Senator Hillary Clinton was projected by the U.S. TV networks and other media as the winner of the Democratic presidential primary in the state of Kentucky Tuesday.

With all the voting closed in Kentucky at 2300 GMT, early results reported that Clinton led her rival Senator Barrack Obama of Illinois by a large margin as much as 30 percent.

Exit polls show Clinton got heavy support from white women, whites who didn't attend college, churchgoers and voters who value a candidate's "experience" first.

The state was allocated 60 delegates to the 2008 Democratic National Convention.

Of these, 51 are pledged delegates tied to the results of the May 20 primary, and 9 are so-called superdelegates.

Clinton and Obama are also competing in Oregon Tuesday, where 52 pledged delegates are at stake.

Because the largest portion of the state is in the lagging time zone and U.S. TV networks have no choice but to not make any projections until the polls close at 0300 GMT Wednesday.

(Xinhua News Agency May 21, 2008)