Kerry Takes Three More States Ahead of Super Tuesday

On Tuesday Kerry thanked supporters in all three states while continuing his criticism of President Bush.

“I want to thank the people of Hawaii, Utah and Idaho for embracing my campaign to bring change to America today,” Kerry said in a statement posted on his Web site. “You’ve shown that what is uniting Americans from every region of the country is much more powerful than what has divided us during this president’s term and in the years past.”

Kerry showed strength among Democratic voters by earning more than 50 percent of the vote in all three states.

Kerry’s main rival for the Democratic nomination, Sen. John Edwards of North Carolina, finished second in Idaho and Utah, trailing Kerry by more than 20 points in both states.

Edwards on Tuesday chided President Bush for alluding to Kerry in a campaign speech as the Democratic front-runner. Edwards said that the president’s focus on Kerry was negative and premature.

“I have got a message today for somebody in Washington,” Edwards said. “And that message is this — ‘Not so fast, George Bush.'”

Edwards said the president “doesn’t get to pick our nominee and he doesn’t get to decide what this election is about. This president is so bankrupt of ideas that he can’t even wait until the Democrats pick a nominee before he starts drudging up the past and slinging mud.”

Ohio Rep. Dennis Kucinich finished a distant second to Kerry in Hawaii, where Kucinich was the only candidate to campaign on the ground.

Former Vermont Gov. Howard Dean finished third in Idaho, despite having stopped active campaigning.

Kerry has won 18 out of 20 Democratic primary elections, losing only South Carolina to Edwards and Oklahoma to retired Gen. Wesley Clark, who has since dropped out of the race and endorsed Kerry.

The three victories help Kerry maintain momentum going into the ten-state “super primary” on March 2, which may represent the final winnowing of the Democratic field before the convention in July.