total of 187 makes it the biggest single primary day left. Clinton would need to win 70 percent of the remaining pledged delegates to catch up with Obama.

“That’s very unlikely,” Schneider said. “She stands a better chance of catching up in the total popular vote.”

With neither candidate expected to win the 2,025 delegates needed to clinch the Democratic nomination by June 3, the end of the primary season, the final decision will most likely fall to the 796 superdelegates: Democratic governors, members of Congress and party officials.

Both candidates have spent the past two weeks shuttling between Indiana and North Carolina, each arguing to crucial working-class voters that their rival is out of touch when it comes to the pocketbook issues that are dominating the campaign.

Source: cnn.com