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Barack Obama wins race to become US president

His era-changing victory came as he won a series of key battleground states, winning Virginia, Pennsylvania and Ohio.

Mr Obama led his Republican rival John McCain by 297 votes to 139 as he passed the magic number of 270 needed to win the presidency at 4am GMT.

Celebrations ignited in Kenya, where the president-elect's father had once been a goatherd.

The 47-year-old Illinois senator will be sworn in as the 44th president of the United States on January 20 next year.

Hundreds of thousands of people erupted into loud cheers in and around Grant Park in downtown Chicago, the scene of Mr Obama’s historic victory rally.

A President Obama, with his strong message of change, hope and unity, will herald a new era in US politics, bring a more multilateral approach to the world’s challenges, and perhaps transform the issue of race in America.

He has pledged to tackle the global financial crisis from day one, end the war in Iraq and unveil an ambitious energy plan to tackle climate change.

When he addressed the victory rally he told the cheering crowd: "If there is anyone out there who still doubts that America is a place where all things are possible, who still wonders if the dream of our founders is alive in our time, who still questions the power of our democracy, here is your answer."

Demonstrating the rhetorical skills which have defined his campaign, he said: "It's the answer that let those who had been told for so long by so many to be cynical and fearful and doubtful about what we could achieve to put their hands on the arc of history and bend it once more towards the hope of a better day. It's been a long time coming, but tonight because of what we did on this day, in this election, at this defining moment, change has come to America."

He added: "A little bit earlier this evening I received an extraordinarily gracious call from Senator McCain. Senator McCain fought long and hard in this campaign, and he's fought even longer and harder for the country he loves. He has endured sacrifices for America that most of us cannot begin to imagine. We are better off for the service rendered by this brave and selfless leader."

In Ohio, Mr Obama had the help of Governor Ted Strickland, previously a supporter of his former rival Hillary Clinton, as he won over rural areas which went strongly in her favour in the Democratic primary election.

Pennsylvania, another state where Mr Obama lost to Mrs Clinton in the Democratic primary election, was also at the centre of his only gaffe of the campaign, when he told a San Francisco fundraiser that economic frustrations had made small-town Pennsylvania voters "bitter" and driven them to "cling to guns or religion".

But despite this he won the support of the state’s voters and its 21 electoral votes tonight, giving him a significant boost in the race for the White House.

It was seen as a must-win state by the McCain campaign and the campaign was aggressive there.

Pennsylvania went into the election with more than 8.7 million registered voters, a record number. The increase was primarily caused by Democrats, and the Democratic Party had more than a million more registered voters in the state than the Republicans.

On the campaign trail, Mr Obama told the state’s workers, and its unemployed, that Republicans had abandoned them and promised to invest in technologies that would create jobs and cut middle-class taxes to help families pay their bills.

Mr Obama also won New Hampshire, the scene of two great comebacks for Mr McCain and Mrs Clinton during the primary season – memories which he will now be able to put behind him.

Once seen as Republican, New Hampshire was decided by thin margins in the past two presidential elections and was the only state in the nation to vote for Mr Bush in 2000 and then for Democratic nominee John Kerry in 2004.

The jubilant crowd of thousands in Grant Park in downtown Chicago - on an unseasonably mild night - were confident Mr Obama would win the presidency by dawn.

They reacted each time the Democrat was announced the winner in another state, with the cheers becoming particularly loud when Pennsylvania and Ohio fell.

Mr Obama also won Iowa, where his landmark run for the presidency began in January with a surprisingly strong victory in the state’s first-in-the-nation caucuses.

A national CNN exit poll showed the US economy was the number one issue for 62% of voters, followed by the Iraq war (10%), terrorism and healthcare (both 9%) and energy policy (7%).

Earlier, in keeping with tradition, voting began at the stroke of midnight in a handful of remote towns in the north-eastern state of New Hampshire.

The residents of Dixville Notch have been meeting in the town’s ballot room at midnight each election day since 1960.

Mr Obama won the town’s poll by 15 votes to six for Mr McCain – a landslide victory after more than 40 years of Republican loyalty.

Interviews with voters suggested that almost six in 10 women were backing Mr Obama nationwide, and men leaned his way by a narrow margin.

Just over half of whites supported Mr McCain, giving him a slim advantage in a group that President George Bush carried overwhelmingly in 2004.

At the White House, spokeswoman Dana Perino said Mr Bush told dinner guests: "May God bless whoever wins tonight."

Mr Obama also chalked up victories in 14 other states and DC, including Vermont, Connecticut, Delaware, DC, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, Rhode Island, Michigan, Minnesota, Wisconsin, New York, and New Mexico.

Meanwhile Mr McCain took 15 states including: Kentucky, South Carolina, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Alabama, North Dakota, Wyoming, Georgia, West Virginia, Louisiana, Utah, Kansas, Arkansas, Texas, and Mississippi.

Veteran politician Joe Biden will be the next vice president of the United States.

Mr McCain conceded the election with his wife Cindy and running mate Sarah Palin at his side in Phoenix, Arizona.

"We have come to the end of a long journey," he said

"The American people have spoken and they have spoken clearly."

Mr Obama asked his Republican rival for help in leading the country as Mr McCain conceded defeat.

Obama campaign spokesman Robert Gibbs said Mr Obama told his rival: "I need your help, you’re a leader on so many important issues."

Mr McCain called Mr Obama at 11pm EST (4am GMT), moments after the Illinois senator was declared the next president, Mr Gibbs said.

He added that the Democrat thanked Mr McCain for his graciousness and said he had waged a tough race.

Mr Obama also said the 72-year-old Arizona senator was consistently someone who had showed class and honour during this campaign, as he had during his entire life in public service, his campaign said.

Wales’ First Minister Rhodri Morgan yesterday made no secret of whom he wanted to see in the White House.

He told AMs at his weekly question session that Mr Obama was "undoubtedly a symbol of hope to many people", adding that it would be a "triumph of hope over fear if he is elected".

Later, Prime Minister Gordon Brown said the campaign had been “historic” - but stuck with convention by refusing to say whom he wanted to win.

“That is for the American people to decide and we will have the result very soon,” he said during his tour of the Gulf.

“What I do know is that American leadership is going to be very important in the next critical time and I look forward to working with the next president whoever he is.

“I think whatever the result of the American election... history has been made in this campaign – the women coming to the fore, a black candidate coming to the fore. But it is for the American people to decide, it is their decision.”