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Kerry claims democratic nomination Original Source Link: (May no longer be active)
http://www.realcities.com/mld/krwashington/8089426.htmhttp://www.realcities.com/mld/krwashington/8089426.htm
Posted on Tue, Mar. 02, 2004
Kerry claims Democratic nomination
By Steven Thomma
Knight Ridder Newspapers
WASHINGTON - Sen. John Kerry of Massachusetts clinched the Democratic presidential nomination Tuesday, crushing rival John Edwards in a coast-to-coast primary romp and driving him from the race.
Kerry spoke with the North Carolina senator by telephone Tuesday evening and took a congratulatory call from President Bush as the two men looked ahead to their long general-election campaign against each other.
"We had a very nice conversation," Kerry said of his talk with Bush. "I said I hoped we had a great debate about the issues before the country."
Kerry, 60, dealt the final blow to Edwards' fading campaign by beating him decisively in Ohio, one of the states where Edwards had hoped his down-home populist message would impress voters who blame free trade for lost jobs.
Kerry added blowout wins in New York, Connecticut, Maryland, Rhode Island and his home state of Massachusetts in early returns. In all, 10 states voted Tuesday.
In a surprise that had no effect on the nomination contest, failed candidate Howard Dean won a sentimental victory in his home state of Vermont. Though he quit the race Feb. 18, his name remained on the ballot in Vermont and many other states.
Edwards clung Tuesday evening to hope for a victory in Georgia, where the race was too close to call two hours after polls closed.
Still, he abandoned any fading hope of overtaking Kerry and decided to fly to his home in Raleigh, N.C., rather than continue campaigning as scheduled. He was expected to announce his decision to leave the race in a speech there Wednesday afternoon at a high school that his children attended, according to sources close to him who spoke on condition of anonymity.
Appearing before supporters in Atlanta, Edwards congratulated Kerry without formally conceding.
"He's run a strong, powerful campaign," Edwards said. "He's been an extraordinary advocate of causes all of us believe in."
Edwards was the last realistic challenger to Kerry for the nomination. The only other remaining candidates - Rep. Dennis Kucinich of Ohio and the Rev. Al Sharpton of New York - were expected to lose every state Tuesday, including their own.
A total of 1,151 delegates were at stake in the 10 states: California, Connecticut, Georgia, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New York, Ohio, Rhode Island and Vermont.
With Kerry's nomination now all but certain, both parties signaled an immediate start of the general election campaign.
Normally media shy Vice President Dick Cheney gave three cable television interviews Tuesday amid signs of Republican grumbling that he might be a drag on the ticket. Though President Bush last week restated that Cheney will again be his running mate, a new poll on Tuesday by National Annenberg Election Survey at the University of Pennsylvania showed that 27 percent of Republican primary voters think he should be replaced.
Bush's campaign on Wednesday will unveil its first wave of TV ads, to be aired starting Thursday in 17 states likely to be battlegrounds in the fall. The first wave of ads, touting Bush's leadership, will cost at least $4.5 million. With $100 million in his campaign account, Bush is expected to spend the spring and summer selling his agenda and planting seeds of doubt about Kerry in the minds of voters.
An independent pro-Democrat group, MoveOn.org, will counter with ads criticizing Bush's economic policies. The group will spend an estimated $4.5 million to air the ads in Arizona, Arkansas, Florida, Iowa, Maine, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, New Mexico, New Hampshire, Nevada, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Washington, West Virginia and Wisconsin.
Kerry sounded confident of winning the nomination and the presidency.
Appearing on CBS Tuesday morning, Kerry brushed aside a suggestion from some Democrats that he doesn't have the passion to take on Bush.
"Boy, wait till they see the fire in my belly," he said. "I didn't win 18 out of 20 caucuses and primaries so far because I don't have the fire in the belly. And people who know me well know that fire is raging."
Speaking to the American Urban Radio Network, Kerry said Monday that he hoped to emulate former President Clinton in the eyes of blacks, the party's most loyal constituency and a solid source of support during his stretch of primary wins.
"President Clinton was often known as the first black president," Kerry said. "I wouldn't be upset if I could earn the right to be the second."
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NOTE: The University of Pennsylvania's National Annenberg Election Survey had a margin of error of plus or minus 4 percentage points.
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(Contributing were Tim Funk with Edwards and James Kuhnhenn with Kerry.)
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