Dominant Kerry casts his eye on the south

[T_i_B]

http://www.guardian.co.uk/uselections2004/story/0,13918,1144594,00.html

John Kerry turns his momentum in the Democratic leadership contest to the south today, hoping to tie down victories in Tennessee and Virginia and seal his domination of the primary season. Within Democratic party ranks Mr Kerry's anointment as presidential nominee is seen as a near-formality after his coast-to-coast victories during the weekend in Wash ington state, Michigan and Maine, where partial returns gave him 45% of the vote.

Mr Kerry has won 10 of the 12 states contested so far, and historic turnouts have convinced Democrats he has tapped into a well of anger at the president, George Bush.

Many believe Mr Kerry is best poised to defeat Mr Bush in November, a perception encouraged by opinion polls putting him within striking distance of the White House. He looks on course to repeat the performance in both Tennessee and Virginia, where polls give him the edge.

A double win for Mr Kerry would destroy claims by John Edwards and General Wesley Clark that they enjoy a regional advantage as natives of the south. In Tennessee, Mr Edwards had pinned his chances on the notion that voters would naturally rally around a fellow southerner.