The story

Super Tuesday positioned Sen. John McCain as the clear Republican front-runner, while a split decision in the Democratic race may eventually help Sen. Barack Obama, according to CNN's political analysts.

McCain extended his lead in the GOP race with impressive coast-to-coast wins from New York to California, while former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee carried states in the South. Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney won seven races, including his home state of Massachusetts.

"I think we did achieve clarity. John McCain will be the Republican nominee," CNN analyst Jeffrey Toobin said. "Mike Huckabee did better than a lot expected. If you look at the delegates, there is no way either Huckabee or Romney can catch up. I think we did learn that much."

The Arizona Republican has more than a 300-delegate lead over his nearest rival, Romney, but he wasn't able to capture enough delegates to place a definitive lock on the nomination.

"We had two front-runners who couldn't put it away tonight," said David Gergen, a CNN senior political analyst. "A lot of people thought John McCain would be able to put it away. He simply did not do that." See how CNN's analysts view the GOP race Read full article »

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