PHILADELPHIA – Hillary Clinton gained a gritty victory in the Pennsylvania primary Tuesday night over a better-funded Barack Obama, staving off elimination in their historic race for the Democratic presidential nomination.

The former first lady was winning 54 percent of the vote to 46 percent for her rival with 35 percent of the vote counted, and she hoped for significant inroads into Obama’s overall lead in the competition for delegates to the Democratic National Convention.

Clinton scored her victory by winning the votes of blue-collar workers, women and white men in an election where the economy was the dominant concern. Obama was favored by blacks, the affluent and voters who recently switched to the Democratic Party, a group that comprised about one in 10 Pennsylvania voters, according to the surveys conducted by The Associated Press and the TV networks.

More than 80 percent of voters surveyed as they left their polling places said the nation was already in a recession.

Clinton won despite being outspent heavily by her rival in a six-week campaign that allowed time for intense courtship of the voters.

She showed her blue collar bona fides one night by knocking down a shot of whiskey, then taking a mug of beer as a chaser. Obama went bowling in his attempt to win over working-class voters.

The win gave Clinton a strong record in the big states as she attempts to persuade convention superdelegates to look past Obama’s delegate advantage and his lead in the popular vote in picking a nominee. She had previously won primaries in Texas, California, Ohio and her home state of New York, while Obama won his home state of Illinois.

At the same time, even some of her aides conceded she is facing another likely must-win challenge in Indiana in two weeks, particularly with Obama favored to carry North Carolina on the same day.

Clinton gained at least 28 delegates with her victory, with another 130 still to be awarded.

That left Obama with an overall lead of 1648.5 to 1537.5, totals that include the superdelegates who are not picked in primaries and caucuses.

Clinton projected confidence to the end of the Pennsylvania campaign, scheduling an election-night rally in Philadelphia. Obama signaled in advance he expected to lose, flying off to Indiana for an evening appearance even before the polls closed.

Flush with cash, Obama reported spending $11.2 million on television in the state, more than any place else. That compared with $4.8 million for Clinton.

The tone of the campaign was increasingly personal, to the delight of Republicans and John McCain, the GOP presidential nominee-in-waiting gaining in the polls while the Democrats battle in primaries deep into the spring.