Kerry beats Edwards in Wisconsin, Dean third

7.30pm UPDATE


MILWAUKEE - Democratic front-runner John Kerry held off a strong challenge from rival John Edwards to win the Wisconsin primary on Tuesday in a close finish that dented Kerry's runaway momentum and pumped new life into the party's presidential race.

The surprising showing by Edwards extended the race to find a challenger for President Bush for at least two more weeks, until a potentially decisive March 2 "Super Tuesday" round of 10 contests in big states like New York, Ohio and California.

Former front-runner Howard Dean stumbled to a distant third-place finish that effectively ended his campaign. He headed home to Vermont to ponder his future before announcing a decision on whether to pull the plug.

Kerry, who has dominated the race with wins in 15 of the first 17 contests, heads into "Super Tuesday" with a clear shot at wrapping up the nomination but will have to contend with a one-on-one matchup with a revitalised Edwards.

"I want to thank the state of Wisconsin for moving this cause and this campaign forward," Kerry told chanting supporters after the win.

With about 95 per cent of the vote counted, Kerry led Edwards 40 per cent to 35 per cent, with Dean trailing at 18 per cent.

The solid second by Edwards sends him into the two-week dash to "Super Tuesday" with new momentum. Exit polls showed he was helped by strong support among Wisconsin Republicans and independents, who could vote in the primary.

"Today the voters of Wisconsin sent a clear message," Edwards told supporters in Milwaukee. "The message was this: Objects in your mirror may be closer than they appear."

Edwards, who was trailing in recent polls by 25 points or more, has shown an ability to close fast in a campaign's waning days. He made up lots of ground in Iowa to finish a surprise second and mounted a late charge in Oklahoma two weeks ago to finish a close second behind Wesley Clark but ahead of Kerry.

He won the primary in South Carolina on Feb. 3 comfortably over Kerry. South Carolina and Oklahoma are the only two losses suffered by the Massachusetts senator.

"The people of Wisconsin spoke loudly and clearly today. They want a debate," Edwards told supporters. "They want this campaign to continue. They want some one who will stand up and fight for them."

LATE DECIDERS LIKE EDWARDS

Television network exit polls showed 75 per cent of Edwards' supporters made their decision in the last three days, after he had a strong performance in a Sunday debate and picked up major newspaper endorsements in the two biggest cities, Milwaukee and Madison.

Exit polls also showed two-thirds of Edwards' supporters said issues mattered more than electability in the race against Bush. Electability has been a key factor in the rise of Kerry.

Edwards, who has emphasised positive themes and been reluctant to even mention his rivals by name, had begun in the past few days to point out his opposition to the North American Free Trade Agreement and Kerry's support for it.

Kerry and his advisers played down the showing by Edwards. "A win is a win," Kerry said before the final results.

He contrasted his approach of running in all of the states holding contests to Edwards' decision to run in selected states.

"You can't run for president cherry picking states here and there. You have to run nationally," Kerry said. "I think I've been the only one in recent weeks who's been doing that."

Dean, who once said Wisconsin would be his make-or-break state, gave no hint of whether he would end his campaign but said he had already changed the Democratic Party and reshaped the race.

"We are not done," a defiant Dean told cheering supporters, adding the other Democratic contenders had adopted his outspoken opposition to Bush's domestic policies and the war in Iraq.

"A year ago, the Democrats were falling all over themselves to vote for the war in Iraq. They sure don't talk about that now," Dean said.

Dean, who soared to the top of the polls and broke party fund-raising records in 2003 before crashing in January as Kerry surged, will return to Vermont to re-evaluate his candidacy.

"The only person who knows what Howard Dean is going to do is Howard Dean," a top aide said, adding it may take at least a few days before he announces a decision.

Edwards says he has the money to compete into March and will focus on states like Ohio, Georgia and New York that have suffered serious job losses.

Kerry, whose campaign was given up for dead six weeks ago, already has the support of more than one-quarter of the 2,162 delegates needed to win the nomination in July and has more delegates than his remaining rivals combined.

- REUTERS