March 03, 2004|By Julie Hirschfeld Davis | Julie Hirschfeld Davis,SUN NATIONAL STAFF
"He's a super nominee, and he'll be a super president of the United States," Sen. Edward M. Kennedy, the senior Massachusetts Democrat, exulted at last night's celebration in Washington. Now, Kennedy said, "he takes his mission out across this country to make sure we send George Bush back to Texas and put this country back on the right road."
Rep. Benjamin L. Cardin, a Baltimore Democrat and Kerry supporter, said his candidate's intense competition with Edwards over the past two weeks - and the months of contention that winnowed the Democratic field from 10 candidates to one - had strengthened the party.
"We have a person who we think is the best to be president and the best to beat George Bush," Cardin said last night from a primary night party at an Inner Harbor hotel. "Democrats have never been more united."
Kerry thanked his chief rival for a "remarkably gracious, powerful" speech and suggested that Edwards, 50, has a bright future. Speculation has increasingly focused on the prospect of a Kerry-Edwards ticket in November.
"John Edwards brings a compelling voice to our party, great eloquence to the cause of working men and women all across the nation, and great promise for leadership in the years to come," Kerry said.
He also paid Edwards what might be the politician's ultimate compliment, taking a phrase from the North Carolinian's populist stump speech and incorporating it into his own.
"In 2004, one united Democratic Party, we can and we will win this election, and we will build one America of freedom and of fairness for all," Kerry said. On the campaign trail, Edwards had constantly criticized Bush for creating "two Americas" - one for the privileged and one for everybody else.
Kerry, 60, has highlighted his background as a decorated Vietnam War veteran and foreign-policy specialist in the Senate in efforts to prove to Democrats that he can challenge Bush successfully on national security issues.
But as the two-way competition intensified between Kerry and Edwards during the past two weeks, the Massachusetts senator was forced to flesh out his position on trade and job creation. Edwards had stressed those themes as the core of his campaign message.
As the two campaigned head-to-head in several states that have suffered substantial job losses - including California, New York and Ohio - each told voters that he had the better plan to protect American workers and create more jobs.
Edwards hoped his message would resonate in states particularly hard-hit by manufacturing job losses. But Kerry won the backing of organized labor - the AFL-CIO endorsed him last week - and had the advantage of being seen as the candidate best positioned to beat Bush, according to polls.
Still, Edwards impressed voters and party strategists with his upbeat candidacy, which observers said improved as the former trial lawyer gained more practice on the campaign trail. Exit polls showed that Edwards attracted substantial support from Republicans and independents in Georgia, as he had in other states that allow those voters to participate in their Democratic primaries.
Some Democrats fear that Kerry's failure to appeal to such voters during the primary season could become a liability for him in the campaign against Bush. Republicans have increasingly painted the Massachusetts senator as a weak-kneed liberal whose values and positions are out of step with those of the rest of the country.
He may be able to help defuse such criticism with his choice of a running mate, a decision his aides reportedly said last night could come within weeks.
Democratic race at a glance
John Kerry
What it means
The winner! He'll headline the '04 ticket for a party uncommonly unified and itching to take back the White House.
What's next
Dailing for dollars to blunt Bush's $100 million kitty and fill the air-waves in coming months. November's election is a very long way away.
John Edwards
What it means
Fresh-faced newcomer gets more out of one primary victory than any presidential contender in memory.
What's next
Waiting for that phone call from Kerry and thinking how to be the anti-Hillary if Democrats loose in the fall.
California
11,302 of 21,796 precincts -- 52%
Candidate ............. Votes ........... %
John Kerry .......... 1,073,817 ... 65%
John Edwards ........ 317,924 ... 19%
Howard Dean ........... 74,178 ...... 4%
Dennis Kucinich ...... 73,986 ...... 4%
Wesley Clark ............ 31,338 ...... 2%
Connecticut
711 of 716 precincts - 99%
Candidate .............. Votes ............ %
John Kerry ........... 74,570 ........ 58%
John Edwards ...... 30,508 ......... 24%
Joe Lieberman ....... 6,655 ........... 5%
Howard Dean .......... 5,118 ........... 4%
Dennis Kucinich ..... 4,087 ........... 3%
Georgia
3,120 of 3,130 precincts - 99%
Candidate ................ Votes .......... %
John Kerry ........... 288,332 .......47%
John Edwards ...... 256,708 ........ 42%
Al Sharpton ........... 38,472 ........... 6%
Howard Dean ......... 11,119 ........... 2%
Dennis Kucinich ...... 7,615 ........... 1%
