John McCain, the presumptive Republican presidential nominee, swept rival Mike Huckabee in three capital area primaries Tuesday, even as polls pointed to his lingering weakness among conservatives.
Underdog Huckabee put up a spirited fight in Virginia, and McCain won the conservative southern state by just nine percentage points (50 to 41 percent) after pre-primary polls predicted a two-to-one rout.
The Arizona senator trounced the former Arkansas governor and ordained Baptist minister in the US capital, by 68 to 17 percent, and won Maryland by 55 to 29 percent.
A CNN exit poll showed that while McCain led among conservatives in Maryland 43-36 percent, he lost big among conservatives in Virginia, where 51 percent of them voted for Huckabee and only 38 percent voted for him.
Tuesday's trio of victories provided a boost to McCain's campaign, already in high gear despite losing nominating contests to Huckabee in the conservative southern states of Louisiana and Kansas earlier this month.
McCain thanked the region's voters "for a clean sweep of the Potomac primary" during his victory speech and praised his rival, saying his "passionate supporters are a credit to him and our party."
"And my friends, he certainly keeps things interesting, a little too interesting at times tonight."
McCain, a conservative who has garnered support from independent voters in the past, vowed to reach out to all voters in the Republican base, even ultraconservatives who are wary that his stances are too centrist.
"I will make my case to every American who will listen. I will not confine myself to the comfort of speaking only to those who agree with me. I will make my case to all the people."
A CNN exit poll in Virginia showed that evangelicals chose Huckabee by a wide margin: 66 percent to 26 percent for McCain.
The 71-year-old senator fared better among those aged 65 or older, taking 49 percent of these voters, to 45 percent for Huckabee.
Veterans also showed a slight preference for Vietnam war veteran and former prisoner of war, with 46 choosing McCain and 44 percent choosing Huckabee.
Meanwhile, Huckabee vowed to continue his fight and told supporters the race was far from over.
"The next several weeks are going to be the very intense weeks when a lot of delegates are at stake. And a lot will be decided as far as the long-term impact of where this process is going," he said.
"One thing that we have continually said, and I'm going to reiterate tonight, that the nomination is not secured until somebody has 1,191 delegates. That has not yet happened."
In his speech, McCain looked ahead to the White House race against the eventual Democratic party nominee.
"But now comes the hard part, and for America, the much bigger decision. We do not yet know for certain who will have the honor of being the Democratic Party's nominee for president," he said.
"But we know where either of their candidates will lead this country, and we dare not let them."
Democratic hopeful Barack Obama swept the area's nominating contests, carving into White House rival Hillary Clinton's power base and taking his post-Super Tuesday winning streak to eight. However, the Illinois and New York senators remain in close fight for delegates.
McCain has a virtually insurmountable lead in the delegate count, with 797 to Huckabee's 240, according to RealClearpolitics.com. The winning Republican candidate needs 1,191 delegates to secure the nomination.
