Hillary Clinton will 'fight until the bitter end' ???

Hillary Clinton claimed she was more determined than ever to fight until the bitter end in the White House race after thrashing Barack Obama by more than 40 points in the West Virginia primary early today.

But despite the huge margin of victory, the night could yet prove to be her swansong in her historic bid for the Democrat nomination.

And Mrs Clinton left the door open for a possible run as vice-president on a dream ticket by lavishing praise on the Illinois senator, who remains in pole position to win the hard fought contest despite yesterday's defeat.

Boost: Hillary takes applause during her victory rally in Charleston, West Virginia

In a rare admission that she may end up a loser, the former First Lady also told her victory rally in Charleston, West Virginia: "I will work my heart out for the nominee of the Democratic Party to make sure we have a Democrat president."

She nevertheless insisted she was the stronger candidate, saying: "I never give up – I will keep coming back.

"I am more determined than ever to carry on this campaign until everyone has had the chance to make their voices heard. This race isn't over yet," she added.

Although she admitted to some "dust-ups along the way" with Mr Obama, she told the cheering crowd she "totally admired" her opponent.

Speculation was rife before the scale of the win became clear that Mrs Clinton may have been clinging on for the West Virginia vote – and possibly for Kentucky next Tuesday, where she is also expected to be a big winner – to drop out of the race on a high note.

But it now appears she will keep campaigning at least until the final five states have gone to the polls.

Quit while she's ahead: Analysts speculated that Hillary, pictured campaigning yesterday, has been clinging on for the West Virginia vote to drop out of the nomination race on a high

There was no denying the 67 per cent to 26 per cent size of yesterday's landslide in the overwhelmingly white state.

West Virginia voters played right into Mrs Clinton's core support – older, less well-educated and lower income white families.

One in four voters yesterday were 60 and older and a similar percentage said they had no education further than secondary school. More than half said their incomes were below £25,000-a-year.

Race was also a factor, with two in ten whites saying the race of the candidate played a part in their decision. Even more worrying for Mr Obama was that two-thirds of voters said they would not support him as the nominee if he defeats Mrs Clinton.

Exit polls showed that 64% of West Virginia voters thought the economy was the most important issue.

Democrat insiders claim the victories in white working-class strongholds will underline Mrs Clinton's strengths as part of a new behind-the-scenes strategy to compell Barack Obama to agree to her running as his vice presidential running mate.

The dream ticket claim has gained in credibility in recent days, with close aides of Mrs Clinton conceding privately that she would now be interested in campaigning at Mr Obama's side.,p>