WASHINGTON – Democrat Barack Obama looked to continue his winning streak in three mid-Atlantic presidential primaries Tuesday and brushed aside questions about the coming contests where rival Hillary Rodham Clinton was focusing her attention. Republican John McCain sought to rebound from two weekend losses to Mike Huckabee and reinforce his position as the inevitable GOP nominee.

Early turnout in Virginia was reported high and city officials in the District of Columbia were hoping that a swath of new registered voters would show up at the polls. Maryland election officials were also projecting a strong turnout, particularly in the Democratic race.

Obama surprised customers at a Dunkin’ Donuts shop, where he got donuts and coffee for his workers at a polling place across the street.

“It’s very early,” Obama said during the appearance. “We haven’t even gotten through this yet, come on, man,” he added, referring to Tuesday’s Democratic presidential primaries in Virginia, Maryland and the District of Columbia.

Clinton planned to spend election night at a rally in El Paso, Texas.

Coming off weekend victories in five contests, Obama was favored to win the mid-Atlantic primaries which draw a heavy blend of black and better educated voters, blocs that have aided his wins in earlier matchups against Clinton. Likewise, McCain was favored on the GOP side.

McCain received warm greetings on the Senate floor Tuesday from some of his sharpest GOP critics. Sen. Thad Cochran, a Mississippi Republican who recently said the thought of McCain as the party’s nominee sent a chill down his spine, gave the Arizonan a big smile and hug.

“Congratulations,” called out Sen. David Vitter, R-La., who had endorsed Rudy Giuliani.

An Associated Press tally shows McCain had 729 delegates to Mike Huckabee’s 241 delegates. It takes 1,191 delegates to clinch the GOP nomination.

Clinton had a slim lead going into Tuesday’s contests – 1,147, compared to 1,124 for Obama – in the race for the 2,025 delegates needed to win the Democratic nomination at this summer’s convention.

Democrats picked 168 delegates and Republicans 116 on Tuesday.

Obama was traveling late Tuesday to Wisconsin, which votes next week, along with Hawaii, where he grew up.

With the Clinton campaign all but conceding losses Tuesday, as well as in other primaries during the month, the New York senator prepared to fly to Texas, which holds its primary on March 4. She is banking on strong showings there and in Ohio, which votes the same day, to blunt Obama’s momentum.

“I wouldn’t be doing this if I didn’t think I would be the best candidate,” Clinton told reporters Monday as she campaigned near Baltimore. “So I’m going forward – every day, we get to make our case to the American people.”

Virginia does not have party registration so voters can participate in either primary. By 9 a.m., voters had to wait as much as 45 minutes in some localities, Board of Elections spokeswoman Susan Pollard said.

“We have had heavy voter turnout in a variety of different localities throughout the state,” Pollard said. Richmond voter registrar J. Kirk Showalter said, “It’s a good strong turnout.”

Interest in the close Democratic contest was evident from spikes in voter registrations and absentee balloting in the region.

In Virginia, a total of 32,166 people had requested mail absentee ballots by last Tuesday’s deadline, and nearly two-thirds of them were for Democratic primary ballots. In the first two weeks of the year, 37,025 met the Jan. 14 deadline for registering in time to vote in the primaries. Of that, 61 percent of the new registrants were 24 or younger.

In the District, voter registration increased by 34,916 to 377,007 since the presidential primary in January 2004 – and is up more than 93,000 compared with the 2000 primary.

Dozens of people filled the gymnasium at Oyster Elementary School in northwest Washington as voting began at 7 a.m. Eric Sonnenschein, 34, said he planned to vote for Clinton but believed both candidates were highly qualified.

“I feel like this is her chance,” Sonnenschein said about Clinton. “I feel like (Obama) will have future chances.”

In Baltimore, Karen Hall Baldwin’s eyes welled with tears after she cast her ballot for Obama. She said she grew up in Atlanta as a neighbor of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s family.

“Voting is so important to me as a black woman, because I know the sacrifice (King’s) family made,” said Hall Baldwin, 46. “Having the chance to choose between a black man and a woman is very emotional for me.”

Clinton supporters were also passionate. Mary White, of Annapolis, said she voted for Clinton because she was tired of seeing men run the country.

“It’s time for a woman to lead the country,” White said. “I like her policies. I like her commitment to work.”

Both the Clinton and Obama campaigns prepared to launch television ads in Ohio and Texas on Tuesday, and added another debate to their schedule – Feb. 21 in Austin, Texas.

In hypothetical general election matchups, a new AP poll conducted after last week’s Super Tuesday contests found Obama edging McCain, 48 percent to 42 percent, while Clinton and the Arizona senator were tied – 46 percent for Clinton to 45 percent for McCain.

Despite what the poll numbers suggest, Clinton’s strategists argued that she would be the stronger competitor against McCain because she has stared down Republicans throughout her career in politics and public service.

Clinton “has withstood the full brunt of this kind of attack and will be able to neutralize what is likely to happen particularly with a nominee who is not as well known,” said strategist Mark Penn

“In a general election the Republicans would spring into action and quickly, if he were the nominee, roll out his full record,” Penn said of Obama.

Associated Press writers Bob Lewis in Richmond, Va., Brian Witte in Baltimore, and Charles Babington and Brett Zongker in Washington contributed to this report.