Senator John Kerry overpowered Howard Dean to win New Hampshire's primary, scoring a second-straight campaign victory to establish himself as the front-runner in the Democratic race that will decide who will challenge George W. Bush for the presidency.
"I ask Democrats everywhere to join us so we can defeat George W. Bush and the economy of privilege," Kerry told supporters cheered by his political revival following his victory in the Iowa vote last week.
He promised to "reduce the poverty of millions rather than reducing the taxes of millionaires."
Senator John Edwards of North Carolina and former NATO commander Wesley Clark battled for third in Tuesday's vote, but far behind both Kerry at 39 percent and Dean at 26 percent. Senator Joe Lieberman of Connecticut, sagging to fifth place, rejected advice from some advisers to abandon his bid.
After trooping through coffee shops, country stores and livings rooms of Iowa and New Hampshire, the first two states to hold ballots, the candidates now move to the cold realities of a national campaign -- airport rallies and multimillion-dollar ad buys in seven states holding contests next Tuesday.
Kerry, who reshaped the race with his stunning win in Iowa's caucuses Jan. 19, pledged to carry his momentum to every state. He assumes the weighty mantle of front-runner, a title that drew scrutiny to Dean's record and every lapse.
"He hasn't been in that position," Dean said of Kerry in an interview. "We'll find out what happens."
The four-term senator said he can handle it.
"I've been in public life for a long time, and I have been in tough races before and have been scrutinized," Kerry said. "I'm ready to lead our party to victory."
With 97 percent of precincts reporting, Kerry had 39 percent, Dean had 26 percent, Clark 12 percent, Edwards 12 percent and Lieberman 9 percent. It was a three-tier finish, with Dean as far behind Kerry as he was ahead of Clark and Edwards.
About 200,000 voters participated in the Democratic primary, easily eclipsing the record 170,000 turnout in 1992 when Paul Tsongas defeated then-Arkansas governor Bill Clinton.
A total of seven Democrats are vying for their party's nomination to run against Bush in November elections. Votes will be held around the country in coming months to select delegates for the Democratic Party's national convention, which will chose a presidential candidate.
An AP analysis of the delegate count showed Kerry winning 13 delegates in New Hampshire and Dean capturing nine, while Edwards and Clark appeared to finish below the 15 percent vote threshold needed to win any delegates.
It has been a topsy-turvy Democratic race, with Dean leading New Hampshire polls by 25 percentage points when the year began, Kerry seizing a similar lead after Iowa and Dean gaining a bit of ground after an 11th-hour political overhaul.
"We were written off for months, and plugged on and showed people the determination we have to defeat President Bush," Kerry said.
Dean, the former five-term governor of Vermont who finished third in Iowa, lost New Hampshire by double digits -- less than he needed for a complete rebound or to erase doubts about his viability. He did manage about twice as many votes as either Edwards or Clark.
Also see story:
PREPARATION: Ferry lines and flights were canceled ahead of only the second storm to hit the nation in November, while many areas canceled classes and work Authorities yesterday evacuated more than 3,000 people ahead of approaching Tropical Storm Fung-wong, which is expected to make landfall between Kaohsiung and Pingtung County this evening. Fung-wong was yesterday morning downgraded from a typhoon to a tropical storm as it approached the nation’s southwest coast, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said, as it issued a land alert for the storm. The alert applies to residents in Tainan, Kaohsiung, Pingtung and Taitung counties, and the Hengchun Peninsula (恆春). As of press time last night, Taichung, Tainan, Kaohsiung, and Yilan, Miaoli, Changhua, Yunlin, Pingtung and Penghu counties, as well as Chiayi city and county had
SELF-DETERMINATION: German lawmakers add earth to an art installation in front of the Reichstag to show that the face of a nation lies with its people, Tsai Ing-wen said Taiwan’s future should be decided by Taiwanese, German-Taiwan Parliamentary Friendship Group chairman Till Steffen said yesterday, while giving former president Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) a tour of the German parliament building. Tsai arrived in Berlin on Sunday and the following day delivered a keynote speech at the Berlin Freedom Conference titled “Threats facing democracies: Taiwan’s experience defending freedom.” Tsai yesterday attended a tea gathering at the Bundestag, joined by former friendship group chairman of 15 years Klaus-Peter Willsch, German defense affairs specialist Roderich Kiesewetter and Federal Ministry of Education, Family Affairs, Senior Citizens, Women and Youth Parliamentary State Secretary Michael Brand. Noting that the
MISINFORMATION: The generated content tends to adopt China’s official stance, such as ‘Taiwan is currently governed by the Chinese central government,’ the NSB said Five China-developed artificial intelligence (AI) language models exhibit cybersecurity risks and content biases, an inspection conducted by the National Security Bureau (NSB) showed. The five AI tools are: DeepSeek, Doubao (豆包), Yiyan (文心一言), Tongyi (通義千問) and Yuanbao (騰訊元寶), the bureau said, advising people to remain vigilant to protect personal data privacy and corporate business secrets. The NSB said it, in accordance with the National Intelligence Services Act (國家情報工作法), has reviewed international cybersecurity reports and intelligence, and coordinated with the Ministry of Justice Investigation Bureau and the National Police Agency’s Criminal Investigation Bureau to conduct an inspection of China-made AI language
BOOST IN CONFIDENCE: The sale sends a clear message of support for Taiwan and dispels rumors that US President Donald Trump ‘sold out’ the nation, an expert said The US government on Thursday announced a possible sale to Taiwan of fighter jet parts, which was estimated to cost about US$330 million, in a move that an expert said “sends a clear message of support for Taiwan” amid fears that Washington might be wavering in its attitude toward Taipei. It was the first announcement of an arms sale to Taiwan since US President Donald Trump returned to the White House earlier this year. The proposed package includes non-standard components, spare and repair parts, consumables and accessories, as well repair and return support for the F-16, C-130 and Indigenous Defense Fighter aircraft,
RSS