After back-to-back wins in Iowa and New Hampshire, Sen. John Kerry was hoping for a sweep in the biggest test yet for Democratic hopefuls, seven states holding primaries or caucuses.
But the race's two Southerners were angling to slow the Massachusetts Democrat's gathering momentum. Sen. John Edwards of North Carolina was counting on a victory in South Carolina's first-in-the-South primary on Tuesday to keep his own campaign alive. And retired Army Gen. Wesley Clark of Arkansas hoped for a win in Oklahoma and a respectable showing in both Arizona and New Mexico to propel his campaign into the next round of contests.
One-time front-runner Howard Dean was hoping to put his campaign back on track, but was looking beyond Tuesday's contests — where he is not running any TV ads and where polls show he is badly lagging — to later races.
Dean's campaign, which has severely cut back on spending, engaged in another round of layoffs, aides said Monday night...
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