Kucinich plans 27-day campaign tour of Oregon
Originally published in the Statesman Journal
Kucinich plans 27-day campaign tour of Oregon
He eyes the state’s large number of left-leaning voters.
The Associated Press
April 15, 2004
PORTLAND — Dennis Kucinich, the Ohio congressman who is John Kerry’s last real rival in the Democratic presidential race, plans to spend almost a full month campaigning in the state.
He hopes the state’s voters will give him a strong showing in the May 18 primary, lifting his candidacy into new prominence.
“This campaign will give the people of Oregon an opportunity to help chart the direction of the Democratic Party on Iraq,” Kucinich said this week during his third trip to the state in as many weeks.
Kucinich said he plans to spend 27 days in Oregon before the primary election. That would far exceed the time spent by any major party’s presidential candidate in Oregon in at least three decades.
Until 1972, Oregon was one of only a handful of states that held a presidential primary, making it an important stop for candidates seeking to show party bosses they would be an attractive nominee. But now that all states hold primaries or caucuses open to rank-and-file voters, the stature of Oregon’s primary has dwindled.
Kucinich acknowledges that he can’t stop Kerry from winning the Democratic nomination. But Kucinich thinks Oregon’s large number of left-of-center Democrats offers him the best opportunity to win enough votes to force Kerry and party officials to pay attention to his message.
Kucinich, 57, calls for a complete U.S. withdrawal in favor of turning over Iraq to the trusteeship of the United Nations.
He must get at least 15 percent of the primary vote in one of Oregon’s five congressional districts to win any delegates to the national convention.
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