Barack Obama's White House drive picked up new momentum Friday with another superdelegate defection from Democratic rival Hillary Clinton, and the virtual endorsement of former rival John Edwards.
Congressman Donald Payne, a New Jersey lawmaker who had backed Clinton for president, switched his support to Obama, his hometown newspaper The Star-Ledger reported.
"After careful consideration, I have reached the conclusion that Barack Obama can best bring about the change that our country so desperately wants and needs," Payne told the Newark daily.
It was "one of the most difficult decisions I have made," Payne added. "I've really been mulling it over for quite a while."
And Oregon Representative Peter Defazio has also come out for Obama, The Oregonian reported Friday.
Obama's convincing victory Tuesday in the North Carolina primary and close finish in Indiana left him about 180 delegates short of the 2,025 needed to win the nomination, with Clinton running out of options to overtake him.
At least eight superdelegates have declared for him since Tuesday, including David Bonior, who was the national campaign manager for failed presidential hopeful John Edwards.
Edwards said on NBC television Friday that Obama has virtually won the party's presidential nominee battle but stopped short of endorsing him.
"I think (Hillary Clinton) has made a very strong case for her candidacy (but) the problem is the numbers," Edwards said.
"Let's just assume that Barack is the nominee because it's headed in that direction."
Edwards also said he thought Barack has a "better chance" to beat Republican presumptive nominee John McCain.
"I think Americans are looking for someone who will fight for them every day ... and I think that Obama will do that," he said.
Still Edwards did not make a definitive endorsement, but added "Barack Obama's done pretty well without my endorsement."
Obama said earlier he could declare victory in the Democratic presidential nomination on May 20, when primaries in Kentucky and Oregon may put him over the top in terms of elected delegates.
In that event, Obama said "we can make a pretty strong claim that we have got the most runs and it's the ninth inning and we have won," using a baseball analogy in an interview Thursday.
In another sign of his likely nomination, Obama was mobbed by Democratic House of Representatives members when he made an unannounced visit to Congress on Thursday.
At least 10 superdelegates escorted Obama out of one meeting near Capitol Hill and seemed to jostle each other to get in camera shot with him, despite not having publicly announced their preference.
And steering clear of calls for Clinton to bow out, and mindful of the wounds exposed by the Democratic primary season, the Illinois senator said it would be crucial to win "in a way that brings the party together."
Obama's thumping win Tuesday in North Carolina and his narrow defeat by Clinton in Indiana have rewritten the narrative of the gripping Democratic contest.
The New York Times, which had endorsed Clinton, on Friday defended her right to stay in the race, but said she would be making a terrible mistake "if she continues to press her candidacy through negative campaigning with disturbing racial undertones."
Clinton vowed no surrender, telling supporters in West Virginia their voices deserved to be heard when the state holds its primary next Tuesday.
"This is a little bit like deja vu all over again," she said of the media critics, adding in a statement of intent for the general election: "I'm running to be president of all 50 states."
Even as he vowed no retreat for the former first lady, Clinton campaign chairman Terry McAuliffe said superdelegates would coalesce behind a candidate once the final primaries were held on June 3.
"I think it will be all over. I don't see it going to the (August) convention. We'll have a nominee in June," he said.
