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Kerry rolls over N.H. rivals, taking mantle of front-runner as contest goes national
January 28, 2004

John Kerry campaigns on Tuesday, hours before the polls closed in New Hampshire. (Photo: Kerry campaign)

Concord, N.H. — The opening acts behind them, Democrats transformed their presidential campaign into a national battle Wednesday with John Kerry, fresh from his New Hampshire win, ready to open an advertising blitz in all seven states that vote next and his rivals scrambling to stay competitive.

North Carolina Sen. John Edwards, campaigning in his native South Carolina in a crucial test of his candidacy, voiced confidence he can improve on his fourth-place New Hampshire primary showing. "Now we're going to places where I feel I will be very strong," he said Wednesday.

The final New Hampshire precincts reported Wednesday, affirming Kerry as the winner with 84,229 votes - 38 percent. Howard Dean placed second with 57,788 votes or 26 percent and the lingering race for distant third ended in Wesley Clark's favor in a squeaker. He finished with 27,254 votes or 12 percent, only 839 votes more than Edwards, also at 12 percent.

Connecticut Sen. Joe Lieberman trailed with 18,829 votes, or 9 percent. Rep. Dennis Kucinich got 3,104 votes, 1 percent.

Edwards did not repeat his surge to a strong second place in the Iowa caucuses, but pinned his hopes on the state of his birth. "I'm going to win in South Carolina. I'm in this for the long haul," he said.

When asked on NBC's "Today" show whether he'd run as a vice presidential candidate, he ruled it out. "No. No. Final. I don't want to be vice president. I'm running for president."

Kerry's big win Tuesday stopped Dean short in his attempt to rebound from a third-place finish in the Iowa caucuses a week earlier and gave the Massachusetts senator all the promise - and peril - of wearing the mantle of front-runner.

"Now this campaign goes on to places all over this country, and I ask Democrats everywhere to join us so that we can defeat George W. Bush and the economy of privilege," Kerry, relaxed and beaming, told supporters before leaving New Hampshire to open the next stage of his campaign in Missouri, after a stop in Boston.

Aides were hoping the win would open the spigot on high-profile endorsements. Iowa Gov. Tom Vilsack was expected to endorse Kerry in St. Louis on Wednesday, sources told The Associated Press.

Dean, once the heavy national favorite, said Wednesday, "We did what we had to do" to press on.

"We got some momentum back in the campaign, but it's going to take a long time to get back the momentum we had as front-runner status."

Clark and Edwards were under the 15 percent threshold for claiming delegates. Connecticut Sen. Joe Lieberman was fifth, with 9 percent.

The opening one-two punch of the campaign proved the ability of two small states, with a combined population of barely 4 million, to shape the contest before it ever reaches a large cross-section of America.

Now it's on to seven states with more than 21 million people and 269 delegates to the Democratic convention at stake. The Missouri and South Carolina primaries are the richest prizes in a lineup next Tuesday that includes primaries in Arizona, Delaware and Oklahoma, and caucuses in New Mexico and North Dakota.

Kerry's victory means a flood of money is likely to flow to him heading into the wildly expensive races ahead, a series more dependent than Iowa and New Hampshire on television advertising and travel.

He was ready to go on the air Wednesday with commercials in all seven states - helped by having raised at least $1 million in the week since his Iowa upset. Clark, Edwards and Lieberman are limiting their advertising to states where their prospects seem brightest; Dean's plans were uncertain.

Dean raised more than $200,000 in the 24 hours before the primary, but has been spending it just as quickly.

An AP analysis of the delegate count showed Kerry winning 13 delegates and Dean capturing nine. The others fell under the 15 percent threshold for claiming delegates.

Now, Kerry can be expected to take the brunt of criticism on the airwaves and the stump in the intense round of primaries ahead.

"He hasn't been in that position," Dean said of Kerry in an Associated Press interview. "We'll find out what happens."

Kerry said he can handle it.

"I've been in public life for a long time, and I have been in tough races before and have been scrutinized," Kerry told the AP. "I'm ready to lead our party to victory."

Clark, a retired NATO supreme allied commander and political newcomer backed by many former Bill Clinton aides, had skipped Iowa and made New Hampshire his first stand. He had the state practically to himself for days at a time, but to little effect.

"Four months ago, we weren't even in this race," he said. "We had no money. We had no office. All we had was hope and a vision for a better America.

"We came into New Hampshire as one of the Elite Eight. We leave tonight as one of the Final Four," Clark said.

Lieberman, who also made New Hampshire his first test, vowed to carry on despite the advice of some advisers to quit. "I am the one mainstream candidate in this race," he said.

New Hampshire offered the candidates a chance to test their appeal with independent voters as well as Democrats, and Kerry scored heavily on both sides.

Democrats liked his chances of beating Bush. Among voters who cared most about defeating the Republican president, 60 percent backed Kerry, according to an Associated Press exit poll of voters.

Moderates favored Kerry by 44 percent to 18 percent for Dean. Altogether, it was a marked turnaround for Kerry, down 25 points in New Hampshire polls when the year began.

"We were written off for months, and plugged on and showed people the determination we have to defeat President Bush," Kerry said.

But New Hampshire has a reputation of being ornery on occasion, too, and Kerry's opponents dared hope the diverse collection of coming contests would redraw the campaign yet again.

In particular, Edwards looked to South Carolina to break out of the pack racing after Kerry. With his Arkansas roots and military credentials, Clark, too, has polled strongly in some southern and Midwest states.

"Beyond South Carolina, I don't want to make any predictions," Edwards said.

Few voters surveyed considered terrorism or national security the top issues on their minds - only one in 20 said so. Among them, Clark did the best.

Kerry said he would campaign in every state voting Tuesday.

Dean insisted he will "play to win in every single state," shrugging off advice to skip South Carolina and save his money and energy for his most promising races.

But the governor and his advisers were divided as they headed into a critical meeting in Burlington, Vt. Several aides want him to cherrypick one or two states Tuesday - New Mexico and Arizona are most likely - and focus his money on Michigan, Washington state and Wisconsin later in the month.

About 200,000 voters participated in the New Hampshire primary, easily eclipsing the record 170,000 turnout in 1992 when Paul Tsongas defeated Bill Clinton.

(Copyright 2004 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.) AP-NY-01-28-04 1104EST

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