USA: DEMOCRATIC CONTENDERS STILL NECK AND NECK JUST HOURS BEFORE IOWA CAUCUS BEGINS
Record ID:
858859
USA: DEMOCRATIC CONTENDERS STILL NECK AND NECK JUST HOURS BEFORE IOWA CAUCUS BEGINS
- Title: USA: DEMOCRATIC CONTENDERS STILL NECK AND NECK JUST HOURS BEFORE IOWA CAUCUS BEGINS
- Date: 18th January 2004
- Summary: (U7) DES MOINES, IOWA, UNITED STATES (JANUARY 19, 2004) (REUTERS) VARIOUS OF HOWARD DEAN AND DICK GEPHARDT SUPPORTERS ON THE STREET (7 SHOTS)
- Embargoed: 2nd February 2004 12:00
- Keywords:
- Location: DES MOINES, WATERLOO, IOWA, UNITED STATES
- City:
- Country: USA
- Topics: General,Politics
- Reuters ID: LVAEBUDYGJ7JVYVHZN4ZENIXZRGJ
- Aspect Ratio:
- Story Text: Democratic contenders still neck and neck just hours before Iowa caucus kicks off.
Democrats in Iowa will cast the first votes in the 2004 presidential race on Monday (January 19), with polls showing John Kerry holding a slight lead in a tight four-way dash to the finish.
Kerry, Howard Dean, Richard Gephardt and John Edwards were all within striking distance of victory in what could be the closest race in the history of Iowa's caucuses, the first major step in choosing a Democratic challenger for President George W. Bush in November.
All four campaigns sent thousands of volunteers into neighbourhoods across Iowa to hunt for voters and get them to the caucuses. Dean had more than 3,000 out-of-state volunteers knocking on doors, and Gephardt's army of union members had more than 4,000 people on the street.
A Reuters/MSNBC/Zogby poll released on Monday showed Kerry expanding his slim lead over Dean to 3 points, pulling ahead 25 percent to 22 percent. Edwards moved into third place at 21 percent and Gephardt in fourth at 18 percent.
At least 100,000 Democrats were expected to brave sub-freezing temperatures on Monday night to attend one of nearly 2,000 local precinct caucuses around the state and publicly declare their support for a candidate.
The latest poll found 9 percent of likely caucus-goers still undecided, leaving room for momentum swings in the last hours of the race.
Democratic National Committee Chairman arrived in Des Moines on Monday.
"No question we are going to have the biggest turnout we have ever seen here in the Iowa caucuses. There is a visceral dislike of this president's policies. People are engaged they are energized just coming in from the airport to see the signs everywhere. This is my seventh campaign, I have never seen the excitement and enthusiasm in Iowa ever before. So I think it is going to be a record vote turnout here in Iowa," he said.
A loss for Dean, the front-runner who scored a series of big endorsements in recent weeks, would open the door for other candidates and turn what was shaping up to be a quick Dean victory into a dogfight.
The former Vermont governor declared himself "ready to go" and shrugged off his drop in the polls.
A win for Kerry, a senator from Massachusetts, would be a huge boost to what had been a struggling campaign. But Gephardt, the congressman from neighbouring Missouri and one-time leader in Iowa polls, had the most to lose. His campaign could be over with a loss in the state.
"You are clearly going to have winners and losers out of tonight but everybody I believe was a winner for partaking in this process and getting their message out,"
McAuliffe said.
Kerry cancelled his first three events on Monday because he lost his voice. His campaign workers continued as scheduled and read his speeches at rallies for him. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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