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Sen. Barack Obama's sweeping victory over Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton in the North Carolina primary reaffirmed his strength among the affluent and African American voters and set up the final rounds in the bruising contest for the Democratic presidential nomination.

Surprised by the size of Obama's victory? Join the discussion at the Debatables blog.

But the Illinois senator didn't seem on track to sweep Tuesday, as Clinton posted a razor-thin win in the hotly contested Indiana primary.

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But some things were clear. Nine in 10 blacks in both races were backing Obama a typical margin for him. That proved decisive in North Carolina, where African Americans made up about a third of voters. He also led among young voters, college graduates and those earning more than $100,000 a year, Associated Press exit polls showed.

"This is our time to answer the call that so many generations of Americans have answered before by insisting that by hard work, and by sacrifice, the American dream will endure. Thank you, North Carolina," Obama told a cheering crowd Tuesday night at his victory speech in Raleigh.

With most North Carolina precincts reporting, Obama had won 56 percent of the vote to 42 percent for Clinton, a victory that mirrored his earlier wins in Southern states with large black populations.

"Tonight, we stand less than 200 delegates away from securing the Democratic nomination for president of the United States," Obama said, leaving no doubt he intended to claim the prize.

That made Indiana a virtual must-win Midwestern state for the former first lady, who hoped to counter Obama's persistent delegate advantage with a strong run through the late primaries.

There, returns showed Clinton with only a slight lead over Obama. Clinton and Obama both told supporters late Tuesday night that the former first lady would win Indiana.

Yet as they spoke, thousands of votes were yet to be counted, principally in Lake County, a heavily black area not far from Obama's home city of Chicago.

Lake County, the state's second-most populous with nearly 500,000 people, reported no results before 11 p.m. A large number of absentee ballots and a record turnout delayed the tallies.

Before the victory was certain, Clinton told cheering supporters in Indianapolis, "Thanks to you, it's full speed to the White House," signaling her determination to fight on in a campaign already waged across more than 15 months and nearly all 50 states. Former President Clinton and daughter Chelsea were by her side.

Clinton noted the back-and-forth nature of the protracted fight: "I win, he wins. I win, he wins. It's so close."

Then, in what was perhaps a nod to her struggle to overcome Obama's lead, she pledged anew that she'll swing behind the Democratic nominee "no matter what happens."

A big margin in Guilford

In Guilford County, Obama won the race 68 percent to 30 percent according to incomplete and unofficial results.

At Mendenhall Middle School on Willoughby Boulevard in Greensboro, voters coming and going had to wait for a line of students entering and leaving the cafeteria.

"Tell you the truth, I'm torn between Mrs. Clinton and Obama," said James Scales of Greensboro. "But I went with Mr. Obama because he'd be the first black (president)."

Scales noted that, if elected, Clinton would be the nation's first female president. "But I like (Obama's) issues, too," said Scales, a registered Democrat. Boise Blackmon Jr. said he chose Obama because "I believe in what he's saying, things he's talking about."

Blackmon, who was voting at the Trinity AME Zion Church precinct on Florida Street, said Obama is the candidate most able to get the nation out of the war in Iraq and improve the economy.

"I've been hearing a lot of people voting for him," he said.

Issues divide candidates

Obama has long led Clinton among delegates won in the primaries and caucuses, and has increasingly narrowed his deficit among superdelegates who will attend the convention by virtue of their status as party leaders.

Indiana is home to large numbers of blue-collar workers who have been attracted to the former first lady, and she sought to use her call for a federal gas-tax holiday to draw them and other economically pinched voters closer.

Inevitably, the issue quickly took on larger dimensions.

Obama said it symbolized a candidacy consisting of "phony ideas, calculated to win elections instead of actually solving problems."

Clinton retorted, "Instead of attacking the problem, he's attacking my solutions," and ran an ad in the campaign's final hours that said she "gets it."

To a large extent, the gasoline tax eclipsed the controversy surrounding Obama's former pastor. After saying several weeks earlier he could not disown the Rev. Jeremiah Wright for his fiery sermons, Obama did precisely that when the minister embarked on a media tour.

At a news conference in Winston-Salem last week, Obama equated Wright's comments with "giving comfort to those who prey on hate."

Obama's team had expected to win comfortably in North Carolina that's one reason they held their wrap party here. But they also hoped for a come-from-behind win in Indiana.

Obama's forces sought to make as much as possible of the Obama victory in North Carolina, while turning their attention to upcoming contests in Oregon, West Virginia and Kentucky. He returned to Chicago after Tuesday's celebration.

Answering charges that he was having trouble winning in big states that will be important in the general election, Obama characterized his North Carolina win as "a victory in a big state, a swing state, and a state where we will compete to win if I am the Democratic nominee for president of the United States."

Earlier Tuesday, Obama was asked about the difficulty he has had in connecting with blue-collar workers, particularly white men, in states in the industrial Midwest like Indiana that will be important in the fall elections.

"It's really a mixed bag," he said. "There've been some states where we have won the blue-collar vote. Wisconsin. We won it in Iowa. We won it in Minnesota. Then there are other states where we've not done so well, mainly because people are much more familiar with Senator Clinton and President Clinton and their track record."

"You have to give them credit. They're the best-established brand name in Democratic politics, maybe politics overall. They've been on the scene for 20 years. They're not going to go down easy."

Staff writer Richard M. Barron contributed to this story.