John McCain and his wife Cindy, 05 Feb 2008

Arizona Senator John McCain remains the strong favorite for the Republican nomination for America's next president, while Democratic presidential hopefuls continue to vie for frontrunner status.

Democratic Senators Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama are focusing on the political races Saturday in Louisiana, Nebraska and Washington state.

Clinton and Obama each scored key victories in voting Tuesday, when more than 20 states held nominating contests, but neither emerged as a decisive victor.

Republican McCain received a boost Thursday after his major rival, former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney, suspended his presidential campaign.

McCain, a veteran Arizona lawmaker, had claimed frontrunner status after decisive wins Tuesday. McCain tried to rally conservatives to his side Thursday, when he spoke to the Conservative Political Action Conference in Washington. Some in the Republican party's base consider McCain too centrist.

McCain has more than half of the delegate votes needed to win the Republican nomination. The two remaining Republican presidential hopefuls, former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee and Texas Representative Ron Paul, trail far behind.

Two-thousand-twenty-five delegates are required to win the Democratic presidential nomination, while 1,191 are needed to win the Republican nomination.

Some information for this report was provided by AP.