Democrat Barack Obama has seized command of the race for the White House.

The Illinois senator has beaten John McCain in Ohio and is building a near insurmountable Electoral College advantage as he bids to become the first black President.

Overall, Barack Obama had won 207 electoral votes, while John McCain had won 142. Obama was 63 votes short of winning the election, and pre-election polls showed him with comfortable leads in California, Washington and Oregon, which carried 72 electoral votes.

Fellow Democrats are gaining strength in both Houses of Congress.

Obama’s Ohio victory denied McCain particularly precious territory. No Republican has ever won the presidency without the state.

A crowd expected to top 100,000 began gathering on Tuesday night in Grant Park in Chicago, where Obama scheduled an address at what he hoped would be a victory rally.

Hundreds of thousands more – Mayor Richard Daley said he would not be surprised if a million Chicagoans jammed the streets – were expected to watch on a large television screen outside the park.

McCain pledges to help Obama lead

John McCain on Tuesday urged all Americans to join him in congratulating Sen. Barack Obama on his projected victory in the presidential election.

“I pledge to him tonight to do all in my power to help him lead us through the many challenges we face,” McCain said before his supporters in Phoenix, Arizona.

McCain’s running mate, Gov. Sarah Palin, was standing with him, but she did not speak.

With his projected win, Obama will become the nation’s 44th president.

Obama will address the country from a rally in Chicago, Illinois, later Tuesday night.

The Illinois senator will become the first African-American to win the presidency.

Supporters in Chicago cheering, “Yes, we can” were met with cries of “Yes, we did.”

Obama’s former rival for the Democratic nomination, Sen. Hillary Clinton said in a statement that “we are celebrating an historic victory for the American people.”

“This was a long and hard fought campaign but the result was well worth the wait. Together, under the leadership of President Barack Obama, Vice President Joe Biden, and a Democratic Congress, we will chart a better course to build a new economy and rebuild our leadership in the world.”

The Illinois senator is projected to pick up a big win in Virginia, a state that hasn’t voted for a Democratic president since 1964.

Obama also is projected to beat Sen. John McCain in Ohio, a battleground state that was considered a must-win for the Republican candidate.

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