Democratic Presidential Race Down to Two Wednesday, 18-Feb-2004 5:50AM Story from AP
The Democratic presidential campaign is spreading out to 10 crucial "Super Tuesday" states, and it's down to a two-man race between front-runner John Kerry and a plucky challenger, John Edwards.
Tuesday's Wisconsin primary set the stage for the March 2 contests. Kerry emerged again as the victor, Edwards is still in the race after a surprisingly close second place finish and Howard Dean's candidacy appeared doomed after he came in a distant third.
"The voters of Wisconsin sent a clear message," Edwards said. "The message was this: Objects in your mirror may be closer than they appear."
But Kerry gave no indication he was fazed by the Edwards surge in Wisconsin. "We're going to win the nomination," Kerry told The Associated Press.
Kerry's advisers pointed out that even though Edwards closed the gap in Wisconsin, Kerry still has won 15 of 17 contests. Edwards has only one, South Carolina, where he was born.
"We play everywhere, unlike John Edwards and Howard Dean and anyone else in the race," said Steve Elmendorf, Kerry's deputy campaign manager. "The problem these other candidates have is they are not competing in a serious way to get enough delegates to get the nomination."
The March 2 contests are in California, New York, Ohio, Minnesota, Vermont, Georgia, Rhode Island, Massachusetts, Connecticut and Maryland. At stake will be 1,151 delegates, more than half the total needed to claim the nomination.
Utah, Idaho and Hawaii will vote next Feb. 24, but with only 61 delegates up for grabs total, those states will not be a focus of the campaign.
Aides say Edwards' populist message will resonate in Ohio and upstate New York, areas hard hit by job losses. The Southern-bred candidate also should do well in Georgia. California is by far the day's biggest prize, with 370 delegates, followed by New York with 236.
In the final days of the Wisconsin race, Edwards criticized Kerry's support of the North American Free Trade Agreement. The message found a receptive audience: In exit polls, three-fourths of voters said trade with other countries takes jobs from their state.
Edwards and Kerry split the vote among those voters, though the North Carolina senator did better than the front-runner among voters who cited the economy and jobs as top issues.
Kerry repeatedly told the state's voters that he would review all trade agreements upon taking office, seeking to protect labor and environmental standards. His position has satisfied labor unions, and the AFL-CIO plans to endorse Kerry on Thursday.
Edwards finished far better than pre-primary polls suggested he would, his surge fueled by the highest Republican turnout of the primary season and voters who made up their minds in the last week. His deepest support was in the GOP suburbs of Milwaukee.
"That's been happening in other primaries too," Edwards said in an interview. "Republicans who would consider voting Democratic and independents are the people we have to win over to win the general election. That's why I'm the best candidate to take on George Bush."
The strong GOP turnout was boosted by city government elections in Milwaukee and a controversial referendum on casino gambling by an Indian tribe.
Primaries in Georgia, Ohio and Vermont on March 2 will be open to all voters as will the caucuses in Minnesota.
Now the only Democrat with a glimmer of hope to beat Kerry, Edwards is pushing for a one-on-one debate with the front-runner before next month's showdown.
The Democratic race once had 10 candidates, but the field is now down to five, including Dean, Dennis Kucinich and Al Sharpton, three candidates who haven't won a single contest.
Dean ignored pleas to give up the fight. "We are not done," he told his supporters, even as his own advisers were saying his campaign for the presidency was effectively over. He headed home to Vermont to regroup, in search of a way to convert his political network into a movement that helps elect Democrats.
Senior advisers, speaking on condition of anonymity, said Dean, with no hope of winning the presidency, was considering scaling back his campaign sharply - but not formally withdrawing. He was just as likely to cede the nomination and, with hopes of becoming a kingmaker, endorse a rival.
His campaign reached out to Edwards' team, believing Dean's fund-raising prowess could help reshape the race, aides said. But they did not rule out Dean endorsing Kerry, a move they said would seal the nomination for the Massachusetts lawmaker. |
