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Democratic hopefuls Obama and Clinton, and Republican hopefuls McCain and Huckabee campaign in the Cheasapeake tidewater area before Tuesday's primaries. Democrat Barack Obama on Monday (February 11) rode a weekend hot streak into the next round of presidential contests, but rival Hillary Clinton shrugged off the setbacks and expressed confidence about her prospects. Obama is favoured over Clinton on Tuesday in Virginia, Maryland and the District of Columbia as they continue their tight back-and-forth struggle for the Democratic nomination in November's presidential election. The three states have 168 pledged delegates picked by voting to this summer's nominating conventions at stake. Polls close at 7 p.m. EST/ (0000 GMT) in Virginia and at 8 p.m. EST/(0100 GMT) in Maryland and the District. Obama swept four weekend contests in the states of Maine, Louisiana, Nebraska and Washington, building momentum and extending a slight lead in the battle for pledged delegates who vote on the nominee. Obama, an Illinois senator, now has 943 pledged delegates to Clinton's 895, according to a delegate count by MSNBC, well short of the 2,025 needed to clinch the Democratic nomination. Clinton, a New York senator, shook up her campaign staff on Sunday, replacing campaign manager Patty Solis Doyle with long-time aide Maggie Williams. But Clinton looked past the three states voting on Tuesday and next week's contests in Wisconsin and Hawaii -- all of which will favour Obama -- to focus i...