像马拉松一样的美国民主党总统候选人的初选阶段今天(星期二)将告终。投票人前往最后两个举行初选的州的投票站。但是今天结束前，民主党可能仍然没有11 月份总统大选的候选人。美国参议员奥巴马在获胜所需的代表人数上领先于参议员克林顿。但是在南达科他州和蒙塔那州要决出的总共31名代表的人数还不足以让奥巴马通过获取提名的门槛。
这就意味着获得提名的参选人要由所谓超级代表来决定。超级代表是指任命和选举出的官员，他们可以在8月份的党内提名大会上自行决定投票给哪一位参选人。民主党官员认为，会有足够多的超级代表在投票结束后宣布支持奥巴马，让他今晚获得提名。
共和党成员已经投票决定提名亚历桑那州国会参议员麦凯恩为他们的总统候选人。
The marathon-like U.S. Democratic party presidential primary election season comes to an end today (Tuesday) as voters cast ballots in the last two state contests. However, the Democratic Party may still not have its nominee for November’s presidential election by the end of the day. U.S. Senator Barack Obama leads Senator Hillary Clinton in the number of delegates needed to win. But the combined 31 delegates at stake today in South Dakota and Montana are not enough to push him past the threshold to clinch the nomination.
That means the nomination will be decided by so-called super delegates — officials and elected office holders who are free to vote for either candidate at the party’s nominating convention in August. Party officials say they think enough super delegates will announce their support for Obama after the polls close tonight to give him the nomination.
Members of the Republican Party have already voted to nominate Arizona Senator John McCain as their presidential candidate.
一艘日本军舰本月将访中国 (Japanese Naval Ship to Visit China Later This Month)