Kerry nears nomination with wins in South
By (Agencies)
Updated: 2004-03-10 16:30

John Kerry moved closer to formally clinching the U.S. Democratic presidential nomination on Tuesday with easy victories in four Southern states, including the crucial November battleground of Florida.

The Massachusetts senator, looking to challenge U.S. President Bush in a region that has not been friendly to Democrats in recent elections, swept to easy wins in Florida, Mississippi, Texas and Louisiana.

Kerry effectively locked up the right to face Bush last week when he drove his last major rival from the race and the victories put him on the verge of making it official by capturing a majority of the delegates to July's nominating convention.

"This nation is demanding more than ever before leadership that takes us in a new direction," Kerry told supporters in Chicago, Illinois, which holds the primary next week that could put him over the top.

"George Bush will not take us in that direction," he said. "I will."

Kerry rolled up more than 75 percent of the votes in Florida and Mississippi over rivals who have dropped out of the race but remained on the ballots and over two remaining minor challengers, civil rights activist Al Sharpton and Ohio Rep. Dennis Kucinich.

Kerry, already locked in an escalating general election struggle with Bush, slammed the president's economic and foreign policies and ridiculed Bush's claim to "steady leadership," describing him as a "stubborn" leader.

"After four years of the same old failed policies, what we've seen is stubborn leadership," Kerry said.

Earlier in the day Bush, without mentioning Kerry by name, decried "economic isolationists" who would weaken the U.S. economy.

"There are economic isolationists in our country who believe we should separate ourselves from the rest of the world by raising up barriers and closing off markets. They're wrong," Bush said in a clear jab at Kerry.

Kerry has called for a review of U.S. trade pacts and enforcement of labor and environmental standards in the agreements.

'A RECORD TO RUN AWAY FROM'

In his victory speech in Chicago, Kerry said Bush cannot run on "any of the issues that really define the quality of life in America. This president doesn't have a record to run on, he has a record to run away from."

At stake on Tuesday were 435 delegates to the Democratic convention, enough to put Kerry within about 100 delegates of the 2,162 needed to mathematically wrap up the nomination.

Kerry won the vast majority of the delegates on Tuesday, and CBS News said he already had passed the mark to clinch the nomination. But Kerry said he expected to hit it next week in Illinois, which has 156 delegates at stake.

"Next week Illinois has the opportunity to give me the delegates that actually make me the nominee," Kerry said.

The strong showing in the South was crucial to Kerry. He hopes to improve in November on the Southern showing by Democratic presidential nominee Al Gore in 2000, who was shut out in the region by Bush despite hailing from Tennessee.

The last three Democrats elected president -- Lyndon Johnson, Jimmy Carter and Bill Clinton -- were from the South, and Kerry's road to the White House would be much smoother with a strong showing in that region.

Kerry won Democratic primaries in Tennessee and Virginia last month, but lost in South Carolina and Oklahoma and barely won in Georgia over rival John Edwards, a senator from North Carolina.

Bush, the former governor of Texas, already has attacked Kerry on social and security issues, which could play well in the more conservative region. But Kerry said he would not change his campaign message to appeal to the South.

Kerry has focused heavily on Florida, scene of the bitter recount fight in the disputed 2000 presidential election and destined to be another major battleground in November. A recent poll showed Kerry with a slight lead over Bush in the state, where Bush's brother Jeb is the governor.

Democratic strategists also suggest Kerry could challenge Bush in Louisiana, where Democratic Sen. Mary Landrieu won re-election in 2002 while other Democrats were losing in the region.

But Kerry has little hope in November in Texas, Bush's home state, and in conservative Mississippi, a state Bush won easily in 2000 and which has not voted for a Democrat for president since Carter in 1976.

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