WORLD REPORT EDITION    COVER STORY

  February 6, 2004

Running Strong

The going gets tougher for the Democratic Presidential hopefuls

John Kerry didn't need to say much to rally supporters as he delivered his victory speech after the New Hampshire primary on January 27. "Bring it on! Bring it on!" they chanted. Supporters of the Massachusetts senator had good reason to be charged up.

Comeback Kerry really lived up to the nickname he had given himself after a surprise win in Iowa on January 19. He won more votes in New Hampshire than any of the six other official candidates who want to be the Democratic nominee for President. Howard Dean, the former governor of Vermont, placed second. He had been favored to win just weeks earlier.

GETTING PRIMED FOR NOVEMBER

Seven more states - Arizona, Delaware, Missouri, New Mexico, North Dakota, Oklahoma and South Carolina - had planned Democratic primaries or other contests for February 3.

A primary works like an actual election. In presidential primaries, people vote for a candidate to run for President.

This summer, states will send representatives called delegates to the Democratic and Republican national conventions. Because most New Hampshire voters picked Kerry in the Democratic primary, 13 of the state's 22 delegates up for grabs will vote for him at the convention. President George W. Bush, a Republican, has not officially announced his candidacy, but he is expected to run for reelection. No major Republican has come forward to challenge him.

After the vote in the New Hampshire primary, nearly 2,000 people answered questions about the choice they had made. They reported being most concerned with the candidates' positions on health care and the economy. And one in five voters said the key concern is choosing a candidate who can beat President Bush. Among those voters, 6 out of 10 said Kerry could do it.

SMALL STATES, BIG WINS

"A win in both Iowa and New Hampshire is rare," says Allan Lichtman, a political scientist at American University, in Washington, D.C. "It shows a strong mandate from voters." But losing doesn't mean the end of the campaign. "We don't believe Dean is going to lose," Kimberly Krautter, 39, of Atlanta, Georgia, told TIME. "I think this is very premature."

Yet in the last 34 years, only one candidate who had won both Iowa and New Hampshire ever lost the nomination: Edmund Muskie, a Democrat, in 1972. The candidate who emerges from these small states as the front-runner, or leader, usually receives large campaign contributions, which are needed to pay for travel and advertising. The front-runner gets more attention from the news media and wins the support of party leaders, who will help him or her along the campaign trail.

After New Hampshire, this year's candidates set their sights on this week's contests. "I'm not looking back," said Kerry last Thursday. "I have to stay focused on these states." Unlike the contests in Iowa and New Hampshire, in which candidates can meet many voters at local events, candidates benefit more at this stage from television advertising, which reaches a wider audience.

Last week, Kerry had ads ready to air in all seven contest states. He made his first campaign stop in Missouri. Dean returned to Vermont and quickly named a new campaign manager. General Wesley Clark campaigned in Oklahoma. Senator John Edwards of North Carolina went to South Carolina, and on Thursday, all seven candidates debated there.

Democrats will officially name their winner in July. Until then, candidates will battle for votes state by state. It's up to the voters to decide who will challenge Bush in the race for the White House in November.

http://www.timeforkids.com/TFK/magazines/story/0,6277,586435,00.html