New Delhi: Hillary Clinton won the Kentucky primary by more than 30 points, but Obama's share of the state's 51 delegates was enough put him over the threshold, according to CNN estimates.
Obama is expected to pick up at least 14 delegates in Kentucky, and by CNN estimates, that will give him 1,627 of the 3,253 pledged delegates at stake in all of primaries and caucuses.
Obama's top strategist, David Axelrod, said this was an "important milestone," but not the end of the trail.
Neither candidate is expected to reach the 2,026 delegates needed to win the Democratic nomination.
That means the race is likely to be settled by "superdelegates" – party leaders and officials who will cast votes at the Democratic convention in August.
Currently, Obama has 1,932 total delegates, while Hillary has 1,753.
After Kentucky's results came in, Hillary thanked her supporters for handing her a win "even in the face of some pretty tough odds”.
"Tonight we have achieved an important victory," she said in Louisville.
"It's not just Kentucky bluegrass that's music to my ears. It's the sound of your overwhelming vote of confidence even in the face of some pretty tough odds, she said as she beat Obama across all age groups, income groups and education levels in Kentucky.
Eighty-nine percent of Tuesday's voters in Kentucky were white, according to the exit polls.
Among them, Hillary won 72-22 per cent. Nine per cent of the voters were African-American and they overwhelmingly broke for Obama, 87-7 per cent.
The exit polls from Kentucky also suggest a deep division among Democrats.
Two-thirds of Hillary’s supporters there said they would vote Republican or not vote at all rather than for Obama, according to the polls.
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Forty-one per cent of Hillary supporters said they'd cast their vote for John McCain, the presumptive Republican nominee, and 23 per cent said they would not vote at all.
Just 33 per cent said they would back Obama in the general election, according to the polls.
Those numbers are even worse for Obama than in West Virginia one week ago, where 36 per cent of Hillary voters said they would back him in the fall.
A majority of Democrats in both states think Obama will be the party's nominee, according to exit polls.
The Kentucky and Oregon primaries hold 103 delegates combined. Obama needs 15 more to achieve a majority of the pledged delegates – the delegates won either in state caucuses or primaries.
Obama is the favorite in Oregon, where a CNN poll of polls indicates that he has a lead of 10 percentage points. Oregon's primary is a mail-in only contest, which means voters must mail in or hand in their ballots in person by 8 pm Pacific Standard Time.
Both Kentucky and Oregon's primaries are closed, so only registered Democrats can vote in the Democratic contests.
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