Edwards, Clark duel in South for viability - USA Today

[question everything]

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Polls in Virginia and Tennessee show John Kerry, the Massachusetts senator who's won 10 of 12 state primaries and caucuses in the past three weeks, with big leads. That leaves Edwards, a North Carolina senator, and Clark, a retired Army general from Arkansas, fighting increasingly bitter battles for second place.

Though both Southern candidates say they will stay in the race after today's voting, finishing third would be devastating. Clark, whose Little Rock campaign staff voted to forgo a week's pay so the candidate could run TV ads in Tennessee, is considered more likely to drop out if he doesn't do well.

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Despite his wins from New Hampshire to Washington, Kerry has yet to prevail in the South. Assailed by Republicans as a "Massachusetts liberal," he wants at least one win today to prove he is running a national campaign and that a Northerner can succeed in the region.

But the primaries aren't as critical to Kerry as they are to his two main challengers. "Kerry can lose both of these states and still be a front-runner," Democratic strategist Steve Jarding said.

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Find this article at:
http://www.usatoday.com/news/politicselections/nation/primariescaucus/2004-02-09-edwards-clark-south_x.htm