Key states Ohio and Texas decide future of Hillary Clinton

Washington: The fate of Hillary Clinton's US presidential bid rested with voters in Ohio and Texas yesterday in her hard-fought Democratic duel with Barack Obama.

Voters were already heading to the polls in Vermont, Rhode Island, Ohio and Texas.

Clinton, a New York senator battling to snap Obama's string of 11 consecutive state-by-state victories, needs wins in both Ohio and Texas to rejuvenate her struggling campaign and ensure the race moves on to Pennsylvania on April 22.

Losses in even one of the states could set off a stampede of party support for Obama, raise pressure on Clinton to drop out and make it even tougher to cut Obama's lead.