Democratic rivals converge on New Hampshire

9.45am

MANCHESTER, New Hampshire - Fresh from an Iowa caucus contest that has reshaped the Democratic presidential race, the remaining top contenders arrived in New Hampshire on Tuesday to begin a weeklong dash to the state's key primary election on Jan. 27.

With US representative Richard Gephardt of Missouri leaving the field after a poor fourth-place finish in Iowa, Senator John Kerry of Massachusetts and John Edwards of North Carolina, the night's two big winners, flew in to enthusiastic welcomes from campaigns re-energised by their surprisingly strong showings.

"The whole world will be watching what you do here, as they were watching in Iowa," Kerry, who capped a stunning political comeback by taking first place with 38 per cent of the vote, told supporters gathered on Tuesday morning at Manchester's airport.

Just weeks ago, the millionaire war hero was lagging in the polls and his campaign was given up for dead by many analysts.

Also getting a big boost was Edwards, who took second in Iowa with 32 per cent of the vote.

The boyish former lawyer had long been mired in the single digits in the polls but, like Kerry, appeared to get a second look from Democrats fixated on finding a candidate with the national appeal to beat President George W Bush in November.

"Can you feel it?" Edwards asked a pre-dawn crowd of well-wishers in Concord. "This movement is sweeping the country. And the people of New Hampshire are going to feel it."

Later, on CBS television he attributed his surprise showing to his positive message.

"People are looking for a president who can actually lift them up and make them hopeful," Edwards said.

The Iowa result was a major blow for third place finisher Howard Dean, the former Vermont governor who had long set the pace in the Democratic race and may now probably need a strong finish in New Hampshire to salvage his insurgent campaign.

Dean, whose clever use of the internet to raise a record-breaking US$40 million ($61.79 million) and drum up grass-roots support helped propel him to the top of the polls late last year, finished with just 18 per cent of the vote.

"I'm determined to fight back," he told CBS.

He complained that he had been a "pin cushion" for his rivals and the media because of his front-runner status but vowed to right his listing ship in New Hampshire.

"I used to be the front-runner when I went out to Iowa but I'm not the front-runner anymore," Dean told an airport rally after his arrival in Portsmouth. "New Hampshire has a great tradition of supporting the underdog."

The top Iowa contenders also face up to a new rival in New Hampshire in retired Gen. Wesley Clark, who entered the race late and chose to focus his energies on the state. He has stumped hard in recent weeks, drawing big crowds, some big-name endorsements and rising to second place in some polls.

The race has tightened considerably in New Hampshire in the last month, with Clark first closing the gap on front-runner Dean, and Kerry then staging a surge last week to challenge for second place.

The latest tracking poll from American Research Group, taken before the Iowa caucuses and expected to be reshaped by the results there, showed Dean ahead with 28 per cent support, Kerry with 20 per cent and Clark with 19 per cent.

US Senator Joseph Lieberman of Connecticut, the most conservative of the Democratic contenders this year, also elected to skip Iowa, but has struggled to break out of the pack in New Hampshire.

Lieberman picked up the endorsement of the state's largest newspaper, the Manchester Union Leader, on Tuesday but remained in fifth place, behind Edwards, in the ARG poll at 7 per cent.

US representative Gephardt of Missouri left the field after a poor fourth-place finish in Iowa, flying back to his home state instead of New Hampshire.

Primary campaigns in New Hampshire, which takes its rich political tradition seriously and cherishes a reputation for ornery independence, have a history of last-minute volatility.

After New Hampshire, the race turns national, with seven contests scheduled across the country on February 3 and caucuses set for February 7 in Michigan and Washington state.

- REUTERS