DES MOINES, Iowa — The presidential race continues for the four Democratic frontrunners despite Sen. John Kerry’s, D-Mass., attainment of 38 percent of the vote in Monday’s Iowa caucuses. Sen. John Edwards claimed second with 32 percent, past poll favorite and former Vermont Gov. Howard Dean, in third with 18 percent, and Rep. Dick Gephardt, in a distant fourth with 11 percent of Monday’s votes.
Des Moines, the prime location for candidates Monday, whipped into a political frenzy with Dean supporters waving large signs on street corners downtown and Gephardt, Kerry and Edwards field workers close by and intermittently dispersed. With the candidates’ similar views on many issues and their universal distaste for President Bush, personal appeal became the bottom line for many caucus-goers. An estimated 100,000 to 125,000 voters turned out. Many Iowans named certain candidates’ personalities and drive as their main reasons for attending a caucus in their area and supporting their candidate of choice.
“I fully believe that Kerry is the candidate that represents the people,” Ramon McCarrel said at a Sherman Hill caucus Monday evening. “He actually cares. He is ‘the real deal.'”
Caucus attendee Sig Gunderson listed Kerry’s integrity, discipline and character as a few of the main qualities swaying his vote.
Kerry won 43 of the 148 votes at this particular caucus site, placing just behind Edwards, with 51 votes. Kerry supporters arrived early to the Mickey Center, the venue for the Sherman Hill caucus, to place signs around the room and pass out stickers.
Kerry acknowledged his supporters after his win and thanked them while expressing his determination to stay in this race until the end.
“We came from behind. We came for the fight. And now I have a message for the special interests that call the Bush White House home: We’re coming — you’re leaving — and don’t let the door hit you on your way out,” Kerry said in his speech Monday evening.
Although Kerry walked away with the Iowa win, Dean supporters remain confident that a win is just around the corner in New Hampshire and the following primary states.
“We are not afraid and we are not powerless,” Dean said to hundreds of screaming supporters Monday night after the results had been announced. “This is about changing … Change is not a sprint, it’s a marathon … and we are in this marathon.”
Noted Democratic political strategist James Carville discussed Kerry’s win over Dean.
“I think people just saw that Kerry looked like a real winner and a real candidate,” Carville said. “I think people wanted someone who could beat Bush, and they didn’t see it in Dean.”
While Dean remains confident on his upcoming success, Gephardt has dropped out of the bid for the presidency after a disappointing fourth-place finish in Iowa. Gephardt supporters throughout the day noted his issues and his ability to be elected as main reasons for their support.
John Butler, a current Washington, D.C., resident, traveled to Iowa Friday to take part in the weekend’s festivities and promote his chosen candidate, Gephardt. He spent the day Monday waving Gephardt signs and talking to passersby.
“Gephardt is the only one with a good chance of beating Bush,” Butler said. “He is the candidate for me.”
Unlike Gephardt’s showing, Edwards’ surprising second-place victory gave supporters much to cheer about. He thanked his supporters and stated his belief that “politics of hope can overcome politics of cynicism.”
With thousands of supporters flocking to Iowa for the holiday weekend, doing anything to spread the word seemed to be the general consensus of eager candidate supporters from the early hours of Monday afternoon until the late hours of the night. Despite Dean’s third-place finish, supporters remained optimistic, waving American flags and chanting everything from “We have the power” to “No more Bush.”
While Dean supporters chanted slogans of power and anti-Bush sentiments, on the other side of town Kerry enthusiasts chanted “JK all the way,” which, with 38 percent of the vote, seems promising to many at this time.
