John Kerry effectively secured the Democratic presidential
nomination Tuesday by winning nine of the 10 states holding primary
elections and caucuses, setting the stage for a Kerry-Bush showdown
this November.
Kerry, a four-term senator from Massachusetts, whose dominant
performance on “Super Tuesday” rendered the remaining
primary elections mere formalities, finished well ahead of
second-place Sen. John Edwards, D-N.C., who said he will officially
drop out of the presidential race today. Edwards finished the
runner-up to the Kerry juggernaut in nine states.
Despite dropping out of the race two weeks ago, former Vermont
Gov. Howard Dean handed Kerry his only loss Tuesday after he
carried his home state of Vermont.
In California, the state worth the most delegates, the Kerry
campaign was further bolstered by another landslide victory,
followed by Edwards and Dean, respectively.
Edwards’ announcement to leave the race comes in spite of
his statement Sunday in a televised debate that he would not drop
out of the race, even if he lost all 10 states.
“I … want to take a moment and congratulate my friend
John Kerry,” Edwards said from his campaign headquarters in
Atlanta on Tuesday night. “He’s been an extraordinary
advocate for causes all of us believe in.”
Edwards also took the opportunity to reiterate his campaign-long
appeal to the working class, saying the Republican administration
is out of touch with their needs.
“George Bush has no idea what’s going on in their
lives,” Edwards said to his supporters. “Come November,
he will be out of the White House.”
The two, who shared a brief congratulatory phone call before
Edwards delivered his speech, are battling a New York Times report
that said both senators have an icy relationship.
Edwards is believed by many to be a leading candidate for
Kerry’s running mate.
After the polls closed in New York, Minnesota and Rhode Island,
Kerry delivered his victory speech to supporters in Washington,
D.C. Kerry has made no announcement about a potential running mate,
but he was very complimentary of Edwards in his speech.
“John Edwards brings a compelling voice to our
party,” Kerry said. “I believe that in 2004, with a
united Democratic party, we can and we will win this
election.”
Matthew Dababneh, who is president of Bruins for Kerry and will
be working on the Kerry campaign next quarter, said there are about
12 candidates that could fill the vice-presidential role.
“I think Edwards has got to be considered, but I
wouldn’t put him as a lock,” Dababneh said.
It was difficult to tell the difference between Kerry and
Edwards from their speeches Tuesday night as each talked about
jobs, winning the presidency and uniting the American people.
Kerry also used his speech as an opportunity to make some
significant campaign promises.
Kerry said he would create 500,000 new jobs by investing in
technology, and he will repeal tax cuts for the wealthy.
“We will cut this deficit in half in four years,” he
said. “We will raise the minimum wage so no one will work 40
hours a week and not be able to get out of poverty.”
After Tuesday’s commanding performance, Kerry has earned
over 1,300 delegates after winning 27 of 30 primaries and caucuses.
Kerry still needs a total of 2,162 delegates to win officially the
Democratic nomination.
As of late Tuesday night, Kerry won California with 65 percent
of the vote, followed by Edwards with 19 percent. Dean garnered 5
percent of the vote for third place while Rep. Dennis Kucinich,
D-Ohio, and Rev. Al Sharpton each earned less than 5 percent.
Sharpton’s strongest showing was in his home state of New
York, where he won eight delegates with 8 percent of the vote.
In an interview Tuesday, Sharpton suggested he may soon drop out
of the presidential race.
CNN began reporting Tuesday night that Edwards would drop out of
the race but that he would not make an official announcement until
today. Some Edwards supporters were upset with the media for
reporting this before the polls had closed because they felt it
could sway voter opinion.
“We were disappointed because that the media reported that
before the California polls closed,” said Erin Templeton, an
English graduate student and member of Bruins for Edwards. She is
concerned the news may have negated many of the efforts of Bruins
for Edwards to gain votes for their candidate.
Dean, who was the early front-runner in the primary season but
dropped out after not winning a single state until today, has said
he will start a new grassroots organization to promote Democratic
issues. He will be in Southern California in two weeks to announce
his plan.
Despite a distant second-place finish, the Edwards campaign
surprised many as it was expected to fizzle out early in the
primary race. Instead, the high-flying Dean saw a big downfall
while Edwards shot into the spotlight as the prime candidate to
challenge Kerry, winning South Carolina and finishing second in
several other contests.
But now that Edwards is dropping out, Templeton, like many of
his supporters, has begun to look ahead toward November, saying she
will support whomever is chosen as the Democratic candidate.
The Democratic Party is largely united in the task of defeating
the incumbent Republican administration regardless of the chosen
candidate.
As the results showed Kerry the landslide winner of the primary
elections, President Bush called Kerry to congratulate him on his
many victories.
The Bush administration is ready to go head-to-head with Kerry,
announcing they will release their first television campaign
advertisement Thursday morning.
Kerry is preparing to take on Bush in what is expected to be an
intense fight for the White House.
“If George Bush wants to make national security the
central issue of 2004, I have three words that I know he
understands: Bring it on,” Kerry said to a roar of cheers
from his supporters.
With reports from Tami Vuong, Bruin contributor.