"Kerry wins in South, Clark to quit
FAIRFAX, Virginia (CNN) -- Sen. John Kerry took two victories in southern primaries Tuesday which drove one of his rivals with southern roots out of the race for the Democratic presidential nomination.
Retired Gen. Wesley Clark, who finished third in both Tennessee and Virginia, will announce his withdrawl on Wednesday in his hometown of Little Rock, Arkansas.
Kerry's twin victories in those states proves his message appeals to southern voters.
"Once again, the message rings out loud and clear: Americans are voting for change East and West, North and now in the South," Kerry told supporters in Fairfax, Virginia.
"[As] this campaign moves forward we will fight for every vote. We may be a little bit older, we may be a little bit grayer but we still know how to fight for our country." (Transcript)
With 99 percent of the precincts reporting in Virginia, Kerry was winning about 52 percent of the vote. North Carolina Sen. John Edwards was getting about 27 percent, and retired Gen. Wesley Clark, who was raised in Arkansas, is a distant third with 9 percent.
In Tennessee, with 96 percent of the precincts reporting, Kerry is winning with 41 percent of the vote, followed by Edwards with 27 percent and Clark with 23 percent. (Analysis of results)
Former Vermont Gov. Howard Dean, the Rev. Al Sharpton and Rep. Dennis Kucinich of Ohio are trailing far behind in single digits in both states.
Nearly 90 percent of exit poll respondents in Virginia said they thought Kerry could beat Bush.
Among the nearly four in 10 respondents in both states who thought "electability" was more important than a candidate's stance on particular issues, Kerry was the choice by a greater than 3-2 margin. (Full story)
Kerry has now won 12 Democratic nomination contests and lost just two. With his aura of inevitability rising, the senator has begun focusing his campaign against the Bush administration, especially on economic themes, a top issue with many Democratic voters.
"Today, in a rare moment of truth-telling, they actually told us what they were doing. They said that shipping jobs, American jobs overseas, is good for America," he told supporters in Virginia. "Let them tell that to a 45-year-old worker with three kids who doesn't have a job, who's seeing the factory lost, who's seeing their job gone and has nowhere to turn."
Exit polls also showed Kerry's appeal with key demographic groups, including African-Americans, veterans and seniors.
More than two-thirds of Virginia's black respondents and nearly two-thirds of respondents 65 and older said they voted for him.
Kerry also ran well among respondents in Virginia who said they were veterans, taking about half.
Up for grabs Tuesday were 82 delegates in Virginia and 69 in Tennessee. To win the nomination, a candidate needs 2,161 delegates. (Delegate scorecard)
Kerry is leading with 507, Dean has 182, Edwards has 163, Clark has 96, Sharpton has 12 and Kucinich has two. (Full story)
Clark campaign ponders options
Before the southern primaries, both Edwards' and Clark's campaigns insisted that they would go on to next week's primary in Wisconsin.
But Clark made no mention of himself or his next campaign move in Wisconsin while thanking his supporters in Memphis, Tennessee, Tuesday night. Instead he praised the Democratic party and talked of the need to defeat Bush.
Clark's advisers were said to have met Tuesday to discuss their options. And a Clark fund-raiser scheduled for Wednesday night in Houston has been canceled. His campaign staffers had given up their paychecks last week to free up money for TV ads in Tennessee.
Tuesday's results were not a surprise to analysts, who had predicted a Kerry win.
The latest CNN/USA Today/Gallup poll showed Kerry is now the choice of a majority of Democratic voters nationally, well ahead of Edwards, Clark and Dean. The poll showed he is also in a virtual dead heat with Bush in a head-to-head matchup. (Full story)
A month ago, Kerry was supported by just 9 percent. The latest poll marks the first time any of the Democratic hopefuls has gone above 50 percent.
The Kerry bandwagon continued to grow Tuesday, as he received the endorsements of three members of Congress from Wisconsin -- Sen. Herb Kohl and Reps. David Obey and Ron Kind.
He also came in first place in caucuses of Democrats living abroad, held from Friday through Monday in 19 countries. Kerry captured 55 percent of the votes and carried 17 countries. Dean came in second at 19 percent, carrying the most Democrats in Japan and Sweden.
Dean says he won't quit
Dean didn't put up a fight for either Virginia or Tennessee. He is planning to make a stand next Tuesday in Wisconsin, although he has backed away from earlier comments that the Badger State was a must-win for him.
Rallying the faithful in Milwaukee Tuesday evening, Dean criticized his rivals for voting for the war in Iraq and President Bush's education reform program, which he said made him a better choice to lead the fight against the GOP president in the fall.
"My question to Wisconsin is, 'Who do you want to stand with you in the foxhole, the guy who'll stand up when it's right or the guy who just stands up when it's popular?'" (Full story)
The next large contest is "Super Tuesday," when 11 states hold contests March 2. (Interactive election calendar)
CNN correspondents Kelly Wallace, Candy Crowley, Joe Johns and Dan Lothian and producers Justin Dial, Mike Roselli, Fran Fifis, Laura Bernardini and Sasha Johnson all contributed to this report. "
http://www.cnn.com/2004/ALLPOLITICS/...ain/index.html
Kerry v. Bush in 2004 but will Clark be Kerry's VP ?