A Day of Reckoning for Kerry and Edwards

[Freddie Stubbs]

Super Tuesday May Decide Party Nominee
By Jim VandeHei and John F. Harris
Washington Post Staff Writers
Tuesday, March 2, 2004; Page A06

DAYTON, Ohio, March 1 -- Sens. John F. Kerry (Mass.) and John Edwards (N.C.) barnstormed through crucial battlegrounds Monday, with Kerry looking to put a lock on the Democratic presidential nomination with an overwhelming show of strength in Super Tuesday's balloting in 10 states.

With more than half of the delegates needed to win the nomination at stake, Kerry was poised for a possible sweep, leading in polls everywhere. Edwards and his advisers consoled themselves with the knowledge that he has outperformed the polls with strong finishes in other primaries, but they were braced for bad news Tuesday night.

Kerry ignored Edwards in his speeches Monday, focusing his criticism on President Bush, but his travel schedule underscored a determination to knock his rival out of the race. Kerry campaigned in three states in which Edwards has been looking for a possible upset: Ohio, Georgia and Maryland.

Edwards said he plans to stay in the race regardless of Tuesday's results, but he acknowledged the reality that soon he must begin to win primaries, not simply exceed expectations or make the contests close. "At some point I've got to start getting more delegates, or I'm not going to be the nominee," he said.

more: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A20857-2004Mar1.html