Illinois victory makes Kerry the Democrats' official nominee

[Feanorcurufinwe]

After cruising through nearly two months of primaries and caucuses, losing only three states along the way, Kerry won Illinois and went over the top in the number of delegates needed to officially win the nomination in July at the Democratic National Convention in Boston. That, however, is merely a matter of mathematics.

The general election campaign, which has feverishly been brewing for much of March, will focus on an entirely different set of numbers. While states like Illinois, California and New York could offer dozens and dozens of electoral votes for Kerry or President Bush, it is the five electoral votes of West Virginia that could produce a far greater treasure in November. "Why is West Virginia so important to you?" a local television news reporter asked Kerry. "Every state is important," Kerry replied, "but if Vice President Gore had just won West Virginia, he'd be president of the United States today."

<snip>

Kerry has long been expecting to capture the nomination, but his campaign would not formally acknowledge the primary season had concluded until the ballots had been counted Tuesday in Illinois. To become the nominee, a candidate must win 2,161 delegates, which Kerry achieved by his campaign's estimate. With 70 percent of the Illinois precincts counted, Kerry had 71 percent of the vote, far outdistancing North Carolina Sen. John Edwards, who pulled out of the race this month, with 10 percent. Former Illinois Sen. Carol Moseley Braun had 5 percent and former Vermont Gov. Howard Dean had 4 percent. Kerry was expected to get the bulk of the state's 156 delegates.

With two former Navy veterans from Illinois at his side, Kerry monitored the returns privately before stepping out into what his aides called a "Democratic Nomination Victory Party." While the true suspense of the primary season unfolded in Iowa and New Hampshire, Kerry and his supporters still reveled in the win and harkened back to another senator from Massachusetts who won the West Virginia primary more than four decades ago. We will be the state that will put him in the White House this coming November," said Rep. Nick Rahall, D-W.Va. "Just as West Virginia was crucial for John F Kennedy, so is West Virginia going to be crucial for John Kerry. And he is going to win in West Virginia, my friends."

http://www.billingsgazette.com/index.php?tl=1&display=rednews/2004/03/16/build/nation/20-kerry-illinois.inc

[jsw_81]

1. Excellent

Phase one is complete. :)

[coloradodem2005]

2. Kerry is right about WV.

He just needs to remember that he would need to win more than that this time with the change in electoral votes.