The Primaries Will Continue After NH

Oklahoma, with 47 delegates, is considered promising ground for retired Gen. Wesley Clark. His backers hope he will appeal to the state's 300,000 former members of the military. He led former Vermont Gov. Howard Dean in an Oklahoma poll released last weekend.

Missouri, with 88 delegates, was considered a lock for Richard Gephardt, a congressman from that state, until he dropped out after the Iowa caucuses. Candidates are scrambling for support in the suddenly competitive state, with no clear favorite in sight.

A total of 269 delegates are at stake in the seven states with Feb. 3 primaries. The successful candidate will need more than 2,000 delegates to gain the party's nomination at its national convention in Boston this summer.

Terry McAuliffe, chairman of the Democratic National Committee, predicted last weekend the nominee would be decided by March 10, at which point 71 percent of the party's delegates will have been chosen.