Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama beat his rival, Hillary Rodham Clinton in the Wyoming caucuses on Saturday.

As of 96 percent of precincts reporting, Obama led Clinton at 59 percent to 40 percent.

The Republican-dominated state has only 12 delegates who would vote at the Democratic national convention, one of the smallest prize in the party's presidential nomination race. But it became a battlefield this year since every delegate matters in such a close race.

Illinois Senator Obama has been always doing well in caucuses for his strength in organizing and mobilizing grass-roots voters. Clinton, a New York senator, performed better in primary elections in big states such as California and Ohio.

According to CNN estimation, the victory in Wyoming would bring Obama's number of delegates to 1,527, and increase Clinton's to 1,428. Either of them has to accumulate 2,025 delegates to secure his or her presidential candidacy.

"Seriously, I never imagined when I took this job that we would see the day when the two front-runners for the Democratic presidential nomination would hold events in Wyoming on the eve of our country caucuses," Wyoming State Democratic Party spokesman Bill Luckett wrote on the State Party's Website.

The state that homes to Vice President Dick Cheney, has not voted for a Democrat in the national presidential elections since 1964. But it has a Democratic governor, Dave Freudenthal, who does not endorsed either Obama or Clinton for they mostly neglecting "Western issues," like the environment, water and energy.

The two candidates did not schedule a post-caucuses rally on Saturday but took a day off at home before they face off in Mississippi on Tuesday and in Pennsylvania on April 22.

(Xinhua News Agency March 9, 2008)