George W. Bush's days are numbered: John Kerry

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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Sunday, February 08, 2004

George W. Bush's days are numbered: John Kerry

John Kerry secured two more victories on Feb. 7 in his race for the Democratic Party's presidential nomination by sweeping the caucuses held in the states of Michigan and Washington.

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Kerry wins caucuses in two more states

John Kerry secured two more victories on Feb. 7 in his race for the Democratic Party's presidential nomination by sweeping the caucuses held in the states of Michigan and Washington.

That brings to nine the number of primaries or caucuses Kerry, a senator from Massachusetts, has won so far, leaving his other five Democratic rivals far behind.

Eleven states have held primaries or caucuses to date, with North Carolina Senator John Edwards and retired general Wesley Clark from Arkansas each claiming victory in one state. Former Vermont governor Howard Dean, the one-time front-runner, has failed to win in any state.

Preliminary results showed Kerry received 49 percent of the vote in Washington, followed by Dean with 30 percent. Kerry garnered 50 percent of the vote in Michigan, followed by Dean with17 percent and Edwards, 14 percent.

While Kerry was gaining momentum to extend his domination in the nomination contest, Dean suffered another major setback on Saturday, when one of the three unions that had endorsed his campaign withdrew its support.

Speaking at a rally before a Democratic dinner in Richmond, Va., on Saturday evening, Kerry hailed the results and moved to turn the discussion away from the Democratic presidential race to the contest with Mr. Bush this fall.

"In Michigan and Washington, a message is being sent - and it's the same message that was sent from Iowa, New Hampshire, to Missouri, to North Dakota, to New Mexico to Arizona," he said, "And it is the message that I am carrying to Virginia and to Tennessee, and the message is: George Bush's days are numbered."

In Michigan, with 100 percent of the precincts reporting, Kerry had 52 percent, while Dr. Dean had 17 percent, barely meeting the 15 percent threshold for qualifying for delegates. Mr. Edwards came in third with 14 percent.

In Washington, with 99 percent of the precincts counted, Kerry had 48 percent, compared with 30 percent for Dr. Dean.

In Michigan, state party leaders extended the closing time of the poll to 6 p.m. from 4 p.m. in Detroit after a last-minute shift of six caucus sites led to confusion across the city. Some advisers to Mr. Sharpton and Dr. Dean said the last-minute change had the effect of disenfranchising some minority voters, but Democratic leaders, in announcing the result, said they had confidence in the tally.

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