Senator Kerry sweeps into lead

Senator John Kerry is today the undisputed front runner as the US Democrats' presidential candidate after a convincing victory in the New Hampshire primary.

With nearly half the votes counted he had easily defeated his closest rival, former Vermont Governor Howard Dean, who trailed him by nearly 15 per cent.

His margin of victory last night was a remarkable turnaround after opinion polls showed him trailing by up to 25 per cent before winning in Iowa last week.

The senator, who has nicknamed himself "Comeback Kerry", claimed the New Hampshire result showed he would be able to defeat President Bush at the election in November.

"I'm ready to lead our party to victory," he said. "We were written off for months and plugged on and showed people we have the determination to defeat President Bush."

Senator Kerry supported the war against Saddam Hussein but has become a major critic of the President's policy on Iraq.

For Governor Dean, once the clear favourite for the Democratic nomination, it was another disappointing result with 26 per cent of the vote.

He said he had achieved "a solid second" after dropping to third place in Iowa and will hope to follow President Clinton, who was second behind Paul Tsongas in 1992 but went on to take the Democratic nomination and win the presidency.

Trailing even further behind were Senator John Edwards, who came an unexpected second in Iowa, and former Nato commander General Wesley Clark, both with around 12 per cent.

General Clark has been campaigning hard in New Hampshire and his failure to capture a significant slice of the vote raises serious questions about his political future.

Right-wing Senator Joseph Lieberman was also reported to be close to dropping out after finishing fifth with nine per cent.

The battleground now moves to seven states which include Arizona and South Carolina, with voters going to the polls on 3 February. Governor Dean, who has strong support in all seven, must have at least one victory if he is to challenge Senator Kelly for the nomination.