Kerry wins six states, Edwards to quit

3.30pm

UPDATE - WASHINGTON - John Kerry captured the Democratic nomination to face President George W Bush in November, piling up a string of coast-to-coast primary wins on Tuesday.

Kerry, a Massachusetts senator, continued his domination of the Democratic race with wins in at least six states including a key victory in Ohio, which had been targeted by his chief rival John Edwards.

The wins capped a spectacular political resurrection for Kerry, whose campaign was considered dead just two months ago but sprung back to life as Democrats began to evaluate which candidate stood the best chance to beat Bush in November.

Bush called Kerry to congratulate him, and the two had "a nice conversation," Kerry said. "I said I hoped we had a great debate about the issues before the country."

Edwards had hoped to slow Kerry's march to the nomination on the biggest night of voting in the campaign, but he cancelled a planned trip to Texas and will return home to North Carolina to drop his White House bid, aides said.

"We have been the little engine that could, and I am proud of what we have done together, you and I," Edwards told supporters in Atlanta, claiming his campaign had put issues like poverty, civil rights and race back at the front of the Democratic agenda.

Edwards, a freshman senator from North Carolina who appeared headed to defeat in most of the 10 contests on Tuesday, will give a speech at a school his children attended on Wednesday afternoon, spokeswoman Jennifer Palmieri said.

Several US networks said Edwards would pull out of the contest on Wednesday, abandoning the field to Kerry, who would become the challenger to Republican President Bush.

Edwards congratulated his rival John Kerry for his strong showing in Tuesday's primaries but stopped short of publicly announcing he was dropping his bid for the Democratic presidential nomination.

DEAN FINALLY WINS

Former presidential contender Howard Dean, who dropped out of the race two weeks ago without a single win, triumphed in his home state of Vermont, where he was still on the ballot. Dean, once considered the front-runner for the Democratic nomination, was governor of the state for 11 years.

The race was still too close to call in Georgia, but Kerry won in Connecticut, Maryland, New York, Rhode Island and his home state of Massachusetts as well as Ohio, giving him 24 wins in the first 27 Democratic contests. Two other states were still wrapping up "Super Tuesday" voting.

At stake was a total of 1,151 delegates to July's nominating convention -- more than half of the 2,162 delegates needed to win and the campaign's biggest one-day haul.

The dominating performance does not give Kerry, the decorated Vietnam War veteran, enough delegates to clinch the nomination, but it left Edwards with little incentive to push on.

Bush campaign spokesman Scott Stanzel said the president called Kerry to congratulate him on "an impressive victory."

"President Bush said he was looking forward to a spirited race," he said. "Sen. Kerry thanked him for the call and indicated that he was looking forward to the race and said he hoped they could keep it to the issues."

Even while battling Edwards, Kerry had been keeping his eyes on a November match-up with Bush and focusing his attacks on the president's economic and foreign policy.

Bush is set to return fire on Thursday, formally engaging Kerry with the launch of his first television ads in 17 key battleground states.

Edwards had put his plans to create more opportunities for American workers and stem the flow of US jobs to foreign countries at the center of his campaign.

- REUTERS