U.S. Democrats in dead heat ahead of big vote

By David Wiessler

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Democrats Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama were locked in a near dead heat two days before the biggest presidential voting so far while John McCain tried to nail down the Republican nomination for the White House.

With 24 states holding nominating contests on Tuesday, the candidates spent their Sundays appearing on the morning television talk shows and campaigning across the country as polls showed the two races going in opposite directions.

The Democratic race, which Clinton once led handily, had narrowed to a nearly a draw in recent national polls.

Obama held a slight lead in California and was virtually tied with Clinton in New Jersey and Missouri -- three states voting on "Super Tuesday" -- in a Reuters/C-SPAN/Zogby poll released on Sunday.

While the two people seeking to be the Democratic choice were vying to win the most delegates needed for nomination, they also were making the argument of being the most electable candidate to face McCain in the November election.

"I have been through these Republican attacks over and over and over again and I believe that I've demonstrated that, much to the dismay of the Republicans, I not only can survive, but thrive," Clinton said on ABC's "This Week."

Clinton, the New York senator who was a major target of conservatives while first lady during President Bill Clinton's terms in office, said her record was well known and she had already weathered heated attacks while Obama, a first-term senator from Illinois, was still an unknown quantity.

"I think I can get some votes that Senator Clinton cannot get," Obama, who would be the first black president, said on CBS' "Face the Nation." "That broadens the political map. I think it bodes well for the election."