Big Wins for Kerry, Edwards Out

March 2, 2004 -- John Kerry cemented the Democratic presidential nomination tonight,driving rival John Edwards from the race with a string of SuperTuesday triumphs that catapulted the Massachusetts senator into aneight-month struggle to oust President Bush.

"Change is coming to America," Kerry said, capping aremarkable run that began with his candidacy on the brink ofextinction in Iowa and New Hampshire.

Dominating all comers, the Massachusetts senator won 27 of 30elections as each victory fed on the next in a swell of momentumthat no rival could overcome. From Edwards' Southern strongholds tothe jobs-poor Midwest states of Ohio and Michigan to the growingSouthwest battleground of Arizona to his own New England base,Kerry racked up victories in a what proved to be a six-week primaryseason that amplified Democratic criticism of the Republicanincumbent.

In state after state, Democrats said their top priority was acandidate who could defeat a wartime president with a $100million-plus campaign treasury. Kerry, a decorated Vietnam veteran,won an overwhelming number of their votes, and now leads arelatively united party against Bush.

"I am a fighter, and for more than 30 years I have been on thebattle lines, on the front lines, for fairness and mainstreamAmerican values," Kerry told cheering supporters in Washington,D.C., promising to close tax loopholes, offer new incentives formanufacturers, protect the environment, raise the minimum wage andcut health care costs.

The crowd shouted along with him as Kerry delivered hissignature line: "If George Bush wants to make national securitythe central issue of 2004, I have three words that I know heunderstands – Bring. It. On."

Stage Set for Nasty White House Fight

Strategists in both parties say the general election may be oneof the nastiest in memory, with both camps seeking to energizetheir core supporters. In a polarized nation, there are fewer swingvoters to be courted with warm-and-fuzzy politicking, they say.

Pivoting quickly to the Nov. 2 election, Kerry ordered his staffto immediately put in place a process to review potential vicepresidential candidates, according to senior advisers. They said itwas possible Kerry would choose a nominee well before theDemocratic nominating convention in his hometown of Boston in July.

Aides said Kerry had grown frustrated with Edwards' claim thathe was the only candidate who could beat Bush, but not enough topreclude his consideration for a vice presidential nomination.

His poll ratings slipping, Bush begins a multimillion-dollar TVad blitz Thursday designed to bolster his political fortunes. Kerryis prepared to dip into Democratic Party coffers to pay for his ownads, but Bush has a huge cash advantage.

Bush Calls Kerry

Briefly setting aside their differences, Kerry took acongratulatory call from Bush.

"You had an important victory tonight," the president toldKerry, adding that he looked forward to a "spirited fight."

Hours earlier, Bush had dispatched Vice President Dick Cheney toTV studios to criticize the presumptive foe.

"He very clearly has over the years adopted a series ofpositions that indicate a desire to cut the defense budget, cut theintelligence budget, to eliminate many major weapons programs,"Cheney said of Kerry, a 19-year Senate veteran.

Not-So-Super Tuesday for Edwards

Kerry called Edwards, whose lone win before Super Tuesday wasSouth Carolina, "A great voice for our party." He commendedanother fallen rival, Howard Dean, in an effort to unite the party.

Calling Kerry "my friend," Edwards told supporters in Atlanta,"He's been an extraordinary advocate for causes that all of usbelieve in."

The freshman senator from North Carolina stopped just short ofconceding, but two Democratic officials said on condition ofanonymity that Edwards would step aside Wednesday in Raleigh, N.C.

Kerry rolled up huge Super Tuesday triumphs in California, New York, Ohio,Maryland, Connecticut, Rhode Island, Minnesota and his home stateof Massachusetts, as well as a razor-thin win in Georgia. Deandenied Kerry a sweep, winning his home state of Vermont two weeksafter dropping out of the race.

In all, 10 states with a combined population of 94 million –one-third of the U.S. total – awarded 1,151 delegates, more thanhalf of the 2,162 needed to seize the nomination.

Support Across the Board

Kerry, a 60-year-old senator, had 1,018 delegates to Edwards'329. Dean had 182 and Al Sharpton 22.

"The issue that drove me is getting rid of Bush, and that ledme to Kerry," said Ron Debry, 47, of suburban Cincinnati. "MaybeEdwards someday, but I don't think he's ready yet."

Exit polls showed Kerry dominated among Democrats of allphilosophies and all stripes. No matter who they picked today,voters seemed comfortable with Kerry as the nominee: About eight in10 voters said they would be satisfied if he won the Democraticrace.

And his support came from across the landscape: from men andwomen, blacks, whites and Hispanics, and voters of all age andincome groups, according to exit polls conducted for The AssociatedPress and TV networks by Edison Media Research and MitofskyInternational.

Edwards made U.S. trade agreements a centerpiece of hiscampaign, and exit polls show voters were sympathetic to hisarguments: Some 60 percent said trade takes jobs from their states.

But even among these voters, some six in 10 voted for Kerry,double Edwards' take.

Kerry-Edwards Ticket?

Democratic interest groups, required to act independently of theKerry camp, plan to soon air ads critical of Bush.

Kerry declined to talk about his advertising or other generalelection strategies, but said he will be able to compete againstthe cash-flush Bush.

"The president has an enormous lead. He has extraordinary sumsof money … and we're going to have to fight hard to raise moneyand compete," Kerry told The Associated Press.

He said several of his former rivals had offered to help raisemoney.

In a preview of a potential general election fight, Kerry andEdwards took a Super Tuesday time-out in the Senate to vote forextending the ban on military-style assault weapons.

Two other candidates, Rep. Dennis Kucinich of Ohio and Sharptonof New York, had no chance of winning the nomination.

And Then There Was One …

Kerry was the last men standing from a crowded field.

Among those eliminated along the way: Sen. Bob Graham ofFlorida, former Illinois Sen. Carol Moseley Braun, Sen. JoeLieberman of Connecticut, retired Army Gen. Wesley Clark ofArkansas and Dean.

Dean entered the year the undisputed front-runner, but finishedbehind both Kerry and Edwards in Iowa on Jan. 19. His candidacyimploded as Kerry's soared.