3rd place finishes put Kucinich in a winning frame of mind
Originally published in the Cleveland Plain Dealer
3rd place finishes put Kucinich in a winning frame of mind
02/10/04
Tom Diemer
Plain Dealer Bureau
Washington- Rep. Dennis Kucinich said Monday his third-place finishes in the Maine and Washington state caucuses over the weekend make him all the more determined to carry on his struggle for the Democratic presidential nomination.
"Granted, it is modest, but I still have finally been able to break into the top three in two elections," he said in a phone interview. "In both cases, I did so with virtually no national media exposure."
Kucinich hit his high water mark in Maine on Sunday, trailing winner John Kerry and Howard Dean, but edging John Edwards and Wesley Clark. The tally in Maine was still not complete Monday night, but if Kucinich maintains his 15 percent to 16 percent share, he expects to come away with at least one pledged delegate.
In Washington on Saturday, he was a distant third to Kerry and Dean, capturing 8 percent on the strength of about 2,000 votes and leaving him without any delegates. It takes at least 15 percent to get one.
"I have thought all along that as the primary season developed, we would be able to demonstrate the ability to get votes from one end of the country to the other," Kucinich said. "And now we have done that."
The news for Kucinich wasn't so encouraging in the Michigan caucuses Saturday, where he was sixth out of six. He also does not expect strong showings in Virginia and Tennessee, whose voters go to the polls in primaries today.
Kucinich hopes to win a bloc of delegates in upcoming primaries, including Ohio's on March 2, and challenge for the nomination at the convention in Boston in July. Pending final results in Maine, however, he has just two delegates, himself and Rep. Lynn Woolsey of California. By being members of Congress, Kucinich and Woolsey both qualify as unpledged delegates, whose commitment is not dependent on voters.
"There were 10 candidates at one time, now there are six," Kucinich said. "There are already other candidates talking about getting out of the race, and I am not one of them."
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