US PRIMARIES: After frontrunner Senator John Kerry picked up more states at the weekend in his quest for the Democratic nomination, two of his rivals are hoping to revive their campaigns tomorrow with primary wins in the southern states of Virginia and Tennessee.
Senator John Edwards of North Carolina and retired general Mr Wesley Clark are staking everything on stopping Mr Kerry's runaway campaign in the two southern states.
A victory for Mr Edwards, originally from South Carolina, or for Mr Clark, who is from Arkansas, would raise doubts about the electability of the Massachusetts senator in the South.
Mr Edwards, who has already won South Carolina, is campaigning hard in Virginia, but is trailing Mr Kerry, who yesterday received the endorsement of the governor of Virginia, Mr Mark Warner.
Mr Clark, who is campaigning hard in Tennessee, told CNN yesterday that even if defeated he would remain in the race at least until the March 2nd "super Tuesday" primaries that include California, Ohio and New York.
Mr Kerry followed up a string of nine out of 11 victories since the Democratic campaign began with two more on Saturday when he won 49 per cent of the vote in Washington state, and 52 per cent of the vote in Michigan.
Former frontrunner Mr Howard Dean came second with 30 and 17 per cent of the vote respectively. Mr Kerry was also expected to win Maine, which held a caucus yesterday.
Mr Dean is staking everything on winning Wisconsin on Tuesday next week, and regaining enough traction to pick up most of the 75 per cent of delegates to the Democratic National Convention still outstanding after that. The latest polls, however, show Mr Kerry comfortably ahead in Wisconsin.
Mr Dean's campaign has been thrown into turmoil by the departure of former manager Mr Joe Trippi, but yesterday it was revealed that Mr Trippi's consultancy in Washington received $7.2 million - almost a quarter the $31 million the former Vermont governor spent last year - in advertising commissions.
Yesterday, Mr Dean lost the support of the 1.5 million-member American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees which had endorsed him when he was ahead.
Mr Kerry yesterday for the first time publicly questioned whether President Bush had completed his Vietnam-era service to the National Guard.
"Just because you get an honourable discharge does not in fact answer that question," Mr Kerry said, referring to charges that Mr Bush went AWOL when on duty in the guard.
"The issue here, as I have heard it raised, is was he present and active on duty in Alabama at the times he was suppose to be?
"I don't have the answer to that question," said Mr Kerry, a decorated Vietnam veteran.