MANCHESTER, N.H. - John Kerry overpowered Howard Dean to win New Hampshire's primary yesterday, scoring a second-straight campaign victory to establish the four-term senator as the Democratic Party's presidential front-runner.
It's an enormous victory
a huge turnaround Kerry said. We were written off for months and plugged on and showed people the determination we have to defeat President Bush.
Sen. John Edwards of North Carolina and retired Army Gen. Wesley Clark were in a distant race for third. Sen. Joe Lieberman of Connecticut was in fifth place, his candidacy in peril.
After trooping through coffee shops, country stores and living rooms of Iowa and New Hampshire, the candidates now move to the cold realities of a national campaign - airport rallies and multimillion-dollar ad buys in seven state holding contests next Tuesday.
With 70 percent of the precincts reporting, Kerry had 39 percent, Dean had 25 percent, Clark 13 percent, Edwards 12 percent and Lieberman 9 percent.
Dean, the former five-term governor of Vermont, lost by double-digits - less than he needed for a complete rebound or to erase doubts about his viability. He did manage about twice as many votes as either Edwards or Clark and found solace in gaining ground since his disastrous third-place finish in Iowa.
It looks like we are going to finish a solid second
said Dean, who with Kerry is flush with money and support needed to wage a lengthy campaign.
Edwards, who finished a surprise second in Iowa, predicted he would finish in the double digits, an improvement over his standing in polls before Iowa. He's staking his candidacy on South Carolina, a centerpiece of next week's contests. Beyond South Carolina
I don't want to make any predictions
he said.
Looking toward next week, Dean insisted he will play to win in every single state
overruling aides who urged a more cautious approach. The former Vermont governor plans to compete in South Carolina, Missouri, New Mexico and Arizona, which hold contests next Tuesday; Michigan and Washington state four days later; and Wisconsin, with its contest Feb. 17.
Several Dean advisers had urged him to pick fewer targets, cherrypicking states to conserve resources, but he vetoed the strategy, insisting that his campaign was muscular enough to compete nationally.
Dean raised more than $200,000 in the 24 hours before the primary, but he has been spending money just as fast as raising it - and he will keep up the pricey pace with his new strategy.
Kerry also pledged to compete everywhere, but his twin victories should fuel the drive.
An analysis of the delegate count showed Kerry winning 14 delegates and Dean capturing eight, while Edwards and Clark appeared to finish below the
15 percent-vote threshold needed to win any delegates.
His eye warily cast toward the fall, Bush planned a trip to New Hampshire to counter criticism heaped his way during the Democratic race. He used a similar tactic after Iowa's caucuses, scheduling his State of the Union address one day after that contest.
It has been a topsy-turvy race, with Dean leading New Hampshire polls by 25 percentage points when the year began, Kerry seizing a similar lead after Iowa and Dean gaining a bit of ground after an 11th-hour political overhaul.
In a race that has been hard on front-runners, Kerry said he is ready for the role.
I've been in public life for a long time
and I have been in tough races before and have been scrutinized
he said. I'm ready to lead our party to victory.
But the front-runner's mantle may prove as weighty as it was for Dean. Rivals were already sharpening their knives, Republicans calling him a Massachusetts liberal and Democrats accusing him of equivocating on the Iraq war and accomplishing little in the Senate.
About 200,000 voters participated in the Democratic primary, easily eclipsing the record 170,000 turnout in 1992 when Paul Tsongas defeated then-Arkansas Gov. Bill Clinton. Voters in the primary were evenly split between Democrats and independents. A third of the independents backed Kerry, a fourth backed Dean and the rest were split among Edwards, Clark and Lieberman.
Surveys of New Hampshire voters showed Kerry's support was broad-based with equally strong support among women and men of all age groups. His support was slightly higher among those whose financial situations have gotten worse in the last four years.
Kerry dominated among those who decided whom they would back in the last week, getting the support of half of those voters. By a 2-to-1 margin, voters said they backed Kerry because they think he can defeat President Bush.
After tonight
this is a national campaign for delegates and that's why we're going to be competing everywhere
said Mark Mellman, one of Kerry's pollsters.
Dean ran strongly among liberals, war opponents, those angry at Bush and those who thought the most important candidate quality was standing up for what they believe. He lagged behind Kerry among voters who most wanted a candidate who could beat Bush and a candidate who had the most experience.
Less than a month ago, Dean had an edge in national polls and visions of cementing his front-runner status with a sweep of the initial contests. But a spate of missteps led to a third-place finish in Iowa, where a shrill election-night speech underscored concerns about his temperament and judgment.
Kerry, often a plodding and inelegant campaigner, found his rhythm as Dean lost his. A decorated Vietnam War lieutenant, Kerry cast himself as the Democratic antidote to Bush's advantages on terrorism and foreign policy. He warned Democrats that Dean's tax and foreign policy will just kill us in the fall.
In the desperate hours after Iowa's caucuses, Dean tried to soften his image and retool his message - billing himself as a straight-shooting fiscal conservative and social liberal. He questioned Kerry's judgment for opposing the 1991 Persian Gulf War and supporting Bush's 2002 war resolution.
