Kerry riding huge wave of success

WASHINGTON - Democratic frontrunner John Kerry took a huge stride toward the presidential nomination yesterday with wins in five states, but John Edwards won in South Carolina to keep the race alive.

Kerry, with the momentum of back-to-back wins in the first two contests last month, won in Missouri, Arizona, Delaware, North Dakota and New Mexico as seven states voted on the biggest day so far in the race to find a challenger to President George W. Bush.

Connecticut senator Joseph Lieberman, the Democratic nominee for vice-president in 2000, was shut out and quit the race in what he called a "difficult but realistic decision".

In Oklahoma, Edwards, a North Carolina senator, and retired General Wesley Clark were locked in a tight battle for a win that could keep Clark's candidacy viable or promote Edwards to the role of prime challenger to Kerry.

Kerry, the Massachusetts senator who faced questions about whether he could compete nationwide, said he had shown broad appeal with strong showings in all seven states.

"Now we will carry this campaign and the cause of a stronger, fairer, more prosperous America to every part of America," Kerry said.

"We will take nothing for granted, we will compete everywhere, and in November, with your help, we will defeat George W. Bush."

The victory by Edwards in South Carolina, which he labelled a must-win state, positioned him to become Kerry's prime challenger and boosted his argument he would provide the strongest opponent to Bush in rural areas and in the South.

"Tonight we said that the politics of lifting people up beats the politics of tearing people down," Edwards, who emphasised a positive message focused on the economy, told roaring supporters in downtown Columbia, South Carolina.

"Today we said clearly to the American people that in our country, in our America, everything is possible."

A total of 269 delegates to July's nominating convention were at stake in those seven states - including New Mexico, where Kerry had a narrow win over former frontrunner Howard Dean and Clark.

According to early delegate projections by MSNBC, Kerry picked up at least 57 delegates for a total of 170 toward the 2162 needed to win the nomination.

Edwards picked up 42 for a total of 83, putting him in third place behind Dean with 114.

Lieberman had been hoping for a win in Delaware, but dropped out after meeting staff members and conferring with his family.

"I have decided tonight to end my quest for the presidency of the United States of America," Lieberman said at a rally near his campaign headquarters in Arlington, Virginia.

Yesterday's votes offered the first nationwide test for the candidates, who spent almost all of January battling in Iowa and New Hampshire, largely white and rural states that hosted the first two nominating tests.

South Carolina was the first contest in the South and the first in a state with a large black population, while Arizona and New Mexico hold the first contests in states with large Hispanic populations.

The race moves next to Michigan and Washington on Saturday (local time), Maine on Sunday, and Virginia and Tennessee next week. Dean, struggling to halt his downward slide after dismal finishes in Iowa and New Hampshire, continued his string of poor showings yesterday. His fight for second place in New Mexico was the only finish above the middle of the pack.

Dean, who spent election night in Washington, put a brave face on the results and looked ahead to Michigan, Washington and to a February 17 showdown in Wisconsin. He promised to push ahead into March.

"We are going to have a tough night tonight," Dean told supporters in Tacoma, Washington, but he vowed to keep "going and going and going".

"This is all about who gets the most delegates in Boston in July and it's going to be us," Dean said.

Kerry, whose rise has been fuelled by a belief among Democratic voters that he offers the best chance to beat Bush, pointed to public opinion polls that showed him leading Bush in a one-on-one matchup.

- REUTERS

RACE RESULTS

Arizona: John Kerry.

Delaware: John Kerry.

Missouri: John Kerry

North Dakota: John Kerry.

New Mexico: John Kerry.

Oklahoma: Wesley Clark.

South Carolina: John Edwards.

Source: ABC, CBS, NBC, CNN and Fox News exit polls.