While Mr George W. Bush lost his clear front-runner status in the Republican presidential race to Senator John McCain early yesterday, he insisted he will perform better when he's on friendlier ground in most decisive contests next month.
After his double defeat in the Michigan and Arizona primaries yesterday, the Texas governor dismissed Mr McCain's showing as another example of independents and "crossover" Democrats taking advantage of the "open" primary rules to make mischief in the Republican nominating process.
Mr McCain rallied a coalition of independent and Democratic voters to take Michigan by 50 per cent to 43 per cent and won his home state of Arizona 60-36 to seize the momentum for the major primaries just ahead.
"As I look more electable, we'll start drawing more Republicans," said Mr McCain, who received just a quarter of his party's vote in Michigan.
Reaching out to Republican voters who backed the Texas governor in overwhelming numbers in Michigan, the senator urged: "Don't fear this campaign, my fellow Republicans. Join it."
Mr Bush, however, argued that his supporters were the ones who really mattered in the long term. "There's a difference between attracting people who are going to stay with you throughout the entire race and people who come into our primary to make a statement and then intend to support [Vice-President] Al Gore in the general election," the Texas governor said on NBC television.
Exit polls show Mr Bush won decisively among registered Republicans in Michigan, one of the many factors favouring him as the candidates head into the next series of primary votes.
Next Monday's elections in Virginia and Washington are open, allowing another non-Republican drive for Mr McCain, but Mr Bush has a clear advantage in the states voting on March 7th and 14th.
California holds 162 of the 1,034 nominating delegates necessary to win the Republican nomination. Its primary on March 7th is restricted to Republican voters. Democrats will be holding their own primary simultaneously to pick between favourite Mr Gore and former Senator Bill Bradley. The same goes for delegate-rich New York, which holds a closed Republican primary on March 7th, "Super Tuesday", and has a Democratic contest as well.
Mr Bush is also the favourite among voters who cast their ballots on March 14th in Texas, where he is governor, and in Florida, where his brother Jeb is governor.
"By my count that's worth 467 delegates from those four states, and assuming that his campaign doesn't melt down between now and then, it seems to me he would have an awfully big delegate lead," said a political consultant Mr Ron Faucheaux.
But as of now, Mr Bush has lost his front-runner status. After Michigan and Arizona, the delegate count is Mr McCain 96 and Mr Bush 67.