WASHINGTON, 21 January 2004 — When a man mortgages his house to finance his campaign, he’s running with all his heart. This may help explain Massachusetts Sen. John Kerry’s stunning come-from-behind victory in Monday’s Democratic presidential caucuses in Iowa — after being written off as a loser just a few weeks ago.
Calling himself “Comeback Kerry,” he told his ecstatic supporters: “Last night, the New England Patriots won. Tonight this New Englander won, and you’ve sent me on the way to the Super Bowl.”
North Carolina Sen. John Edwards also won an unexpected second place.
Kerry and Edwards’ stunning surges left national front-runner former Vermont Gov. Howard Dean in a distant third, when Iowa voters surprised everyone by dethroning Dean from the near unassailable position he enjoyed at the start of the year.
These results have turned the Democratic presidential nominating contest into a race that has riveted the world and promises a wide-open race in the weeks ahead.
Dean now has a week to regroup for a critical test in next Tuesday’s primary race in New Hampshire, where Gen. Wesley Clark, a retired army general, has been gaining ground on him and where Kerry will now be a major factor in the outcome. Clark has been challenging Dean in New Hampshire similar to the way Kerry and Edwards toppled him here.
A survey of Iowa caucus-goers showed that Kerry’s support was remarkably broad-based, as he finished first in virtually every major demographic group. Kerry led among both men and women. He finished first among those with college degrees and Iowans who had never gone to college. He led among those who identified themselves as “strong Democrats” as well as independents. Kerry — a Vietnam war hero who still wears his dog tags and keeps a “lucky cap” from Vietnam in his briefcase — won 34 percent of those voters who opposed the war.
Dean and his supporters must now figure out how to better tweak their campaign message to the public, as Dean’s opposition to the Iraq war did not pay off as his campaign team had hoped. Rep. Richard Gephardt, Missouri announced he is dropping out of the race yesterday.
At least four candidates will now continue their quest for the Democratic nomination: The top three finishers in yesterday’s caucus — Kerry, Edwards and Dean — and Gen. Clark, who did not run in Iowa.
Sen. Joseph Lieberman, Connecticut, also skipped the Iowa caucus, and had hoped to obtain a strong finish in New Hampshire. Observers now feel it may be difficult to reach his goal after Monday’s surprise outcome. Dean has already declared that he will fight to the end, which means the Democratic contest could last well into February or March, a scenario Bush campaign strategists say favors the president as a long, protracted fight for the nomination in which the Democrats beat up each other can only work to the president’s advantage.
