Although millions of voters will cast ballots in caucuses and primaries across the nation, a few "super primaries" will likely determine the 2004 presidential nominee of the Democratic Party.

In the Democratic primaries, candidates garner the support of delegates on a state-by-state basis. The delegates are awarded proportionally by the percentage of votes the candidates receive. This year, the Democratic National Convention plans on having 4,317 total delegate votes. A Democratic candidate needs 2,159 delegate votes to win the party's nomination.

A total of 3,520 "pledged" delegates -- who must vote for the candidate who won their state's primary election -- are up for grabs in Democratic primary contests in 2004. An additional 797 unpledged "super" delegates -- who can vote for whomever they wish -- also attend the national convention. Super delegates are usually party leaders and/or elected officials.

Because of their early calendar positions and the number of delegates up for grabs, the following primary election dates are commonly seen as the most important for Democratic candidates seeking their party's nomination

Feb. 3, 2004

States Holding Elections and number of Democratic delegates per state:

Arizona (55 pledged, 9 unpledged)
Delaware (15 pledged, 8 unpledged)
Missouri ( 74 pledged, 13 unpledged)
New Mexico (26 pledged, 11 unpledged)
Oklahoma (40 pledged, 7 unpledged)
South Carolina (45 pledged, 10 unpledged)
North Dakota (14 pledged, 8 uppledged)

Seven states will hold primaries on Feb. 3., collectively representing 269 "pledged" delegate votes -- a small fraction of the votes needed for a nomination. Feb. 3 is important, however, because of where it falls on the calendar. This is the first time so many states have scheduled primaries or caucuses so soon after New Hampshire. Feb. 3 will also be the Democrat's first foray into the South, where native southerners like Gen. Wesley Clark and Sen. John Edwards could find more support along with those candidates who can reach out to the region's more diverse population. Some candidates are focusing intensely on Feb. 3 states.

In October, retired Army Gen. Wesley Clark and Sen. Joe Lieberman, Conn., announced their decision to skip the Iowa caucuses, concentrating efforts on New Hampshire and the states holding Feb. 3 primaries. It is a risky strategy -- no candidate has skipped Iowa and gone on to become president -- but for Clark, who entered the race late, and Lieberman, a more moderate candidate, the move helps defray the impact of a perceived defeat.

Ted Devine, a veteran Democratic strategist, questioned the wisdom behind the strategy. "For someone to suggest they can stay out of the story and ignite the campaign without the benefit of all that attention is not supported by the great weight of historical evidence," he told the Washington Post.

The Boston Globe reports Lieberman has insisted that his best chance for winning the White House lies not in winning primary votes in Iowa and New Hampshire, but rather in the cluster of states with Feb. 3 primaries.

"Without a doubt, we feel shifting resources to New Hampshire and Feb. 3 states is a winning strategy for Joe Lieberman," Lieberman spokesman Jana Cabrera told the Globe.

With so much on the line in February, analysts expect the first multi-state test to be a bloody campaign.

Earl Black, a professor of political science at Rice University, was quoted recently in the Charlotte Observer as saying, "South Carolina is going to be a death struggle" for those candidates who survive New Hampshire "because every one of them will look at South Carolina as their firewall."

Feb. 3 also includes a number of what the National Journal called "bellwether states" outside the South. Missouri has voted for every presidential winner but one since 1900; New Mexico has voted for every winning presidential candidate from 1912 (when it became a state) until 1976 (when it backed Gerald Ford); and Delaware holds the longest streak of picking winners.

Arizona has also attempted to increase its standing as an early primary state. In 1972, Arizona had an early Democratic primary. The "improbable winner of which was Republican-turned-Democrat New York Mayor John Lindsay" wrote political analyst Michael Barone in the Almanac of American Politics. In 1996 Clinton became the first Democrat to carry the traditionally Republican state since Harry Truman in 1948.

As for Feb. 3 campaign strategies, the Washington Post reports that Lieberman plans to concentrate on Arizona, Delaware and Oklahoma; Missouri should be a shoe-in for St. Louis' Rep. Dick Gephardt, and Clark is still determining where his major efforts should lie. Former Vermont Governor Howard Dean is popular with voters that have four-year college educations -- but in the key 2004 battlegrounds of the South and the Midwest, voters without degrees outnumber those with.

March 2, 2004

States Holding Elections and number of Democratic delegates per state:

California (370 pledged, 71 unpledged)
Connecticut (49 pledged, 12 unpledged)
Georgia (86 pledged, 16 unpledged)
Maryland (69 pledged, 29 unpledged)
Massachusetts (93 pledged, 28 unpledged)
Minnesota (72 pledged, 14 unpledged)
New York (236 pledged, 48 unpledged)
Ohio (140 pledged, 19 unpledged)
Rhode Island (21 pledged, 11 unpledged)
Vermont (15 pledged, 7 unpledged)

While this primary season will sport several "Super Tuesdays," March 2nd may be the key date of this election cycle. That day, 1,151 "pledged" delegates will be up for grabs, roughly 27 percent of the total delegate count.

Like one of the super primary days in 2000, March 2nd breaks the regional mold and spans coast to coast, and contains the delegate-rich California and New York.

"We're the final act," said Bob Mulholland, campaign adviser for the California Democratic Party. "When you have such a state as California with all those other states in one day, it's hard to imagine more than two candidates left, and we'll probably know the eventual nominee."

Long undervalued because it held a late primary, the Golden State -- with its huge population -- moved its primary in the 2000 elections to increase its impact on the selection of the Democratic nominee.

"In the past you'd see candidates coming to California just for fund raising," Mulholland said. "Now it's fund raising, grassroots organizing, campaigning. If we were in June -- zero attention."

New York will be the other delegate-rich prize on March 2.

"New York is big, and New York matters," said Maurice Carroll, director of the Quinnipiac University Polling Institute. "What you have is a bunch of candidates with substance, with substantial support, and none of them has lit the fire. It's a free-for-all."

Carroll said that New York City will be the focal point of the campaign.

"That's where all the Democrats are," Carroll said.

New York is also home to Rev. Al Sharpton, one of the candidates for the nomination. Although nationally, Sharpton has been mired in the lower single-digits, New York City's diverse voter base may be an important influence in the outcome of the primary.

"Al Sharpton will complicate New York," Carroll said. "He's a factor. He's getting double digits here."

Several of the New England states -- Connecticut, Vermont and Massachusetts -- have native sons competing for the presidential nomination. But that does not necessarily ensure victory. In Sen. John Kerry's home state, Massachusetts, former Vermont Gov. Howard Dean has led many of the recent public opinion polls as of mid-December.

Another March 2nd primary state, Ohio, is considered the country's most accurate bellwether. In the 26 presidential elections held in the 20th century, Ohio voted for the winner 24 times.

March 9, 2004

States Holding Elections and number of Democratic delegates per state:

Florida (177 pledged, 24 unpledged)
Louisiana (60 pledged, 11 unpledged)
Mississippi (33 pledged, 9 unpledged)
Texas (195 pledged, 37unpledged)

In the scramble to move up the primary calendar, a number of states abandoned the second Tuesday of March to hold earlier races. But March 9th is still noteworthy as the only primary day adhering to the original Super Tuesday concept -- that is a series of southern states holding simultaneously to bolster the efforts of moderate and conservative Democrats running for office.

Florida is sure to be closely watched following the controversy during the 2000 election, and the state carries enough delegates to make a real difference if the race is still close.

"Florida is pretty well divided," said Mark Silva, political editor for the Orlando Sentinel. "You have a very liberal core of south eastern Floridians, retirees from New York and New Jersey. In central Florida you have younger working families, more open-minded swing voters. And in the north you have an extremely conservative Democratic belt."

Texas, President Bush's home state, has little chance of voting Democratic in the general election. But in the primaries, the once conservative-minded Democrats of the Lone Star State may be hard to predict.

"Texas Democrats are definitely changing," Gary Keith, a lecturer on U.S. and Texas government and politics at the University of Texas-Austin, said. "There is a strong sentiment against the war and against the Patriot Act. They're more in line with national trends."

Though it doesn't carry as many delegates as some other states, Louisiana will also be a primary to watch. The 2003 race for the state's open gubernatorial seat commanded national attention for its competitiveness, as did the 2002 Senate race.

-- By Chris Nammour and Kathryn DeVito, Online NewsHour