Kerry's Virginia Win Shows Strength of His Candidacy
By Terry M. Neal
washingtonpost.com Staff Writer
Tuesday, February 10, 2004; 7:48 PM
Tonight, just moments after CNN declared Massachusetts Sen. John F. Kerry the winner going away in Virginia, former Vermont governor Howard Dean appeared on television screens speaking to supporters at a rally in Wisconsin.
He asked whether the party was going to nominate "someone who has been in the Senate for a long time and taken a lot of special interest money" or someone like himself, who had fought for near-universal health care and against the war in Iraq.
Well, the voters are answering that question, loud and clear. With his big win in Virginia tonight, Kerry simultaneously further laid waste to Dean's grand aspirations and obliterated the argument that voters want a fire-breathing, anti-establishment candidate on the ballot against President Bush in November.
Exit polls show Kerry trouncing his next closest competitor, North Carolina Sen. John Edwards, by nearly 2-1, followed by retired Army Gen. Wesley K. Clark and Dean far back in the pack. By so thoroughly defeating Edwards and Clark -- two southerners -- tonight in Virginia, Kerry also undercuts the argument that he can't appeal to the southern voters. No doubt, Democrats will have a tough time in the South in the general election, but Kerry can now argue that he's the strongest candidate, regardless of regional considerations.
Exit polling data shows Kerry running particularly strong among black voters and older voters.
We'll be back soon with more definitive numbers in Virginia, and we'll be ready to talk about Tennessee as well.
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