At 1:10 a.m. the Associated Press made it official and declared Hillary Clinton the winner in Indiana, 5 hours and 40 minutes after it called North Carolina for Barack Obama.

Exit polls indicated that seniors made the difference for Clinton in Indiana. CNN reported that Clinton captured the votes of 69 percent of voters ages 65 and older.

All of which means that Clinton and Obama will be back at it Tuesday, May 13, fighting over 39 delegates in West Virginia.

Heading into Tuesday’s primaries, Hillary Clinton said North Carolina could be a “game changer,“ meaning she could shake up the race by scoring an upset win over Barack Obama there.

But as Tuesday night turned to Wednesday morning, long after Clinton declared victory in Indiana, her lead in the Hoosier State continued to dwindle and Obama was on the verge of his own “game changer.“

Clinton’s victory speech included a new pitch for donations and she said she’ll continue to fight—“full speed on to the White House.“ Meantime, Obama said he’s drawn within about 200 delegates of securing the nomination.

Neither Obama, nor Clinton can lock up the nomination on pledged delegates alone. If Clinton stays in the race, superdelegates eventually will have to make the call.

This morning you can bet a lot of superdelegates are watching the returns trickle in from Gary, Indiana—and wondering whether the results will change the game.

The woman who might be Virginia’s most important superdelegate will have a big say in the Democrats’ nomination fight before she commits to either Barack Obama or Hillary Clinton.

Among Virginia’s 16 Democratic superdelegates, Alexis Herman is one of six who remain uncommitted to either Obama or Clinton. That might seem odd, cosidering that Herman served as Secretary of Labor in President Bill Clinton’s second term from 1997 to 2001.

But Herman has a good reason to stay neutral, for now.

She is a co-chairman of the Democratic National Committee’s Rules and Bylaws Committee. That’s the group that on May 31 will take up a critical question—what to do about Michigan and Florida.

Months ago, the DNC took away each state’s delegates to the Democratic National Convention because they jumped the gun and held early primaries without permission. Clinton won primaries in both states, although she and Obama did not campaign in either and his name wasn’t even on Michigan’s ballot.

If the committee votes to restore even half of Florida’s delegate votes—a proposal the panel will hear May 31, according to the Associated Press—Clinton would gain important ground on Obama.

So, Herman is in a delicate situation. Don’t expect her to endorse either candidate anytime soon.

A win in Indiana tonight wouldn’t just help Hillary Clinton. It might boost the vice presidential hopes of one of her chief surrogates, Indiana Sen. Evan Bayh.

Like Virginia’s Tim Kaine, an early backer of Barack Obama, Bayh made up his mind quickly. He endorsed Clinton in early 2007, after briefly entertaining his own run for president.

Bayh has made plenty of campaign appearances and television appearances for Clinton, as Kaine has for Obama. As a result, both show up on pundits’ short lists of potential running mates—Bayh for Clinton and Kaine for Obama.

The boyish Bayh can tout his two terms in the U.S. Senate, his two terms as Indiana’s governor and his stint as head of the centrist Democratic Leadership Council.

But his vice presidential prospects face the same big question as Kaine’s—whether he could bring home his state’s electoral votes. No Democratic presidential candidate has carried Indiana or Virginia since 1964.

Tonight’s apparent split decision—North Carolina to Obama and Indiana to Clinton—is good news for John McCain, but settles nothing for the Democratic rivals.

In an interview with MSNBC, Clinton campaign chairman Terry McAuliffe, one of Clinton’s four Virginia superdelegates, uttered the words that might strike fear into the hearts of Democrats who want this race wrapped up.

“On to West Virginia,“ he said.

The long march of Obama and Clinton is likely to continue through West Virginia on May 13, Kentucky and Oregon on May 20, and Puerto Rico on June 1 before Montana and South Dakota close out the voting on June 3.

At that point it’s still unlikely that Obama or Clinton will have 2,025 delegates—the magic number they need to gain the Democratic nomination.